Posted on March 22, 2011
Don’t forget to watch the upcoming PBS documentary featuring VSH and A Place To Start! Virginia Currents is an award-winning PBS news magazine that celebrates remarkable people & places in the Commonwealth. Tune in to WCVE Channel 23 on Thursday, March 24, at 8:00 p.m. for a special Virginia Currents documentary highlighting the successes of VSH’s three-year-old program A Place to Start (APTS).
A Place To Start is an innovative regional program that serves individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and serious mental illness. On January 26, VSH was proud to release a report documenting the outcomes of this highly effective program over a 20-month period. This report demonstrated a 98% success rate in keeping clients in housing and a total savings to the community of more than $320,000!
To read VSH Executive Director Alice Tousignant’s recent blog on this program, click here. To read the RTD article on this program, click here. To support VSH’s proven permanent solutions to homelessness, click here!
Posted on February 15, 2011
As the rhetoric in Washington heats up over the annual budget, it seems as if most lawmakers are still applying the same old equations to the problem of reducing the deficit. While it may be appropriate in some ways to cut spending by cutting services, many of us know that short-term savings now very often translate into long-term spending increases later. This is especially true for services that benefit vulnerable populations. When very low-income individuals lose access to fundamental programs that they can’t otherwise afford, the overall financial burden to the community actually increases. This is just an economic reality that we desperately need to face.
As the budget conversation moves forward (or not), it is important to remember that there is more than one way to save money. In January of 2011, Virginia Supportive Housing skillfully demonstrated this fact when it released a report on the success of one of its programs, A Place To Start.
A Place To Start is an innovative program that serves chronically homeless individuals who have serious mental illness. By providing permanent housing and support services for these individuals, the report clearly shows that a substantial amount of money can be saved. Given the report’s outcomes, only one conclusion makes sense. When it comes to homelessness, the solution is cheaper than the problem. We need to invest in – not cut – services that get the job done right.
The APTS report specifically tracks the costs associated with four “events” common to chronically homeless individuals: emergency room visits, hospitalizations, arrests, and incarcerations. The occurrences of these events were documented among the program’s fifty-two participants during a forty-month period (twenty months prior to entry into the program and twenty months following entry into the program). A comparison of the two time periods reveals an astonishing $320,000 in savings to the community.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, more than 112,000 individuals experienced chronic homelessness in the US in 2009. It’s easy to extrapolate this local data to conclude that if fifty chronically homeless individuals cost the community $320,000 over a twenty-month period, then 112,000 chronically homeless individuals must cost taxpayers at least $716,000,000 just in terms of those four common events. This is real money being spent right now without much to show for it. On the flip side, if these individuals had access to permanent supportive housing, the country could and would save at least that much within less than two years. Although that doesn’t completely solve our deficit woes, it does go a very long way AND it addresses a problem that our country has been struggling with unsuccessfully for decades.
So yes, lawmakers, let’s exercise fiscal responsibility by reigning in spending. But let’s do it in a way that won’t backfire on us three or five years down the road. There is a way, right now, for us to reduce the enormous cost of homelessness. Do the math. Invest in permanent supportive housing.
Posted on January 26, 2011
This week’s blog was written by VSH’s Executive Director, Alice Tousignant.
Five years ago, we were all scratching our heads trying to figure out what to do with a certain segment of the homeless population who weren’t getting helped. These were individuals who were chronically homeless with serious mental illness, many of whom also had a co-occurring substance abuse issue. Truthfully, many of us had gotten to the point of saying that this specific population chose to be homeless— that was our excuse. The thing is, no one bothered to ask them what they wanted and if they really did want to be homeless. The bottom line was that the community, including Virginia Supportive Housing, didn’t know how to help them and we had almost given up trying.
But then two things happened: we starting hearing stories from around the nation about how chronically homeless people were costing the community money—in other words, even though chronically homeless people comprise a relatively small percentage (about 15%) of the overall population of people experiencing homelessness, they were using a disproportionately high amount of the resources in the community. We also started hearing about some best practice programs that were successfully housing this population, and these programs were gradually spreading around the nation.
