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WACO'S VA CAMPUS COULD SOON HOUSE THE
CHRONICALLY HOMELESS -- Officials say such a
move
would benefit the larger community and would
lessen the
drain the homeless place on scarce community
resources.
For more information on the embattled Waco VA,
use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
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Story here...
http://www.wacotrib.com/
news/content/news/stories/2007/08/
01/08012007wachomeless.html
Story below:
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Waco's VA campus could soon house the
chronically homeless
By David Doerr
Tribune-Herald staff writer
If all goes to plan, the Waco Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s empty
Building 18 could be turned into permanent housing for the chronically
homeless.
Officials say such a move would benefit the larger community and would
lessen the drain the homeless place on scarce community resources.
The proposal came during a meeting Tuesday that brought the regional
heads of several federal agencies together with local officials to make
Waco’s 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness a reality.
The meeting, the first of its kind in Waco, featured about 75
individuals from various local, state and federal agencies.
Teri Holtkamp, the city of Waco’s homelessness coordinator, said the
meeting was significant because it marked the first step toward
implementing the 10-year plan.
“The ball is rolling,” Holtkamp said. “We’ve got an engine behind us
now.”
Officials discussed factors that contribute to chronic homelessness,
including mental health problems, substance abuse and a lack of support
to help ex-prisoners re-enter mainstream society. Individuals with such
problems often find themselves on the streets because any temporary help
they receive is typically not enough to help them deal with life’s
responsibilities on their own, Holtkamp said.
That’s why those working to implement Waco’s plan view permanent
supportive housing as the essential first step toward breaking the cycle
of chronic homelessness, Holtkamp said.
‘There still isn’t a niche’
“We do a great job of managing homelessness,” Holtkamp said. “We have
more programs than most cities that are larger than us. But there still
isn’t a niche for this chronic guy who is just like a magnet and sucks
up every resource.”
Holtkamp referenced a Baylor University cost analysis that showed that
each homeless person costs Waco about $39,000 a year in emergency room,
substance abuse treatment and incarceration expenses. She estimated the
cost of providing permanent housing for one homeless person at $3,600 a
year.
“When you calculate how much it costs to put them in (permanent
housing), what it costs to treat them and hopefully get them back into
mainstream society, it is cheaper,” she said. “It’s economics.”
If permanent housing for the homeless comes to Waco, it would resemble a
dormitory with efficiency apartments. Support staff would be on hand to
prevent relapses.
Waco needs about 60 housing units to take care of the 70 individuals
considered chronically homeless in Waco, Holtkamp said.
Making permanent housing happen in Waco will take the cooperation of
several federal entities, including the departments of Housing and Urban
Development and Health and Human Services as well as Veterans Affairs.
All of those agencies were at the table Tuesday to find ways to
coordinate their efforts and provide local officials with guidance and
support.
Federal officials view Waco’s 10-year plan as a model that can be used
in other cities across a five-state region made up of Arkansas,
Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. That’s why it is receiving
additional support from the federal government to ensure it is a
success, said Nicolas Ramon, representing the regional U.S. Interagency
Council on Homelessness.
“It is good to see a community come together with their partners, and
they can look to the federal and state government to address this
together,” he said. “That is the only way we are going to do it.”
Because about a third of all homeless are veterans, the VA has a keen
interest in helping with the effort, said Tom Stranova, director of the
VA’s Heart of Texas Health Care Network.
And because the Waco VA currently has excess space, bringing permanent
homeless housing to the campus would benefit veterans and non-veterans
alike, he said.
However, the various groups involved in implementing the plan would have
to put a proposal together for VA officials to consider for approval as
they continue a larger effort to redevelop the Waco campus.
“We would like to help the community be one of the first to achieve a
10-year plan,” Stranova said. “I think it would be a real tribute to the
city of Waco and we would be proud to support it.”
ddoerr@wacotrib.com
757-5755
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Larry Scott --
