Local and National Perspectives on Homelessness

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-01-24/local-and-national-perspectives-homelessness
Local and National Perspectives on Homelessness

Several years ago, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced plans to move hundreds of chronically homeless people into permanent housing. It's an idea known as "housing first," and the model has been applied in other cities around the U.S. and...

Several years ago, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced plans to move hundreds of chronically homeless people into permanent housing. It's an idea known as "housing first," and the model has been applied in other cities around the U.S. and across the globe. We'll get an update on how the program is faring locally and nationally, particularly during an economic downturn.

Guests

Christy Respress

Pathways to Housing D.C.

Sam Tsemberis

CEO and Founder, Pathways to Housing

Comments

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Chivey Rich wrote:

Hello all

Tue, 01/25/2011 - 8:40am
ibc wrote:

The biggest problem with DC's social services (and the provision thereof) is that the suburbs fail to pull their own weight, leaving DC to pick up the slack. The truth is, homelessness knows no borders. These are not "DC's homeless" any more than they're NoVa's, or suburban MD's homeless. It's just that DC picks up the tab for an overwhelming portion of the region's homeless population.

To put this in perspective, DC has 100 homeless folks per 10,000 citizens. For MD, that number is 20. VA is 10. DC's social services net is simply swamped; and the suburbs need to take up the slack.

Tue, 01/25/2011 - 3:02pm
The Kojo Nnamdi Show is produced by member-supported WAMU 88.5 in Washington DC.