Reframing Strategies for Ending Homelessness: St. Vincent de Paul

Problem Statement

Over the last five years, efforts by government and non-governmental organizations to end homelessness in San Diego have not been successful.  From 2009 to 2012, the number of homeless persons in the region grew from 7,892 to 9,638, an increase of 22.1%.  In San Diego, people who are homeless suffer from high rates of medical illness and substance abuse.  They also grapple with the psychological toll of living at the margins of society.  Getting homeless persons off the street and into permanent housing improves their quality of life and saves thousands of taxpayer dollars.

The most common strategy employed by federal, state, and local organizations to help homeless persons get a place of their own is called transitional housing.  In the past, clients of the Village have entered into tiered system of transitional housing programs, with all single adults entering the lowest tier program, Paul Mirabelle Center (PMC).  People who successfully complete case-management plans at the PMC are then allowed to progress to the next tier of programs.  The transitional housing programs in this higher tier have been successful in helping most of their clients get permanent housing.  However, most clients of the PMC never reach the next tier – most leave the program within 60 days, generally for locations such as the street.  This result is troubling, since the PMC is also the largest transitional housing program in the San Diego region, with 350 beds.

The problems facing the PMC are the result of the whole system of interconnected transitional housing programs operated by the Village.  There are three main factors which contribute to these poor outcomes:

1. The Village’s system of transitional housing programs does not adequately address the structural causes of homelessness.

People are homeless as a result of both structural factors, such as limited sources and the lack of affordable housing units, and individual factors, such as substance abuse, physical illness, or limited skills.  However, the Village’s transitional housing programs primarily focus on the shortcomings of individual clients, providing medical treatment, job training, and other counseling.  While these services help clients improve their lives in meaningful ways, they have limited impact in the context of the hostile job and housing markets.  Housing First programs, on the other hand, address the lack of affordable housing first, and then seeks to help clients maintain that housing with supportive services.  Unfortunately, in the San Diego region, there are no federally funding Housing First programs.

2. Transitional housing programs replace institutions more appropriate for clients’ needs.

Transitional housing programs have become refuges of last resort for marginally housed people, which include the severely mentally ill.  These people are trapped in an “institutional circuit,” cycling through prison, psychiatric hospitals, and homeless shelters.  Clients such as these cannot be expected to successfully complete objectives in a transitional housing program.  In addition, transitional housing programs provide services such as medical treatment which duplicate the resources provided by mainstream social services.  Clients prefer services provided by the Village to those provided by the larger community because they are more easily accessible and provide familiar doctors and treatment.  This overburdens staff providing services at the Village, while directing people away from programs in the community that might provide services more efficiently, such as neighborhood clinics.  Thus, a centralized system is needed to allocate resources in the community to people based on their need.

3. Transitional housing programs reduce the perceived self-efficacy of homeless persons and their ability to advocate for themselves.

People who are homeless become clients of a transitional housing program by agreeing to abide by a case management plan.  In some programs, they receive additional privileges if they accomplish goals in their plan.  Clients are not incorporated into the Village’s research, policy-making, and service delivery in a way that treats them as shareholders of equal rank to Village staff while staying at the Village.  This strategy limits homeless persons’ control over their lives and their perceived self-efficacy, which reduces their motivation to address the problems they face.

Transitional housing programs also encourage a personal narrative of illness, which misconstrues homelessness primarily as a symptom of conditions such as mental illness.  This narrative directs the attention of clients away from their own advocacy efforts to address the structural issues of joblessness and lack of affordable housing.  It also diverts the attention of Village staff away from advocating for more affordable housing from the city government.  This outlook is reflected in the Village’s role in the San Diego community – to provide a solution to homelessness.  Village staff and clients instead should actively confront the community about structural issues.