Finding a home at last

New York pioneers new way of getting people off the street

By Michael Clancy

Maria Miyares’ feet are killing her.  She needs a new pair of shoes.  She also needs a glass table.  She needs a microwave.  She needs to kick her drug habit.

             A recovering heroin addict in a methadone program, Miyares has been homeless for a few years, living in prison, shelters, and with friends.

             For the first time in her life, she has her own apartment thanks to Pathways to Housing, an organization that operates under the principle that people need homes before they can successfully overcome mental illness or addiction.

That concept, known as the “Housing First” principle, once considered unorthodox, is gaining acceptance across that nation.  The Bush administration has embraced the idea because not only do studies show it helps people stay off the street, but because it is often cheaper for taxpayers.

The Housing First concept, born in New York, has spread across the nation from Philadelphia to Denver to Seattle.  As the city Department of Homeless Services tries to make good on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pledge to reduce street homelessness by two-thirds before his term is over, it could be expanded here.

“We will not get there with business as usual,” said department Commissioner Robert Hess.

  Pathways helps more than 400 formerly homeless people in the city maintain a permanent home with an 88% retention rate.

“The research holds true in New York,” Hess said.  “And I can tell you from experience in Philadelphia, if you move someone from under a bridge, even if they’ve been living there for 15 years, to an apartment…they will be a good neighbor.”

As she shops for groceries, towels and other necessities, Miyares is thinking more about her footwear than the fact that she is going to be living in her own place for the first time in her 44 years.  As a van takes her to her new place in the Allerton section of the Bronx, the reality of it all hasn’t set in.

“My brother-in-law is a chef; my sister is a nurse; my niece is a cop,” she said before pausing to add.  “And I’m a bum.”

“You’re not a bum,” said a Pathways to Housing counselor.

  “But I’m homeless,” she said.

  “Not anymore,” came the reply.

  That radical yet obvious idea that the best way to tackle homelessness is to give people homes started as a research project in New York City in 1993.  Pathways to Housing pioneered the approach that said housing need not be tied to counseling.

  “We try and take people as they are,” said Ed Rooney, a case manager who has been with the group since its inception.  “We will work on their issues once they are housed – not the other way around.”

For Miyares, she’s got to complete her methadone therapy and then find a job.  It’s a long road, but one that’s been walked by others before her.  But just having her own place has lifted her spirit, despite whatever issues she has to overcome.

“There’s nothing like home sweet home,” she said, “and I’ve got mad closets.”

(mclancy@am-ny.com)

Making common (and fiscal) sense

             Housing First’s approach to fighting homelessness is gaining popularity not only because it is effective, but because it can save taxpayers money.

             For example, the top 25 recipients of Medicaid dollars for detoxification cost taxpayers $4.1 million in the fiscal year 2003-04, according to the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).  During that same period, the No. 1 recipient of Medicaid-funded detox dollars spent 204 days in detox through 21 different stays at hospitals from Coney Island to midtown.  That one person’s detox along cost taxpayers $240,743 in one fiscal year.

             A Pathways apartment along with support and counseling services costs an average of $22,500 per client each year.  A bed in a state psychiatric hospital costs an estimated $175,000 a year.

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