'Desperate people need to first be gotten inside before intensive support and services can be effective. But we need options beyond permanent housing, and we simply don’t have enough.' via latimesopinion
While serving in the state Legislature, I authored California’s Mental Health Services Act and later sponsored its housing offshoot, No Place Like Home. The idea of the legislation was to establish a “housing first” mentality in California that prioritized getting people off the streets and into permanent housing, where they could then get supportive services for mental illness, substance abuse and other issues.
We now have a new governor who has vowed to make reducing chronic homelessness a top state priority. His first budget showed he is willing to back his promise. In the decades since, the city has met its obligation by placing people in hotels, motels and so-called clustered apartments. Critics have said the city’s policies encourage people to stay too long, but the shift undeniably has provided reliable shelter for the vast bulk of New York’s homeless residents.
For the approach to be effective, though, it needs to be coupled with a requirement not included in the New York approach. The right to shelter must be paired with the obligation to use it. Living on the streets should not be considered a civil right. And once people are sheltered, they need to receive treatment and support that can help them remain housed.
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