Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Helping the Homeless: Another Step


Quote of the day:
“You don’t exist until you’re on TV.”
--Wiley Miller in Non Sequitur, June 19, 2007.

Quote of the day no. 2 (a reprise from April 6, 2007):
“Cities that have tracked chronically homeless people estimate that a typical transient can cost taxpayers $20,000 to $150,000 a year. You could not design a more expensive, wasteful of ineffective way of providing healthcare to individuals who live on the street than by having librarians dispense it through paramedics and emergency rooms.”
--Chip Ward, former assistant director of the Salt Lake City Public Library, from Tomdispatch.com.

This quote came to mind as I read the AP story today about a “home for the homeless” in Seattle. It is far from a typical homeless shelter, most of which strictly prohibit use of alcohol or drugs.

There are some house rules to keep people safe and to keep the neighbors happy, but this Seattle facility is essentially apartments with very low rents. The idea is to keep alcoholics off the street, which will keep them safer and out of emergency rooms.

The estimated cost per resident per year is $11,000, financed with taxpayer money and private donations. There has been some objection to the public funding of this, even though taxpayers are already paying approximately $100,000 a year for each homeless person living on the street.

Kudos to officials in Seattle for an effort that is both very sensible and kind. The AP story said there is a similar program in Minneapolis. Hats off to them, too.

No comments: