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Hope for The Homeless

9/28/2020

10 Comments

 
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Give a homeless person a home, and he or she isn’t homeless.
 
This idea has long been a no-brainer for me.  And as it turns out, it's also true.  

That's not just for Grants Pass, where we’ve lived for a year, but everywhere else, too. 
 
Of course, the devil is in the details—and because of those specifics, goes beyond coming up with a place to sleep.
 
Yet for decades, this is how our country has mostly dealt with our chronically homeless population.   
 
Often, this put-a-band-aid-on-it policy means that these underserved Americans (about 600,000 people on any given night) are afforded brief respites at warehouse-like facilities in neighborhoods where filth, poverty and crime rule.  Some towns, like ours, have places in nicer neighborhoods where they’re called “rescue missions” and are faith based.
 
They do meet an immediate need—somewhere to lie down; a hot meal, and bathroom facilities.  But at least here, there are ironclad rules: no pets, no guarantee about a room for the next night, and a requirement that everyone has to attend at least one religious service, and sometimes more, every day.
 
This isn’t a solution to homelessness. 
 
But there’s a better way, and it will be here soon.
 
It’s called transitional housing.
 
These communities are neither new nor radical. They began popping up in the United States in the early 2000s, and now include Quixote Village in Olympia, Washington; Community First in Austin, Texas, and Second Wind Cottages in Newfield, New York.  Most feature tiny modular homes, sometimes single or sometimes a duplex, usually with a front porch and big enough inside for a bed and bureau.  A small amount of monthly rent is required; pets are generally allowed, and residents vary from a handful to a few hundred. Some allow children and some don’t.  But everyone is carefully vetted before admittance.  
 
These enclaves are also much more cost effective than letting the homeless wander the streets. 
 
In fact, with increased time in hospitals, overnights in jail and emergency shelter, taxpayers fork out about $40,000
per year per homeless person. But with transition programs, lives are supported by offering homes that can cost as
little as $1,500. 
 
Those who live here can also breathe a sigh of relief—gone are worries about safety; belongings being stolen, or where to find shelter on any given night.  
 
But the real key to success is case management.     
 
So, each enclave also has a brick-and-mortar community center, where social workers, mental health professionals and counselors connect residents to opportunities previously impossible, such as job training; applying for veteran and food benefits, and how to obtain a GED. 
 
Additionally, each center has mailboxes; a kitchen and dining area, and bathroom facilities.  Community gardens are also common, with sweat equity mandatory.  Most residents take about six months to successfully transition to an off-site home and job, but no one is evicted if goals haven’t yet been met.   
 
Now, a tiny home community for the homeless is coming to Grants Pass.
 
It’s named Foundry Village after the street where it’s located.  And, despite the COVID-19 pandemic; a contentious election year, and raging fires in this part of the state, groundbreaking is slated to happen by the end of this year.  
 
I’d heard about this project when we moved here last summer.
 
But the Village had been stalled by red tape and city leaders who believed this sort of housing was going to cause home values to plummet (they haven’t in other communities); excess littering around the area (hasn’t happened), and increased noise complaints to police (that hasn’t occurred either). 
 
It took over a year, but once Foundry steering committee members presented accurate facts and figures to the powers blocking the idea, as well as offering tours of an established transitional community about 35 miles south, the project was green lighted.   
 
This kind of housing won’t work for everyone.
 
But the overall success rate stands at 60 percent, and given that many residents have been previously homeless for years, those are pretty good odds.
 
The Hubster and I feel strongly that Foundry Village has a place here.
 
So, to the extent that we can, we’re volunteering time to make it a reality.
 
Masked, socially distanced and outside, we work at a booth a few hours every Saturday at our local Growers’ Market.  There’s a one-gallon glass jar on the table for donations, but mostly, we offer information.  That means answering questions; giving out pamphlets, and reassuring folks that Foundry Village will be A Very Good Thing for Grants Pass.  
 
