Op-Ed | Only Homes End Homelessness

(Photos – Union Station Homeless Services)

It’s taken us almost 40 years to figure out that the solution to homelessness is—…a home.

By Shawn Morrissey

Staggering! For decades, housing was not a part of homeless services. It simply was not a resource that existed. What did exist were largely broken and dysfunctional, barrier ridden systems that were charged with addressing the so -called “root causes” of homelessness, predominantly substance use disorder and mental illness. Rather than working to meet the needs of the individual, these systems forced the individual to bend to meet the requirements of the program, that to be honest, were mostly in place to make it easier on the folks who worked there rather than those trying to get help.

We created hoops for humans to jump through to see if they were “really motivated,” “really meant it” or were an appropriate fit, etc. If you were, you might then “earn” your way into a more stable environment. I call these compliance models. This was our solution to homelessness. It was the only thing we had to offer. It worked for the lucky, high functioning few. But it also precluded access to a whole other group of folks, those with perhaps more challenges; more complexities. Those individuals simply fell through the cracks. And our numbers grew. And grew.

Along the way, we created a narrative to explain the failure of the individual to access these systems, rather than the failure of the system itself. We used words like non-compliant and service resistant. We said things like “people are choosing to live this way.” “it’s their bad choices that got them here” or “the help is out there, if they really wanted it.” We pathologized homelessness. Along the way, we stopped seeing people as human beings, while neatly ignoring the broken systems and structures that had created the very pathologies that they were presenting.

In 2022 we continue to mistakenly blame the people who are experiencing the problem as being the ones who created it. It’s not true. Drug abuse and mental illness are not the root causes of homelessness. Do they exist? Certainly. But they are in fact symptoms of larger systemic issues: a lack of upstream interventive resources and access to appropriate treatment and services that are charged with catching and treating these issues before they turn into homelessness. We lack housing. Full stop. Homes solve homelessness. Homes equal health. And in the face of the lack of appropriate and accessible treatment for everything from health, to substance use disorders to mental illness, homes also equal treatment.

At Union Station Homeless Services, I helped start some of the Housing First supportive housing programs that now boast a 97% success rate. Pause at that. Ninety Seven Percent. The Housing First model we practice is intensive and intentional. It is as much concerned with the health of the community as it is with helping the unhoused individual inside. It takes all factors into account. It chooses neither to ignore nor condemn the realities of substance use disorder and mental health issues, but to meet them head on. It is a highly holistic and relational, evidenced based model that utilizes best practice strategies to produce long lasting outcomes and results. I’ve watched countless lives transformed as a result of this practice.

What a long road it has been to get to a place where we finally see a home as the solution to homelessness. May we not lose sight of it.

Shawn Morrissey serves as Sr. Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at Union Station Homeless Services.