Money talks

By Donna Kimura

There’s a reason we should help the homeless off the streets and into housing. I’ll save you the usual moral arguments that you’ve all heard. Yes, there’s a duty to help the most needy and vulnerable, but it may be more effective for developers and advocates to talk dollars and cents when it comes to seeking resources and winning approvals for their affordable housing developments.

Here’s a figure: $41,000. That’s about how much a homeless person with mental illness costs the public each year, according to an analysis in New York City. Studies in other locales have found similar results when adding up the emergency care these people often need and consume.

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