Thursday, September 11, 2014
Framing the problem: Honolulu government does not understand Housing First
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Housing First is an approach that offers permanent, affordable housing as quickly as possible for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and then provides the supportive services and connections to the community-based supports people need to keep their housing and avoid returning to homelessness. Housing provides a foundation from which a person or family can access the services and supports they need to achieve stability, begin the recovery process, and pursue personal goals.—United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
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by Larry Geller
Hawaii Appleseed has gone above and beyond the call in making information about poverty, homelessness and potential solutions available. Here is a tweet from this morning (click for the report).
The article is not too long, informative, and easu reading. At the end are links and references for further reading.
As you read, note that Honolulu’s RFP for what it refers to as Housing First, includes practically none of the points raised by the article. One reference on interventions suggests that the community-based programs contemplated by Honolulu are often not enough.
Every citycouncilperson and state legislator might brush up on the concepts by reviewing this article or other plentiful literature on the subject. Unless they understand what they are doing, they will likely be more part of the problem than of any solution.
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