One of these programs was Pathways to Housing, a program that began in New York almost 10 years ago. After hearing about this program, I must admit I was very skeptical. Not only did I not really believe it could work, it also seemed very costly. Then PBS did a special on a gentleman called “Footie” who they followed as he entered the Pathways program. One of the things I vividly remember from the Pathways video was that they talked to individuals who had been living on the streets for years and asked them what they wanted most. And, guess what they said? They wanted housing. They didn’t say they wanted to remain homeless. That video turned my skepticism to amazement and optimism. I remember thinking, “We can do this here in Richmond.”
Working with many partners in the community, including Homeward, the Daily Planet, the Community Services Boards of Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico and the Virginia Housing Development Authority, A Place to Start (APTS) became our Pathways to Housing in Greater Richmond. The program was launched in late 2007 and began taking individuals off the street shortly thereafter.
APTS places individuals with an extensive history of homelessness and a serious mental illness into permanent housing and wraps intensive services around them. APTS has a dedicated service team of professionals, including a psychiatrist, nurse, social worker, peer counselor, substance abuse counselor and employment specialist who provide services 24/7. APTS also has a housing specialist who works with landlords to broker leases, get clients into permanent housing, and ensure that program participants and landlords are getting what they need.
We knew the program worked because it was evidenced based, but we needed to prove it worked here in Richmond. So, we undertook an evaluation funded through the Greater Richmond Chamber Foundation and conducted by the Central VA Health Planning Agency. The research looked at hospital and incarceration data on 50 clients enrolled in the program and measured costs and incidents 20 months prior to program entry and 20 months after. The research is complete and the report was released today.
While we knew the program would work, we didn’t know how well it would work. APTS has taken 58 people off the streets in three years with a 98% success rate in keeping people stably housed! Only one person has returned to homelessness.
And APTS is saving the community precious resources. The research shows that the program has saved the community over $320,000 in the first 20 months in hospital and incarceration costs alone. This does not even include other costs, such as ambulance costs, judiciary costs, and the costs to the homeless services system.
Has this program made a difference in the community? Yes! In addition to cost savings, it is making a big difference in the community. We’re taking people off the streets. Most of the folks in the program were unsheltered prior to entering the program and were counted as such in the community’s twice yearly count of individuals experiencing homelessness. In July 2008, there were 148 people who were counted as “unsheltered homeless.” In July 2010, that number had gone down to 119, which is a 19% reduction in two years! Some of this reduction is due to APTS.
What about peoples’ lives? Just ask Jerome who has been in the program for over two years. He had been homeless for eight years, living in alleys, dumpsters, and under cars and bushes in Richmond. He suffered frostbite in both feet. “I struggled like a dog.” He said that he would have died if he had lived on the street one more year.
And, there are many more stories like Jerome’s. Despite all that we have accomplished through VSH and APTS, there is still plenty of work that needs to be done. There are still people living on the streets who need to get into housing and get the help they need, and we can’t do that without the community’s support. To support A Place To Start and the work of VSH to provide proven permanent solutions to homelessness, click here. Thank you!
Posted on December 21, 2010
This week’s blog was written by VSH’s Executive Director, Alice Tousignant.
I must be getting old because I’m not as stressed out as I usually am at this time of year. It’s mid-December, the holiday craziness is in full swing, and there’s lots going on personally. It’s also the end of VSH’s fiscal year and the entire office is in an uproar, trying to wrap up reconciliations for our 2010 budget and finalize the budget for 2011. Yet, I’m still smiling and calm. Am I just completely out of touch or is this feeling really justified?
You decide.
Over the summer, we had the opportunity to transition 13 individuals out of South Richmond and into private housing in the community. One of these individuals, Joe Brightful, had been living at South Richmond for 14 years and is now feeling pretty happy. Once these folks had successfully moved on, we could then make their apartments available to 13 new clients who otherwise would be on the streets and in shelters.
