Benjamin Jeffrey’s Post

Standing Up for Housing, Not Handcuffs: Supporting Solutions to Homelessness The "Housing, Not Handcuffs" rally in Washington, D.C. brings national attention to the urgent need for solutions to homelessness. This critical issue demands a long-term approach that prioritizes: Affordable Housing: Creating more accessible housing options is essential. Rental Assistance: Supporting those struggling to afford rent can prevent homelessness. Outreach Programs: Connecting people with resources and support services is vital. Increased Shelter Capacity: Expanding shelter availability provides safe haven for those in need. The rally coincides with a Supreme Court case with significant implications. The Court is considering a ruling from Grants Pass, Oregon, that prevents the city from criminalizing homelessness. This case highlights the ineffectiveness and inhumanity of punishing people for sleeping in public when no shelter alternative exists. Every city in this country and all elected officials who have criminally prosecuted the homeless for sleeping in public are violating the 8th Amendment to the US Constitution’s “cruel and unusual punishment” clause. Join the Call to End Homelessness While I can't be there in person, I stand with those advocating for change. We can all raise awareness about homelessness and urge our representatives to prioritize solutions that lift people up, not punish them for their circumstances. https://lnkd.in/ghm9JtMy

New statistics released today by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that homelessness and rough sleeping numbers continue to rise. Rough sleeping numbers have risen by 27% nationally. In Greater Manchester, the count sits at 149 people, an overall rise despite falls in Trafford, Oldham and Manchester. Over 78,460 households are also facing homelessness nationally. Urgent and immediate changes in housing, welfare and asylum policy is needed. Have a look at what our Chief Exec, Fran Darlington-Pollock had to say: ‘These numbers are no surprise to anyone working to end homelessness, but they should serve as an compelling wake-up call to all with the power to look meaningfully at existing policies that are making people homeless needlessly. The scale and level of commitment in Greater Manchester to end homelessness, get people back on their feet and deliver true preventative work to stop homelessness before it becomes a reality offers an incredible blueprint for national responses. But these efforts are too often overlooked. In Greater Manchester, we applaud and celebrate those on the front line of the city-region’s response and preventative work continuing to deliver innovative, pioneering and effective solutions that can lead to real change. Any additional funding - such as that announced by DLUHC this week - to support that work is always going to be welcome, but this has to sit alongside more urgent and fundamental changes needed in housing and welfare provision, and an end to the avoidable homelessness created within current asylum processes.’ Take a look at our blog post to find out more. https://lnkd.in/eUW9QuxV

"...The most effective way to end unsheltered homelessness is to provide stable, affordable housing with case management, voluntary mental health and substance use treatment, and employment services. In Athens County, we offer a robust range of services and programs, but our efforts are hindered by the fact that we lack an emergency shelter. As a community, we are seeking to tackle this need head on, through a coalition of community stakeholders including representation from the behavioral health system, health department, libraries, philanthropic sector, local government, domestic violence shelter, Ohio University, and more. We are pursuing efforts in advocacy, education, fundraising, and identifying innovative solutions that span the housing continuum. This includes an aggressive goal to open a low-barrier shelter in Athens as soon as we possibly can. If you care about this issue and want to get involved, please reach out. We need all hands on-deck to ensure that every member of our community has access to safe, decent, secure, and affordable housing." We invite you to be part of the solution. Connect with us by sending an email to housinginsecurity@athensfoundation.org, and let's explore how we can create impactful changes together. --------------- This initiative is part of Project Co-Create. Learn more about Project Co-Create at https://lnkd.in/g32DyqjJ https://lnkd.in/gXDMfwqd

Despite spending more and more and money on homeless services, the problem in California gets worse and worse. While the ranks of homeless swelled more slowly in Orange County than elsewhere, there are still 28% more unhoused folks here today than there were in 2022 — despite county government spending more than twice as much money to help these folks (about $112.3 million in 2022, and $263.3 million in 2024), according to the latest Point In Time survey and county financial data. An admittedly obnoxious back-of-the-napkin calculation suggests that we could have given every homeless person about $35,000 — which would pay for a one-bedroom apartment with pool and gym in many lovely neighborhoods in the O.C. — and saved a few million to boot. If you look over a gentler five-year time frame — back to 2019, before COVID-related eviction moratoriums and emergency cash aid helped people keep roofs over their heads — homelessness was up only 7% in O.C., while it was up 20% statewide and (gulp) 29% in neighboring counties. While the state audit blasted California for failing to track its homeless spending well enough to divine if programs were actually working, it found these two were “likely” cost-effective. Homekey helps local governments turn run-down motels into housing (costing an average of $144,000 per unit, compared to new construction costs of $380,000 to $570,000), while the CalWORKS Housing Support Program provides financial aid to families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless (costing some $12,000 to $22,000 per household, while a chronically homeless person can cost up to $50,000 a year). https://lnkd.in/gvWMshBw

Connecticut’s housing crisis is pushing more people into homelessness, leaving dedicated caseworkers like Nicole Barracliff overwhelmed as they try to connect individuals to limited housing resources. Despite the challenges, leaders like Kara Capone, CEO of Community Housing Advocates, remain hopeful: “It is completely solvable. If the resources were brought to bear to do it. We need the political will in this state and in this country to do that. We can do this. The problem is whether or not people want to fund it.” By focusing on securing the necessary resources and support, we can tackle the housing crisis and help both those in need and the frontline workers dedicated to this cause. Learn more about the current challenges and efforts to fund shelters here: [Link] #EndHomelessnessCT  https://lnkd.in/eXam_hP3

