Houston, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, made eye-popping articles for their self-claimed victory in addressing poverty using the Housing First method. Both states had almost triumphed over destitution.
Salt Lake City’s 2015 state was unraveled in 2018 as , Utah’s position auditor , found the claim was based on negative information.
The Houston Chronicle covered the demise of the state’s model when they captured a scene with the city’s fresh, pragmatic mayor conversing with poor men and women sleeping in the town’s theater district. ” Sure looks like we’ve fixed it, did n’t we”? he asked bitterly.
While a blow to the Houston and Salt Lake City communities that were continually reassured they were successfully tackling homelessness, it is an even greater blow to the , U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development , ( HUD) and the , U. S. Interagency Council on Homelessness ( USICH)  , that had only two models to which to point — , Salt Lake City and Houston.
Housing First types are currently completely out of stock.
The policy change’s reported promise was that it would put an end to homelessness in ten years when it was first adopted at the national level as the country’s one-size-fits-all strategy to homelessness in 2013.
The assumption of the change and the selection by Houston and Salt Lake City to do the same , was that cover vouchers became the , major tool , in their poverty kit. Funding and needs for , cognitive health therapy, substance use disorder guidance, and work training , were intentionally minimized and, in many cases, eliminated.  ,
But 10 years later, the number of unemployed Americans is at the highest number actually recorded in our nation’s history. And in accordance with a recent report from the , Wall Street Journal, destitution will rise even higher in 2025. Both Houston and Salt Lake City have experienced rises.
Two years ago, a partner and I penned an , view editorial , questioning Houston’s claimed victory under Housing First. Certainly, the 62 percent decrease in poverty was noteworthy, but our leading query was,” Is it ecological”?
Both the provincial and the Houston powers that be gave favorable responses to our inquiry. But it was really appropriate.
Then, Mayor John Whitmire and Houston’s homeless people are the people left holding the bag that carries , a roughly five-fold increase in the suicide rate among Houston’s poor.  ,  ,
The question is, does the mayor accurately assess the range of Houston’s problem?  , While its 2023 Point in Time ( PIT ) count — a federally mandated physical count of people experiencing homelessness — reveals 3, 270 homeless individuals, it pales in comparison to the 7, 200 homeless K-12 students that the Houston ISD claimed in the 2022-2023 school year. Of note, the ISD figure does not include a student’s parent ( s ), nor a non-K-12 sibling.
With a good handle on the exact numbers of people struggling, the city may consider different strategies for each of the sub-populations, versus employing a , one-size-fits-all approach to homelessness.
Humans are designed for much more than just living in their homes. Housing without purpose condemns people to the conditions that underlie their homelessness — largely mental illness, addiction, and trauma. To give those struggling clarity and purpose, funding for and, in some cases, the need for, treatment services must be included.
Beyond individualized housing units, which by nature isolate the homeless from the support groups they so desperately need, is what an effective housing strategy looks at. We must first create and finance secure, unified living spaces where services can be delivered much more effectively and effectively.
A , 14-year study  , proved , the “isolated housing approach” to be ineffective and deadly. By the fifth year, nearly half of the chronically homeless people who were individually housed died, and only 36 % of those who were housed remained that year.  ,
Finally, we must address the needs of the homeless in accordance with those of the entire Houston area. Any of us forced to abandon expectations of public order and safety and that communities have somehow normalized stepping over bodies on sidewalks and in parks is absurd.
Mayor Whitmire did not cause this to happen, but he must take advantage of it by adopting a human-first approach that acknowledges the innate needs and potential of people.
Housing First will continue to be preached as a tried-and-true one-size-all approach, continuing to stifle the innovation and advancement the homeless system desperately lacks. More importantly, it will continue to stifle the innate and unique gifts of those struggling with homelessness.