We also had a groundbreaking at South Richmond to launch construction on 21 additional apartments that will be completed sometime next year, helping to reduce homelessness in the region. This is our first regional effort here in Central Virginia and we are extremely excited by the collaboration between Richmond City, Henrico and Chesterfield County to make this effort a success.
We have a brand new volunteer program which has given us 553 new friends who have performed 7421 hours of service helping us with a multitude of projects, saving us time and money in addition to spreading the word about VSH. You can see many pictures of these volunteers in action on our Facebook page and find out more by contacting our volunteer program coordinator at 804-836-1061 or [email protected].
We completed a 20-month evaluation of A Place to Start (APTS), demonstrating the incredible success of this program through two important measures: retention rate (98% for the first 50 people who enrolled in the program) and savings to the community (over $300,000 in hospital and incarceration costs alone)! In addition, we were able to enroll six new clients this year, one of whom had been homeless for over 10 years and in and out of psychiatric units many times.
We opened our third regional supportive studio apartment building in the South Hampton Roads area in late November. 33 people have already moved into South Bay, many of whom had been living on the streets and in shelters for a long time. Our property management staff services staff worked night and day to locate them and get them processed to move in. One staff member remarked “I’ve never seen people who had so few possessions.” Thanks to the generosity of many individuals and congregations, we were able to make sure that everyone had what they needed to feel “at home” in their new home.
I attended the holiday party for our clients in Richmond a couple of weeks ago, and lots of people showed up for great food and karaoke. It gave me an opportunity to sit and talk with folks who are being housed and served by VSH, and it was very comfortable and normal. We didn’t talk about where they had been but about how they are doing now, and most are doing pretty well. With stable housing, they can focus on taking care of their health issues or getting their GEDs. They’re not homeless anymore. Many people simply told me, “Thank you.”
So, that’s why I’m still smiling.
I want to express my thanks to our amazing staff who perform miracles every day. I also am deeply appreciative to our wonderful board, whose support and engagement are helping us grow to the next level. And finally, thank you to all of our friends and supporters in the community who help make this all possible. Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!
Posted on August 3, 2010
On July 26th, there was a celebration at the White House to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA), which for the first time protected the rights of people with physical and mental disabilities, and prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public services and public accommodations
For those of you who don’t know, I am legally blind. While I don’t consider myself disabled in the full sense of the word, I can get accommodations under the ADA. However, since my handicap is physical it does not have nearly the stigma as mental illness.
As a matter of fact, I would venture to guess that many people don’t know that people with mental illness are covered under the ADA. Working at Virginia Supportive Housing has taught me that people with mental illness are discriminated against in housing and employment more often than physically disabled people and many times their disability is far more debilitating. People with serious mental illness often become homeless because of their disability and have a very difficult time getting into and staying in permanent housing. It is estimated that nationally 20 to 25% of individuals experiencing homelessness have a serous mental illness.
At VSH, we are successful at helping people with mental illness obtain and maintain permanent housing because of the clinical nature of the services we provide. We have seen many people whose lives have been transformed through patient and consistent services that are available to them, in some cases 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Last week, I was especially heartened to see that Nathanial Ayers performed in front of President Obama at the commemoration of the ADA. I was glad to see that Mr. Ayers was still doing well. Mr. Ayers is a musician who was homeless for many years due to his mental illness. He was befriended by Steve Lopez, a journalist with the Los Angeles Times who wrote a book, The Soloist, that eventually became a movie. Mr. Lopez and a nonprofit supportive housing provider took the time to work with Mr. Ayers and get him into permanent housing where he is living with his disability with respect and dignity. Another success story!
But there are still a lot of people out there who are disabled due to mental illness who still need compassion, respect and a place to live. I hope all of us continue to work hard to make sure that persons with mental illness are afforded the same opportunities and rights that Mr. Ayers received so that in 20 years when we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ADA there are many more success stories.
