Roger ChesleyThe news out of Washington on homelessness was encouraging. So it seemed.
The number of "chronically homeless" people nationwide had dropped a whopping 30 percent in just two years, from 175,914 to 123,833. From 2005 to 2007, according to federal housing officials, tens of thousands more people had stable homes and were out of shelters or off the streets.
The chronically homeless are defined as people who are disabled and have been continuously homeless for more than a year, or who have had at least four instances of homelessness in the past three years.
Such a reduction is a major feat.
Dealing with the chronically homeless drains public services, from the police who arrest and jail them, because often there are no psychiatric beds available; to hospitals that treat them in emergency rooms; to shelters that house them sporadically. Providing housing and targeted social aid gives them a chance at a better life.
"We can all be encouraged that we're making progress in reducing chronic street homelessness in America," said Steve Preston, secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Why, then, were some national advocates for the homeless quick to criticize the numbers? They questioned why this particular subset - 18 percent of the total homeless population - was the focus of the Bush administration. They also said that, although some figures were lower, the methods for counting the homeless had changed, so it wasn't an "apples-to-apples" comparison.
"We should be focused on ending homelessness for everybody, not just a small segment of the homeless population," Michael Stoops, acting director of the National Coalition of the Homeless, told The New York Times. Across the country, 660,000 people were homeless on one specific night in January 2007, down from 754,000 in 2005.
I'm no cheerleader for this administration, but it has made undeniable progress on homelessness in America and deserves more than a modicum of credit. Its homeless czar, Philip Mangano, has demonstrated exuberant leadership, urging communities across the country to develop plans to end homelessness and offering suggestions on how to do it. Because the chronically homeless population exacts a heavy toll on public resources, it makes sense to focus programs and strategies on these individuals.
"I think HUD wanted to consider the ones worst off, and get to them first. I don't know if I necessarily disagree with HUD on that," Alice Tousignant, executive director of Virginia Supportive Housing, a Richmond-based nonprofit, told me.
"I think as a society, people are getting a little bit tired of the problem," she continued. "And I think if we can... make some dent in the problem, that will help everybody in the long run."
It makes sense: Get a victory on one part of a problem, and use that success to achieve further successes.
That formula seems to be working locally.
Leaders of several communities in South Hampton Roads have focused attention on the homeless and taken significant steps to do more than just feed and temporarily house people. Gosnold Apartments, a single-room-occupancy complex on the edge of Park Place, opened as a joint project of three cities. A similar complex, Cloverleaf Apartments, is scheduled to open this fall on South Military Highway in Virginia Beach. Tousignant's group oversees both sites.
Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim continues to be a key player. Last week, he recruited dozens of city churches and other places of worship to put up $1,000 annually and provide volunteers to mentor homeless families. "A few other cities - Denver, Raleigh - had started a similar partnership, ending homelessness one family at a time," said Katie Kitchin, director of Norfolk's Office to End Homelessness.
Is the problem "solved"? Of course not. But local and national leaders deserve props for attacking this problem and achieving results. Whatever the statistics.
Roger Chesley is associate editor of The Pilot's editorial page. Reach him at (757) 446-2329 or at roger.chesley@pilotonline.com.
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I will also grant you
that I have not been in every big city in America. But I have talked with others in my profession, and we have nearly identical experiences, and attitudes. And I've bought more than one homeless person dinner from my own pocket because there are a few legitimate homeless people who have to hide from the predators, and showed up late for their dinner, or had a job and got off late. You might want to get your own facts straight before criticizing somebody. If you care to discuss it in person, I can back it up. Post your email or phone, and I will contact you and show you the real deal.
As usual, you folks only read what you choose to and see what
you want to see. I didn't say ALL people referred to as homeless are bums, I said NEARLY all. And since you're jumping to (wrong) conclusions, I didn't say I never worked with them. I do. Every single day. I have years of personal experience with them. I don't hide behind a keyboard or anything else, and I don't drive an SUV. As a matter of fact, I was homeless at 2 different times in my life. Once as a child, because of my parents who didn't work or pay their bills, and as an adult because of a divorce. But unlike the vast majority of people you seem to feel so sorry for, I rose above it. I didn't do it alone, but I didn't end up needing to be fed in a soup kitchen and all I needed was half a chance. I worked 3 jobs most of my life, and bettered myself. All I ask of any person is they do what they can, not stand with their hand out and a bottle of alcohol in their pocket. If that bothers you, too bad. Sometimes the truth hurts.
To Robert A
But you probably don't have the time to see the "real" homeless. You will hide behind the keyboard and make mindless posts. Take a look around sometime and you'll see what I mean. Sometime, park your SUV and take a walk under that bridge you go over each day. You just might be shocked to see who happens to be living under there. I can tell you this, from personal experience, I would trust a homeless person before almost anyone else. Because THEY KNOW how hard things can be.
To Robert A
Have you ever been in a situation where you ended up without a place to live??? I doubt it. well...I have so SHUT UP. You have NO IDEA what you are talking about. Not EVERYONE who is homeless is a "bum". I am not arguing the fact that there are those that ARE just, plain and simply, BUMS. But there ARE those who ended up there not by choice but for some other reason. Want to see it firsthand??? Go volunteer at a shelter for ONE lunch time. You'll see people from all walks of life there. Not just "BUMS".
Bums?
If you ever get the opportunity to work with homeless people, as I have, you just may change your opinion. Yes, there are some trifling persons homeless but you will be surprised as to how many homeless people actually work, aren't alcoholics or druggies & aren't mentally unstable. Many people, especially, older persons that are homeless, are victims of large corporations downsizing, who have a difficult time finding gainful employment, due to their age. Age discrimination is illegal, yes but companies find ways to get around that. There are also quite a number of homeless families.
What homeless?
Oh, you mean bums. When I was a kid, they weren't called homeless, and we didn't feel sorry for them. They were bums, and rightly called so. Nearly all of these people are lazy, trifling drunks, who refuse to take advantage of anything except a free meal, and handouts of change so they can remain intoxicated on somebody else's dime. The few who are deserving, are normally mentally ill, and when Democrats run the place, they "cut government spending" by reducing the already too low amounts on programs to help truly sick people, in favor of more welfare and other government spending that, while well intentioned, normally is ineffective. Ever hear that if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll complain you didn't give him milk? I agree that our wealth is such that we have a responsibility to help people who get in trouble, or can't help themselves. Where I draw the line is making it easy to be a bum, not take