Thanks again for the great comment! I agree of course that folks with mental health / substance abuse issues face (even more) enormous barriers getting out of homelessness. Curious if you have thoughts on the best ways to get them the support they need? I keep running into versions of "housing first is the answer to everything" but it seems to me that there's a small population that needs more than housing and optional wraparound services.
More generally, would love to connect with you offline and hear about how Pasadena's approach differs from Seattle's if you're willing.
I have heard some interesting debates surrounding the two most common approaches to dealing with homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. One camp provides housing and encourages substance abuse, treatment and mental health treatment, but they do not force it. That gives people the stability they desperately need to get out of survival mode and start dealing with the issues that got them into that situation in the first place, as many people enter addiction by self medicating their trauma and mental health problems. The downside of that is that not everybody seeks treatment, and so those housing situations are very unstable and chaotic because many people are there untreated. Those who are trying to live in sobriety and safety do not feel that they can and they experience a lot of frustration. Their living situation is not secure enough to be out of survival mode because the other residence are so unsafe.
The other camp is more performative and punitive, and you only get housing if you can prove that you are successfully remaining in sobriety. There is a very high failure rate and so while this living situation is more stable for those who are able to maintain their sobriety and get treatment for their mental health, most clients are not able to remain in that living situation, and so they’re still remains a very large homeless problem.
This becomes a chicken and the egg argument that goes in circles forever on a very pious hamster wheel.
Thanks for sharing this Sara - as you point out, much of addiction is caused by homelessness, not the other way around. So it would sure be nice to solve this problem by preventing homelessness in the first place :).
Accepting that's not the world we live in, I suspect we need both models to some extent, though the data suggests the Housing First model seems to be best for most people, most of the time. I don't have too much insight yet but I'm starting next week at my first permanent supportive housing volunteer opportunity. I expect it to be pretty intense (a full day of training is required and I had to interview for the role), for exactly the reasons you describe. I'll plan to revert back once I have some actual experience to share.
"Thank you, Drew. Sadly, it's easy to see why much of the American population is not sympathetic to homelessness. If most of the unsheltered population struggles with drug addiction and/or mental illness, and the unsheltered population is the only part that's visible to the public, it creates a skewed perception. I think if it were possible to see the homeless population who are actively trying to get out of their situation, people would be more sympathetic. Volunteering seems like the obvious answer for this, but can you think of any other ways for people to gain more exposure to those experiencing homelessness who don't have mental illness or drug addiction? Ultimately, public awareness seems like the only way to solve this problem - without broader understanding and support, meaningful change won't happen."
Thanks Jesse - totally agree. One approach I've sometimes taken is simply talking to folks on the street. I'll sometimes ask if I can buy someone lunch or some food. If they say yes, it often creates an opportunity to ask them for their story, or what led them to be down on their luck, or some variant of that. Many people are happy for someone to talk to, and you may find you have to diplomatically say you have to run at some point.
Volunteering is also a great option, perhaps at either a community kitchen (tend to have a higher mix of homeless than food banks) or a shelter.
This is a great deep dive. The fact that 51% and 50% of the unsheltered population cite mental health and substance use, respectively, as the cause of housing loss highlights the significant barriers people with behavioral health conditions face in accessing shelter. It's especially troubling considering that unsheltered homelessness exacerbates these conditions. I oversee homeless services for the City of Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It's interesting to see the similarities and differences in King County. If you are curious to look at our most recent Point In Time Count and Annual Count results, they are at www.pasadenahomelesscount.org. Our data is also incorporated in the Greater Los Angeles County Homeless Count results. As someone who spends a significant portion of the year working on the homeless count, it's encouraging to see that people outside of the homeless services sector are reading the reports we write and exploring the data we collect.
Thanks again for the great comment! I agree of course that folks with mental health / substance abuse issues face (even more) enormous barriers getting out of homelessness. Curious if you have thoughts on the best ways to get them the support they need? I keep running into versions of "housing first is the answer to everything" but it seems to me that there's a small population that needs more than housing and optional wraparound services.
More generally, would love to connect with you offline and hear about how Pasadena's approach differs from Seattle's if you're willing.
I have heard some interesting debates surrounding the two most common approaches to dealing with homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. One camp provides housing and encourages substance abuse, treatment and mental health treatment, but they do not force it. That gives people the stability they desperately need to get out of survival mode and start dealing with the issues that got them into that situation in the first place, as many people enter addiction by self medicating their trauma and mental health problems. The downside of that is that not everybody seeks treatment, and so those housing situations are very unstable and chaotic because many people are there untreated. Those who are trying to live in sobriety and safety do not feel that they can and they experience a lot of frustration. Their living situation is not secure enough to be out of survival mode because the other residence are so unsafe.
The other camp is more performative and punitive, and you only get housing if you can prove that you are successfully remaining in sobriety. There is a very high failure rate and so while this living situation is more stable for those who are able to maintain their sobriety and get treatment for their mental health, most clients are not able to remain in that living situation, and so they’re still remains a very large homeless problem.
This becomes a chicken and the egg argument that goes in circles forever on a very pious hamster wheel.
Thanks for sharing this Sara - as you point out, much of addiction is caused by homelessness, not the other way around. So it would sure be nice to solve this problem by preventing homelessness in the first place :).
Accepting that's not the world we live in, I suspect we need both models to some extent, though the data suggests the Housing First model seems to be best for most people, most of the time. I don't have too much insight yet but I'm starting next week at my first permanent supportive housing volunteer opportunity. I expect it to be pretty intense (a full day of training is required and I had to interview for the role), for exactly the reasons you describe. I'll plan to revert back once I have some actual experience to share.
"Thank you, Drew. Sadly, it's easy to see why much of the American population is not sympathetic to homelessness. If most of the unsheltered population struggles with drug addiction and/or mental illness, and the unsheltered population is the only part that's visible to the public, it creates a skewed perception. I think if it were possible to see the homeless population who are actively trying to get out of their situation, people would be more sympathetic. Volunteering seems like the obvious answer for this, but can you think of any other ways for people to gain more exposure to those experiencing homelessness who don't have mental illness or drug addiction? Ultimately, public awareness seems like the only way to solve this problem - without broader understanding and support, meaningful change won't happen."
Thanks Jesse - totally agree. One approach I've sometimes taken is simply talking to folks on the street. I'll sometimes ask if I can buy someone lunch or some food. If they say yes, it often creates an opportunity to ask them for their story, or what led them to be down on their luck, or some variant of that. Many people are happy for someone to talk to, and you may find you have to diplomatically say you have to run at some point.
Volunteering is also a great option, perhaps at either a community kitchen (tend to have a higher mix of homeless than food banks) or a shelter.
This is a great deep dive. The fact that 51% and 50% of the unsheltered population cite mental health and substance use, respectively, as the cause of housing loss highlights the significant barriers people with behavioral health conditions face in accessing shelter. It's especially troubling considering that unsheltered homelessness exacerbates these conditions. I oversee homeless services for the City of Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It's interesting to see the similarities and differences in King County. If you are curious to look at our most recent Point In Time Count and Annual Count results, they are at www.pasadenahomelesscount.org. Our data is also incorporated in the Greater Los Angeles County Homeless Count results. As someone who spends a significant portion of the year working on the homeless count, it's encouraging to see that people outside of the homeless services sector are reading the reports we write and exploring the data we collect.