What L.A. Can Learn About Homelessness From Other U.S. Cities

Strategies used by cities such as Miami, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, & Denver for reducing homelessness are working.

1 minute read

October 31, 2007, 12:00 PM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

across America, cities large and small have made significant progress. The numbers of homeless people on the streets of Miami, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Ore., and 20 other cities have declined in the last several years.

What have they done that Los Angeles has not?

It turns out that what is more humane is also more economical.

the true costs of chronic homelessness are staggering: $35,000 to $150,000 per person per year. By contrast, the annual cost of supportive housing for a person with serious mental illness or addiction disease is between $13,000 and $25,000.

From New York's Times Square to San Francisco's Tenderloin district, you can see the results: The number of people on the streets is down, and the savings in ambulance runs, emergency rooms and jails are up.

FULL STORY: Stuck on skid row

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 in The Los Angeles Times

Housing Social / Demographics United States

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