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Erin Dalrymple
Ms. Elizabeth Caruso
UWRT 1103-029
12 April 2016

Is preventing and ending homelessness impossible?

The idea of ending homelessness forever, seems to always rub people the wrong
way. Most people see it as an impossible task that will take years and years to
accomplish. With more than 600,000 people living on the street on any given night in
the U.S., it does seem like a difficult task , but it isnt impossible (General
Homelessness Facts). From my research for my synthesis paper I came to the
conclusion that there are programs out there that can help the homeless population find
permanent housing, which I incorporated into a blog so that I could better share my
ideas with others.
This blog is meant for anyone who wants to know more about whats going on in
the world around them or simply for those who want to help the homeless get off the
streets. In my blog, Helping Progress , I discuss the different kinds of programs out
there that are available to the homeless population. These programs are designed to
prevent and end homelessness and I believe they are making an impact. A good impact
that is.
One of these programs is a recovery-oriented approach to ending homelessness
that centers on quickly moving people experiencing homelessness into permanent
housing and then working on their underlying issues like mental illness or substance
abuse (Housing First). This approach goes by the name of Housing First. The name

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pretty much says it all. The number one priority of this program is to get people off the
streets and into a home as fast as possible. A shining example of how the Housing First
program has flourished takes place in Utah. Utah initiated the Housing First program in
2005 and in just a decade the state has reduced the number of people living on the
streets by almost 75% (Bertrand). Although Utah is one of the states you hear most
about, there are many other success stories where the Housing First program has
successfully helped the homeless. I think this approach is good because it doesnt
exclude people with mental illnesses like previous approaches did. This idea takes into
account that in order for people to flourish they but have a stable living setup first and
then they can work on their issues. In my blog I state that this is the best option because
people cant truly get back on their feet if they dont have a place to stay at night. It adds
stress to their already stressful life if they have to worry about where they are going to
go to find a warm place to sleep for that night.
In Boulder, Colorado there were mixed emotions about the Housing First
program when in November of 2014 the first apartment complex under this program
was opened. Many people were opposed to this complex being opened in their
neighborhood because they believed it would be a magnet for the kind of unsavory
behavior [that] already afflicted the area due to the presence of the homeless shelter
already in their neighborhood (Meltzer). After a year there were no complaints coming
from the neighbors and one person in particular, Gail Promboin, who had previously
opposed the initiative said she was partially wrong for believing the program would fail
(Meltzer). The people of Boulder made an assumption that all homeless people are drug
addicts or mentally unstable. This is the kind of mindset that needs to be changed in

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order to end homelessness. The old way of helping people find homes was to fix their
underlying problems first and then give them housing. This didnt always work, so
Housing First was implemented. In order to help spread the word of what kind of helpful
programs are out there I created a blog for my generalized piece.
Since Im talking about an important topic, which requires a certain serious
attitude when reading, I decided to go the professional route when constructing my blog.
The layout is easy to follow with tags on each post to help the reader find specific
articles. The whole idea of my product was to interact with others and help increase
their knowledge on the issue of homelessness, so I included a comments bar on my
page. This is so whoever reads my page will feel free to express their opinions or ask
questions about what Ive written.
Helping Progress , my blog, touches on the point that the Housing First
program not only reduced the homeless population, but it also saved the taxpayers
money. Homelessness costs taxpayers a lot of money because of shelter and hospital
costs. Permanent supportive housing saved Denver $15,733 per year per person in
public costs for shelter, criminal justice, health care, [and] emergency room [...] costs
(Snyder). I think that if more people knew that helping to fix the solution now would save
them money in the long run, then they would donate their money or time. The same
great results were seen in Utah. The number of homeless people in Utah not only
decreased, but Utah found that giving people supportive housing cost the system about
half as much as leaving the homeless to live on the street (Carrier). If people wont help
out of the kindness of their hearts, then I think they will when they hear that Housing
First helps save money. Thats why I included a page for donations in my blog. I feel,

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along with thousands of others, that the more awareness that this cause gets the more
donations it receives too. I also included a section where donations to specific charities
is available, so that way people are more inclined to give.
The best way to approach a problem and fix it is to know your options and thats
what I hope my blog is able to do. Spread knowledge of Housing First and how it helps
will prove useful in preventing and ending homelessness forever, so its not an
impossible task.

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New Works Cited

"General Homelessness Facts." Homelessness Facts & Statistics. N.d. Web. 10 Apr.
2016.
"Housing First." Housing First. N.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
Bertrand, Natasha. "Utah Found a Brilliantly Effective Solution for Homelessness.
Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Apr.
2016.
Meltzer, Erica. "Few Problems in Housing-first Facility's Inaugural Year." The Denver
Post.

02 Apr. 2016. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Snyder, Kaitlyn. "Study Data Show That Housing Chronically Homeless People Saves
Money, Lives." National Alliance to End Homelessness:. 30 June 2015.
Web. 12

Apr. 2016.
Original Works Cited

Carrier, Scott. Room for Improvement. Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the
Foundation
for National Progress. March 2015. Web. 17 Feb, 2016.