The American state of Utah may have found the solution to homelessness. It is hard to believe, but the evidence points to a simple, counter-intuitive idea that simply works.

 

Homelessness is a serious issue across North America. In the U.S. it is believed that 1.75 million people are on the street each day.

 

In Canada, according to the Homeless Hub, 30,000 people are homeless on a given night. Of those 7,350 are women escaping abuse and staying in women’s shelters and 4,460 are in temporary institutional accommodation such as hotels, 14,400 are staying in emergency shelters and 2,880 people are living on the street. About 200,000 people experience homelessness in Canada in a given year.

 

For the majority it is a temporary situation that resolves fairly quickly and happens only once in their lives.

 

Of the homeless, 47.5% are men. Youths account for 20%. First Nations peoples are over represented in the homeless in Canada.

 

Violence and poverty are the primary causes of homelessness among women and families in Canada.

 

Homelessness in Canada costs our economy $7 billion every year. That includes costs of shelters, social services, jails and health care.

 

What Utah discovered was that the health care and jail costs to their system alone was $16,670 for each homeless person. There had to be a better way.

 

What Utah found was that the less costly alternative was to give (yes, give) a homeless person a place to live at no charge and to provide them with social support services, including support workers to help them in any way. That would mean helping them with addiction and mental health issues, basic living skills and just even checking on them from time to time.

 

The goal of the program was to help the person become selfsufficient. But even if they did not, they still were able to keep the place where they lived.

The results have been simply spectacular.

 

The cost for accommodation and a support worker was $11,000 per year.

 

The success rate of the program was 74%. It is anticipated that homelessness in Utah will be eradicated by the end of 2015. Similar programs in Canada, under the general headline of Housing First, are equally spectacular in their success.

 

In Vancouver, their emphasis on helping the homeless into appropriate accommodation and supporting them had reduced homelessness by 66% and is on track to eliminate homelessness by 2015. And what of Grey-Bruce? There are programs to help people who are homeless, to be sure. But have we ever considered the kind of aggressive plan like Utah or Vancouver to put people into accommodation and give them the supports they need to put their lives back together?

 

It’s no solution to homelessness to make them criminals and put them in jail. And while we need shelters for women and children who are fleeing abuse, should we not have housing programs for them, too?

 

And where should young people go when they have to leave home? Is there a housing assistance program for them?

 

The time has come to stop spending money on Band Aid measures and emergency shelters, except for crisis situations. As had been proved in many jurisdictions, reinvesting money in giving people places to live and supporting them as they get their lives organized just works.

 

So which of our politicians will lead the movement forward? Or will it be you?

It certainly makes sense to me.