Homelessness is an unfortunate and perpetual aspect of society. Different organizations have tried to find ways of fixing the problem. One of the new and perhaps more successful approaches is the residential program established by Virginia Supportive Housing, a non-profit organization. Virginia Supportive Housing attempts to find solutions to the problem of homelessness by taking an innovative approach: providing minimal cost housing to homeless individuals in different parts of the state.
Recently, the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County worked with Virginia Supportive Housing to establish the Crossings, residential apartments for low income and homeless individuals in Charlottesville. The Crossings will be a 60-unit apartment complex, with 30 of those units for those who are permanently homeless, and the other 30 reserved for low-income individuals. The residences will be furnished with a kitchen, closet and bathroom, as well as basic furniture. The building also has computer and fitness facilities. The residents are welcome to stay at the residences as long as they wish. In terms of rent, residents will pay either $50 per month or 30 percent of their income. Such residences have been established by Virginia Supportive Housing in other cities in the state, including Richmond.
At first glance, many view this program negatively because they see it as providing essentially free housing to the poorest bracket of the population, which they deem unfair. But this program may be one of the more effective solutions to homelessness, and it benefits the community as well.
This residential program provides the means to help people stabilize their lives. In general, 38 percent of homeless people suffer from alcohol-related problems, 26 percent from drug abuse and 39 percent from mental illnesses. The stability of a home, as well as the different services provided by the programs, offer an opportunity to rehabilitate and confront those problems. Being on the streets does not really provide an opportunity to escape from issues such as drug abuse and alcoholism. The stability of a home, however, provides people with the opportunity to think about how to feasibly get their lives back on track.
According to the Virginia Supportive Housing website, 96 percent of the individuals who reside in their facilities have managed to achieve a stable income. Because of the apartments, these once homeless people are now able to lead a normal life with a job and a home.
Of course, one of the most important questions regarding the program is where the funding comes from. Virginia Supportive Housing pays for the costs associated with the residences. Funding comes from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, private donations, state tax credits, loans and subsidies from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. Yes, some taxpayer money does go toward these residences. Nevertheless, tax money is usually spent on homeless individuals regardless of whether such a program is in place.
In Richmond, the city spends about $9,500 to $13,500 on each homeless person to provide temporary housing. On the contrary, Virginia Supportive Housing spends $4,500 on each person. These methods of helping the homeless are much more cost effective and would actually save taxpayers' money.
Usual mechanisms of alleviating homelessness, such as providing temporary night shelters, do not solve the problem. Rather, they perpetuate it. Temporary shelters have not been shown to really solve homelessness; they are a temporary mechanism for coping with the problem. On the contrary, these resident programs allow people to become more independent and have more control in life.
The lifestyle of staying at different night shelters on different days does not provide consistency and stability in people's lives. As a result, homeless individuals are less responsive to programs which would otherwise help them achieve stability by addressing problems such as drugs, abuse and alcoholism. With basic, permanent shelters, homeless people do not have to worry about where they are going to spend the night, and rather can focus on what to do to make their lives better.
Charlottesville does have a fairly large homeless population. Thus far, most programs have provided temporary help. The Crossings may be the key to minimizing the homeless population in Charlottesville, as well as other major cities in the state which have significant homeless populations. Whether this system can be applied on a national scale has yet to be seen. On a statewide scale, however, the program offers the opportunity to solve the problem by providing stable shelter to the homeless population.
Fariha Kabir's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.
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