foolmenot.comThere is certainly nothing wrong with “helping the homeless”!
The problem with helping the homeless is in the mechanics of getting it done. Social programs are generally perceived to be overly bureaucratic with little public accounting relating to program success in terms of dollars spent vs. value received. Critics asking for an accounting of programs are too often criticized for placing dollars ahead of “caring”, etc., etc… This form of name-calling seems to work for bureaucracies.
I hope there are goals and expectations for the $1 million and that there is oversight, such as the local newspaper (Battle Creek Enquirer) who will track the success of the “10 or 15 people” who local coordinators say will be the beneficiaries of the $1 million. I also hope that after the $1 million is gone, the bureaucrats will be able to show detractors the program met its goals!
There is nothing wrong with running social programs like a “business”; it is a business… It receives funds; it has a product- the only thing left to consider is the quality of that product!
Full article follows…
A plan to help the homeless
Less than a month after learning Battle Creek would receive $1 million to house area homeless people, local coordinators have taken the first step toward attaining funds that could secure permanent shelter and support services for 10 to 15 people.
The Greater Battle Creek Homeless Coalition submitted a proposal last week to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority — the agency offering the funds — outlining its goals for the money, said Elaine Hunsicker, coalition member and director of The Haven. "This is just the first phase," she said. "We told them who we were and what we hope to accomplish."
What they hope to accomplish is a decrease in the number of chronically homeless individuals in Battle Creek. People who, for whatever reason, don't have the tools to make it on their own. People like Scott Everett.
Everett, 43, resides at The Haven, but came to Battle Creek in March by way of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he was sent to be treated for depression and anxiety. "I have a hard time working and keeping a job," he said. "It's fight or flight for me when I feel boxed in ... it's hard as hell to function."
Chronic homelessness is a condition defined by the state as people with a disabling condition who have been homeless for more than a year. At any given time, Hunsicker said, there are about 100 chronically homeless people in Battle Creek. Everett admits he fits that description.
At its worst, his homeless status meant living under a bridge for several months, until the weather turned too cold to bear a couple weeks ago. "It was pretty horrible," he remembered. "You never know who's walking up on you to steal your tobacco, or if you have a couple of bottles, to take them. "Basically you don't sleep," he said. "They'd kill you for a nickel down there."
Everett, just a few days out of emergency stomach surgery, will reside at The Haven for a while, but said his main goal is to be self-sufficient. According to Hunsicker, Everett is exactly the type of person who could benefit most from the MSHDA money. "The money will provide for at least 10 subsidized housing units, and appropriate support services would then be coordinated for those being housed," she said. Those services, such as job training and counseling, would be customized to individual clients.
The housing project could be up and running in under a year, but is still in planning stages, Hunsicker said. A combination of new construction and master leasing of existing apartments is being considered.
"Scattered-site housing is the direction we're going," she said. "We don't want them to be together because we don't want them to feel segregated from the community, but they still need to be close to services."
Summit Pointe, a partner in the coalition, has offered to donate several acres of property for a housing development of undetermined size near Leila Arboretum, bordering Jackson Street. In addition, it has pledged $250,000 in matching funds, a MSHDA funding requirement. According to Hunsicker, the matching funds had to be raised as a capital match and may not be used for programming. A second phase of the project funding process will outline specific financial details and is due in January; the final proposal is expected to be submitted this spring.
Hunsicker said the coalition strives to provide permanent housing for individuals with the hope that eventually they will be able to make it on their own. "Our goal is to provide chronically homeless individuals with the opportunity to maintain their independence and then sustain their independence with the services provided," she said. Everett said the proposed subsidized housing — the possibility of a place of his own — could be life-changing.
"To have something like that would be awesome, it would help me to be functional in society," he said. "If you can get help in doing that, you're on your way. You're stepping in the right direction."
Stacy Hanna covers business. She can be reached at 966-0468 or sthanna@battlecr.gannett.com.
Originally published December 22, 2005