A Better Way to Defeat Homelessness?
Meagan Stacey and Randy Richmond from the London Free Press have been focusing on the state of London’s homeless population this past week and it’s been a troubling read. Like many communities, our is city facing stiff challenges when it comes to lowering that population, especially when the options for housing and supports are so limited.
Yet there has been a significant shift in how our city’s population views the homeless, especially in light of the COVID pandemic. There is a growing resolution to accomplish something more fundamental to help those most at risk in our city. Previously, when advocates pushed for more money to be distributed to the homeless, there was a certain backlash from some who believed it to be a waste of funds. But a new study might be changing at least a portion of that perception.
CNN recently reported about a new Canadian study, called the “New Leaf Project,” by the Foundations for Social Change in Vancouver, that turned some preconceptions on their head. After giving 50 recently homeless people a lump sum of $7,500, researchers followed that money and the lives of the recipients for 12-18 months, comparing them with another control group that received no cash.
The findings, yet to be peer reviewed, were intriguing. Those provided with the cash were able to find permanent housing a full 12 months earlier than those not receiving the payment. They were able to achieve a measure of food security within a month. They spent more on food, clothing and rent, while spend one-third less on amenities like alcohol, smoking products or drugs.
The results prompted Foundations for Social Change CEO and co-founder, Claire Williams, to note:
"The homeless population continues to grow, and we keep applying the same old approaches. We really think it's important to start testing meaningful risk-taking in the name of social change.”
The idea of taking risks to help those living rough at first seems counter-intuitive, yet it’s been that very lack of vision that has kept homeless populations rising in cities across the country. There are lessons to be learned here. The participants provided the money had been homeless for an average of six months and were between the ages of 19 and 64 – a wide range. They were also screened for a low risk of mental health challenges and substance abuse. The findings of this initiative have caused many to sit up and take notice. Government had a role to play here, with a special grant coming from the federal government, along with help from donors and foundations.
To quote Williams again, in her CNN interview: "One of the things that was most striking is that most people who received the cash knew immediately what they wanted to do with that money, and that just flies in the face of stereotypes.” Most recipients knew instantly that what they required more than anything else was housing and they showed an innate ability to know where to acquire it. Some used the funds to search out jobs and, to the surprise of researchers, a number invested in the money in their own small business.
Williams, a seasoned observer, has learned that giving money alone is not the ultimate solution. But it is a key component in committing support to those recently homeless individuals and getting them out of that vulnerable conditions before they become mired in it.
And here is something we have usually failed to understand. The research from this project revealed that the cost for the number of nights the recipients usually spent in shelters saved the taxpayers some $450,000 over the year. In other words, providing such supports in this direct way was cheaper than the usual options.
This pandemic is in the process of creating more homelessness, not less, but the way most cities treat this rise is by traditional means – methods with low levels of risk and even lower levels of success. And it involves one key trait that funders, governments and citizens need to practice: daring. We need to have confidence that many trapped within homelessness – especially those of two years or less – actually possess the skills to work their own way out of their respective predicaments, if helped. This shouldn’t be a revelation to us, but unfortunately it is, and it is in that lack of confidence that funders and legislators are missing their opportunity.
We have a long way to go in this process, but we must travel it together with those sincerely desirous, and able, to move on with their lives with the proper supports at the outset. If COVID could teach us this, we can begin the process of healing our own communities.