And perhaps surprisingly, except for one man early on, who grumbled that “at least now we’ll know where they all are,” we’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response.
 
For those who can’t pull themselves up by the bootstraps because they don’t have boots, we hope to give them the
shoes they’ll need.  
 
Find out more about Foundry Village at www.foundryvillagegrantspass.com/.
 
10 Comments
Jim Nolt
9/29/2020 10:19:13 am

Interesting concept, Hilary. You mention that all residents are vetted. What is the criteria? This surely seems a set in a positive direction.

Reply
Hilary Grant
9/29/2020 11:18:13 am

Hi, Jim! I'm sure it's different for every community, but we've been told that the Foundry Village referrals will come from local social service agencies who are familiar with the applicants and their stories. :)

Reply
Larry Grant
9/29/2020 11:32:34 am

I truly see this as a genuine part of a solution. Many folks in need of a home, given a sense of security, really can move forward in life. Replace hopelessness with hope. There is NO single solution. I like the transitional aspect of this project. It restores a life.

Reply
Hilary Grant
9/29/2020 11:46:11 am

The fact that these folks will be in a place where they no longer have to worry about where they'll be sleeping, where they can eat, and where they can use a bathroom, allows them to plan for a real future. As I wrote, it just makes sense. xo

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leslie spoon
9/29/2020 11:36:24 am

Great idea and I wish that San Luis Obispo would do that. Los Osos needs help with our homeless too.

Reply
Hilary Grant
9/29/2020 11:48:31 am

I know there has been talk about a transitional tiny house community in San Luis Obispo, but I don't know if it ever got beyond talking. It just makes soooo much sense, but of course, once someone is ready to transition out, that someone needs to find a place where the rent isn't astronomical. And, that's a huge wall to climb over if you're living anywhere in SLO County.

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Anita Savio
10/2/2020 09:07:48 am

Actually, not to nitpick but the transitional housing concept started in as early as the mid-90's, if not before.

A new concept that is being implemented in a number of cities is the "housing first" concept. In this concept, permanent (not transitional) housing is provided, along with wrap around social services. The idea is the stability of living in permanent housing provides the support needed by residents to really benefit from services addressing addiction, mental illness, and any other contributors to homelessness.

Reply
Hilary Grant
10/2/2020 04:38:27 pm

Correct. :) No one can come up with an exact date of when transitional housing for the homeless started in the US, but early 2000s is what more than one site I looked at told me. And regarding alternatives to transitional housing, yes, you're talking about "rapid housing," which are already built houses with case management. This works in communities where already built properties can be easily bought and renovated. Here in Grants Pass, that wasn't an option, but Foundry Village was a better fit because someone donated the land where the Village is going to be located. It's also a great location beause it's easy walking distance to downtown and the ROC Food Pantry. :)

Reply
Anita Savio
10/2/2020 05:31:00 pm

Actually I was working on identifying state and federal funding for transitional housing in Los Angeles back in 1991 to 1994. However I know of at least one city, Salt Lake City, that has constructed new apartment units under the housing first concept, and I imagine there are others as well. As far as the rapid housing concept, that sounds like a great idea and is new to me. Here's a link to a comparison of the two concepts: https://portlandshelters.org/joining-the-solution/housing-first/ It looks like the two concepts tend to serve different populations.

Hilary Grant
10/3/2020 11:43:32 am

Interesting stuff. I'm wondering what happened with the funding you were looking for in LA? Was it ever used for transitional housing for the homeless? I don't think tiny houses were around but there were certainly gently used RVs and mobile homes that could have been donated. But also, I think that if someone has been chronically homeless for a very long time, tiny house transitional housing is a better fit. You don't have to worry about maintaining your own kitchen, doing your own cooking, or keeping a bathroom clean because all of these facilities are at the on-site community center. Plus, being a part of a community -- working in the garden and eating together -- is a way to teach positive social interaction... something I suspect that chronically homeless don't have a chance to do on a regular basis.

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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