My View: We’re well on the path to ending homelessness
During the early 1980s as many families lost their homes and jobs, state and local governments were forced to dramatically cut assistance, and we saw a dramatic spike in homelessness. Today we are emerging from an even more severe recession and once again local governments face hard fiscal times.
But, as a recent report shows, when it comes to homelessness, history is not repeating itself. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual “Point-in-Time” count, which estimates the scope of homelessness on a given night in America, despite unprecedented economic headwinds, between 2010 and 2011 homelessness has gone down by almost every measure.
It’s declined for individuals and families, as well as among “chronically” homeless people — those who have been homeless for extended periods of time. Most significant of all, veterans’ homelessness dropped nearly 12 percent. This decline in homelessness is also being noticed in Indianapolis, where local planners report a 6 percent decline in the number of people living in their shelters and on the streets.
The Obama administration is building on that progress for Indianapolis families. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced $3.2 million in renewal funding to help fight homelessness in Indianapolis, part of nearly $1.5 billion to help more than 7,000 homelessness programs across the country.
These grants support a broad range of housing and services from street outreach to the transitional and permanent homes that individuals and families need to rebuild their lives.
In Indianapolis this investment will support efforts like Horizon House, which offers counseling, job training, employment resumes and placement, legal and housing referrals and clothing.
The tools the Obama administration is using to prevent and end homelessness are making a difference. With the Recovery Act’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program, we have saved more than 1.2 million people from living on our nation’s streets — “fundamentally changing” the way communities respond to homelessness, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
With President Obama’s HEARTH Act, communities like Indianapolis will have increased flexibility to determine how best to use HUD funding to respond to homelessness — using the lessons of the last two years.
Most important is that for the first time, these funds aren’t just fighting homelessness but are part of a larger strategy to prevent and end homelessness.
Last year, the president released Opening Doors — the first federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. After a decade of bipartisan progress, the plan commits to ending chronic and veterans’ homelessness in five years, while ending homelessness for families, youth, and children within a decade, and working to end all homelessness.
With these funds, President Obama’s commitment, and the partnership of local leaders, we can bring this proven model not just to Indianapolis, but to every community in the country — and put us on a path to ending the crisis of homelessness.
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