@JeffBezos Hi @JeffBezos. I work in homeless systems - thank you for putting your resources toward this issue, one of the most pressing of our time. But please, PLEASE look at evidence-based strategies when you're making funding decisions. We need ONGOING FUNDING and PERMANENT HOUSING.
@JeffBezos Emergency shelter is an important part of a system of care. But emergency shelter doesn't end homelessness. Each person you move out of emergency shelter and into permanent housing is one more shelter bed available and means people aren't cycling back to the streets.
@JeffBezos What does this look like?
1. Diversion programs to help people use the resources they have.
2. Short-term funding subsidies with enough case management to help people work through the social and economic factors that led to their homelessness
3. Low-income housing
1. Diversion programs to help people use the resources they have.
2. Short-term funding subsidies with enough case management to help people work through the social and economic factors that led to their homelessness
3. Low-income housing
@JeffBezos 4. Housing-focused shelter, w/ on-site case management to help people with their housing plans.
5. Permanent supportive housing w/ both rental assistance and case management for the highest-need people struggling with both poverty and disabilities (physical and behavioral)
5. Permanent supportive housing w/ both rental assistance and case management for the highest-need people struggling with both poverty and disabilities (physical and behavioral)
@JeffBezos But these approaches can't just depend on "leadership awards." The secret to success in this work is good staff. To hire, train, and retain good staff, a nonprofit needs ongoing funding. I know foundations like to give seed money, or pilot money, but that's not what works here.
@JeffBezos Nor does just paying for infrastructure. Building a shelter doesn't do any good if no one is paying for staff for that shelter. And federal and state funding for ongoing shelter operations has been decreasing. Shelter providers have to cut back or charge fees.
@JeffBezos So please consider something like 3-5 year renewable grants rather than one-time awards, and remember that sustained, high-quality work helps more people than something new and flashy. We don't need new and flashy: we need to house people experiencing homelessness.
