Source: Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) - Emergency social and health programs are saving an estimated $3.2 million a year because about 160 of Seattle's homeless alcoholics and drug addicts have been taken off the street and put into supportive housing, two new studies show.

The statistics released Wednesday by Mayor Greg Nickels show two programs using the "housing first" model are making a difference in the lives of chronically homeless adults as well as saving money.

"Instead of letting people fall through the cracks, this program helps to stabilize and rebuild lives while taking a costly strain off our social safety net," Nickels said in a statement.

The "housing first" approach calls for putting homeless people in permanent homes with supportive services instead of requiring them to stop drinking and taking drugs to earn their shelter.



Read more: http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13569917.html

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Now this is incredibly pro-active!

people to shape up when they live on the street with no address is non productive.!!

The "housing first" approach calls for putting homeless people in permanent homes with supportive services instead of requiring them to stop drinking and taking drugs to earn their shelter.

"A 1999 King County study of 123 chronic public inebriates found they cost government and social-service agencies more than $100,000 per person per year in emergency room costs alone."

And yes, this is something that progressives have been saying for years. Give people a secure place to live and a modicum of dignity and hope, and a lot of social trouble will vanish on its own. How nice to (once again) be able to say that the liberal were correct, the conservatives were flat-out wrong.

to get free shelter. /Reagan argument

Sheesh.

through-and-through. Much of today's homeless anguish had its roots in raygun's pResidency. The "great communicator" was good at communicating greed, selfishness and arrogance. May he roast in hell.

She thinks 99.9999% her income tax goes to welfare for deadbeats who don't work and yet drive Cadillacs they buy with handouts from the government.

(Actually - I think ALL Republicans think that way.)

:applause:

like decent human beings. Just like it actually costs less to give everyone adequate medical care. Of course the rich, greedy fucks don't realize as much filthy lucre for their own personal coffers, but society itself as a whole benefits. Another fine example is children's meal programs and other programs like HEADSTART. The cost to implement is far outweighed by the overall benefit to person and society. But again, rich, greedy fucks don't like programs like that because it could *potentially* raise their taxes.

Wake up America!:kick:

I am beginning to see MAJOR differences in the regions of the US. We're the most divided we have been since 1860. I don't think the republic will exist in 10 years.

Seattle's decision on this issue more closely resembles the approach that British Columbia would take on it.

Reading about things happening in Georgia - voter id, and Missouri and Tennessee (abortion houses closing etc.) does make me feel like we live in two different americas.

to get our sh!t together.

The pictures of beautiful condos in downtown Vancouver look pretty on a postcard, but they're indicative of soaring property prices that caused the poor to congregate in the Downtown Eastside (look it up at wiki). And with the 2010 Winter Olympics driving landlords in that area to renovate properties, they're only now proceeding with social housing (right at a time when construction costs are skyrocketing).

The key is "supportive", I think.

Secure housing can help avoid a whole bunch of medical and social issues that affect those who don't have anywhere to live.

What they don't realize is that the homeless don't think like they do, wanting to take advantage of every loophole to increase their degeneracy. The republicans' ill view of humans and human suffering is the cause of much of the evil in this country.

http://www.seattle.gov/news/detail.asp?ID=8078&dept=40

Crafty