THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, and as we head into the colder months, Massachusetts’ daunting housing challenges have received no shortage of coverage. Our lack of affordable market-rate housing is highlighted monthly in data that show high median prices, low supply, and a severe shortage that limits the ability of people of more modest means to find decent housing of any kind. But while the systemic crisis gets the attention, our homelessness data illustrate some important stories that don’t make headlines, like Joe’s.
Joe grew up in Boston and began drinking as a teenager, raiding his father’s liquor cabinet. Although he managed to hold a job as an ironworker, his drinking took over. He lost his job, became estranged from his family, and wound up living on the street, calling the Boston Common “home.”
His life continued to deteriorate, and at one point, Joe visited local emergency rooms 216 times in a single year. He was ordered to a treatment program. From there, he moved to an apartment in a Pine Street residence, and with support from case managers, Joe’s life began to improve.
He became stable and started a dog-walking business. Next, he moved to an apartment of his own – long-term, stable housing that has given him a platform to stay sober and healthy and kept him out of the emergency room for years.
Joe’s story illustrates a simple fact: Affordable, stable housing changes lives. But in an expensive housing market with a very low vacancy rate, how did Joe find an apartment and the support to keep it? The answer lies in data provided by Boston Indicators, the research center at the Boston Foundation.
A new Indicators report confirms, not surprisingly, that cities like Boston, with very low housing vacancy rates and extremely high rents, have higher per capita rates of homelessness. But digging deeper, the data show that Greater Boston fares better than many other places in terms of how we care for our homeless populations on several measures.
The Indicators team analyzed recent data from HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR). The data show:
Massachusetts has a much lower rate of individual homelessness than other states. About a third of our homeless population is single adults compared with close to 70 percent nationally.
Despite our high costs and tight supply, among 45 of the largest US cities, Boston has the eighth lowest rate of unsheltered homelessness. Six percent of the region’s homeless individuals are unsheltered, well below the national average of 40 percent.
In Greater Boston, 9 percent of the homeless population experiences chronic (long-term) homelessness, compared to the national rate of 22 percent.
And data capture an important decline in the number of homeless veterans, with a 55 percent decrease nationally and a 62 percent decrease in Greater Boston since 2011.
So what is working? For one thing, Massachusetts has developed effective strategies for addressing unsheltered homelessness for individuals.
Over years of effort, Pine Street and other shelter providers have created a base of shelter beds across the state, accommodating any adult seeking shelter during the winter months. From there, many individual shelters in Massachusetts offer services to move people out of shelters and into homes. This system of housing and support programs means Massachusetts sees far lower percentages of individuals among its homeless population than most other states.
These programs – connecting homeless individuals with family or friends, providing short-term rental assistance, and strategically focusing on finding homes with support services – have also had a significant impact for homeless veterans and chronically homeless individuals, who take up a disproportionate portion of beds in shelters. In Boston, for example, the strategy has been to prioritize housing placements for chronically homeless people, which reduces their reliance on emergency systems and frees up needed capacity. Last year, 96 percent of the people placed in supportive housing in Pine Street’s residences remained housed a year later.
Our housing supply and affordability issues will require long-term solutions. Until we develop them, we will face immense challenges meeting the housing needs of homeless individuals and families. But while we make those needed investments, we should not lose sight of proven strategies like supportive housing that are having a life-changing impact. For people like Joe, stable and secure homes literally save lives.
Lyndia Downie is president and executive director of Pine Street Inn. Lee Pelton is president and CEO of the Boston Foundation.
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