Government should invest in programs aimed at getting more homeless people off the streets and into subsidized homes, such as those in a 60-unit Centretown project run by Options Bytown, supportive housing advocates say.
It’s an investment, says Options Bytown executive director Loraine Bentley, that would ultimately save society money because of the high costs of maintaining shelters, delivering emergency health care and providing other services geared to dealing with high levels of homelessness.
Jane Scharf, a homeless rights activist, only wishes she had the same chance when she found herself homeless and drug addicted at 16. The long road to recovery began after she came “within inches of death."
“Doctors told me that if I didn’t quit drugs and get help, I would die within months. It doesn’t have to be like that,” she says. “There are ways out for people who have no other options and no one turn to. That’s where supportive housing has to come in.”
Options Bytown operates an apartment complex on Gilmour Street in Centretown, as well a 65-tenant apartment in the Byward Market.
Supportive housing facilities usually have full-time staff, including addiction specialists and social workers who help tenants get back into the workforce.
Bentley explains most of their tenants are single adults who have ended up on the streets, usually because of drug addiction, mental illness or a combination of both.
“These are the people who just cycle in and out of shelters and institutions. They can’t, or aren’t ready to lead an independent life.”
Options Bytown is highly subsidized by government, but tenants do pay rent – roughly 30 per cent of whatever income they make, says Bentley.
Supportive housing best serves the tenants and is among the cheapest and most efficient ways to deal with the chronically homeless, says Bentley.
“The cost of permanent supportive housing is much less than the cost of emergency health care. The cost between a hospital bed and a bed in a supportive housing apartment can’t be compared.”
Somerset Ward Councillor Diane Holmes says she has had almost no problems with Options Bytown.
“I essentially have no complaints,” says Holmes. “It is only the privately run rooming houses with irresponsible owners, when we start getting problems.”