PIT shows homelessness increased by 12%. The people pushing for forced camps will message that this proves housing as a solution does not work. The homeless sector's suggested response: everyone deserves a home with a warm bed for a better community. We should respond authentically, going public with what's failed, what we can do better, and how to move forward. We need to be accountable and not just point fingers. All the public wants is for homeless people to go away out of sight. They are willing to pay more taxes to have police remove homeless people. The folks pushing for forced camps work this to their benefit while blaming the nonprofit industrial complex. The fluffy "everyone deserves a home" message will fall flat as more people become frustrated over the growing homelessness they see with their own eyes. I tried to find a research partner to test personal-benefit messaging back in 2022 and worked on it until early 2023, when there was a clear bias for values-based messaging. One research study found that over 80% of the general public believes homeless people are good people. That is not even close to reality. While the researchers gathered the data correctly, they didn't ask the right people the right questions or take response bias into account. In Los Angeles, it's projected that homelessness will increase to over 100,000 by 2028. Homelessness will continue to increase across the country. Momentum for forced camps is growing fast. Unless we figure out how to scale housing as a solution, no messaging will help as the public sees more homelessness. We also need to educate the public that homeless people are humans. One reason the values-based messaging falls flat is that many people do not value homeless people as people. They consider them lower than animals. We must also focus on the long game and educate school-aged youth. https://lnkd.in/gDv43s5k

Shocking levels of homelessness demonstrate the cruelty of the housing crisis, so what needs to be done? We're live at #housing2024 for the session: A place to call home, the long-term plan to end homelessness, to hear from the experts. Speaking are David Bogle , chair of Homes for Cathy; John Greaves, Places for People; Alice Lamb, LandAid; Seyi Obakin OBE, Centrepoint; chaired by Baljit Basra of Devonshires. This isn't just a moral question says Seyi, speaking of tackling youth homelessness; it's an economic question two. Homeless people die younger than the general population, he says, citing Shelter research claiming an average age of 47. A sobering point, he tells the audience that in the time it will take him to finish his talk, two homeless people will have died. The freeze on LHA rates needs to end, brining it back to 30th percentile. Also need more single properties. Going further, we need to change the affordability market Seyi says. Rents should be tied to local incomes not market rates. Lack of affordable housing is a big factor in youth homelessness, says Alice, but it's not the only one. There 700,000 empty Homes in England. More needs to be done to bring these back to use. LandAid is working with partners to in this area to help provide homes. Real Estate industry has the resources to make a difference, not just in land and property but skills and will. Not having a home is terrifying for these young people; they have hopes and dreams too, and they deserve better. David suggests the homelessness crisis is possibly worse than when Ken Loach made the film Cathy Come Home. Government funding is essential to build more homes needed to help solve this crisis, he says. Housing associations are essential to delivering new homes. They are well placed to deliver. A difficult task to crank our the 90,000 social homes needed, so it's up to the sector to lobby and make the case. There is not a solution that doesn't involve building more homes, John says. We're seeing more interest in tackling the housing crisis. Once it felt fringe, but it's coming to the fore now, though there is still a way to go. #ukhousing

Newsmakers 2023: Homelessness tops the list in Ajax this year Community concerns continue with growing number of unsheltered people The Ajax newsmaker of 2023 is not the feel-good story that one might hope for to end off the year. But it’s one that has become such a big issue that the Ajax News Advertiser can’t overlook it. Homelessness has gone from existing in the background of the town to becoming blatantly obvious to everyone who visits the plaza in downtown Ajax, or drives along Harwood Avenue near Ajax Town Hall.... ...The Region of Durham is working hard to address the issue. Staff want to find a permanent solution, as opposed to a Band-Aid fix. The Town of Ajax has held public meetings on the issue and makes shelter usage numbers public each month. But the complex issue is not an easy one for both levels of government to address, one that sees a large number of people in need of help, and longtime residents who want to live the same lifestyle they have for decades. Both levels of government have been calling on the provincial and federal governments for more support. Between 2021 and 2022, Ajax experienced a 121 per cent increase in homelessness. https://lnkd.in/e8AUHdzx

"Why our Programs will Never Stop Homelessness" We continue to pour money into a service-based model for dealing with homelessness. Hand out food, because they lack food. Hand out clothes, because they lack money to buy clothes. Hand out tents because they lack the ability to find shelter. Rehousing programs abound and millions of dollars flood in to get "these people" off the streets. However, the number of chronically homeless people keeps rising. [Chronically homeless as defined here is distinctly separate from those facing temporary lack of housing due to job loss, sudden eviction, etc.] Despite our greatest efforts, the problem gets worse. But, what if we are trying to fix the wrong problem? People do not remain chronically homeless because of an inability to find housing or work. If highly motivated, a person could take advantage of the many programs and pull themselves up from the trenches and back on their feet. The motivation to rehabilitate is what is missing. So, what motivates them to remain homeless? ...to continue reading visit https://lnkd.in/gEYNH2RW