Thread by @objkshn

.@CityofSanDiego Needs to adopt a Housing First strategy with homeless persons instead of forcing people to solve all their problems while living on the streets. The cities criminalization first strategy is directly contrary to CA legislative findings and policy objectives. 1/

@CityofSanDiego "People experiencing chronic homelessness are trapped in a cycle of homelessness and trauma. Traditional approaches attempt to address people’s trauma first and use housing as a reward for complying with treatment; such approaches fail" - 2/

@CityofSanDiego Such approaches fail because people cannot improve physically or psychologically while actively experiencing the trauma of homelessness. Cities justify the status quo as only fiscally responsible option. Instead, this approach among the most expensive and least effective. 3/

@CityofSanDiego Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) flips the traditional order in which homelessness and trauma are addressed by providing non-time limited, low barrier housing, and offering — but not mandating — supportive services. 4/

@CityofSanDiego "Once housed, people formerly experiencing chronic homelessness can then improve their physical and mental health, address substance use, and seek education or employment." 5/

@CityofSanDiego Research shows PSH results in better housing stability than housing interventions requiring sobriety or treatment compliance. PSH also associated with better outcomes related to quality of life, emergency services, physical and psychiatric hospitalizations, and substance use. 6/

@CityofSanDiego It's not only more effective, it's considerably less expensive! Better outcomes for residents also save money, making PSH the most cost-effective, long-term solution to chronic homelessness. 7/

@CityofSanDiego "When people experiencing chronic homelessness receive PSH, they are less likely to use emergency departments, hospitals, detoxification facilities, and shelters. PSH residents are also less likely to interact with law enforcement, get arrested, and be incarcerated." 8/

@CityofSanDiego The city of San Diego has created a service driven model that puts police officers in the driving seat and makes it almost a certainty that homeless persons will have contact with law enforcement, get arrested and/or be incarcerated. 9/

@CityofSanDiego San Diego City Attorney even boasts of its service driven model! This counter-productive model wastes police officers time and frustrates the person experiencing homelessness and their efforts to obtain housing by adding to their record a history of law enforcement activity. 10/

@CityofSanDiego Existing studies radically underestimate the benefits of PSH. No study accounts for the millions of dollars cities spend on sweeping encampments; the substantial costs for the entire criminal justice system process (from arrest through probation); 11/

@CityofSanDiego The extraordinary demand for police and outreach services that do not result in issuing citations or criminal charges also not accounted for in cost savings; nor is the drag on each entity within the emergency response system (fire departments, EMTs, police, emergency rooms); 12/

@CityofSanDiego Also not considered: overtaxing of volunteers, faith community, and community service providers; clear economic impacts on local businesses, tourism & travel; and significant psychological / emotional tolls exacted from unsheltered people as well as the surrounding community. 13/

@CityofSanDiego "PSH is the most humane and cost-effective solution to chronic homelessness. Federal, state, and local governments must stop being pennywise but pound foolish, and instead take bold steps to bring PSH to scale to finally stem the crisis." 14/

@CityofSanDiego But a #HousingFirst strategy requires . . . housing. San Diego has focused on services but not housing. San Diego only has 23% of the low-income housing that it needs. THIS needs to be where San Diego puts its money, not on arresting those experiencing homelessness. 15/

@CityofSanDiego Federal court has held governments out as acting "cruel" under the 8th Amendment when they arrest people for not having housing yet fail to provide adequate housing for low income residents: making it a crime to be poor. 16/

@CityofSanDiego The state of California also set forth its findings about what will and will not work in reducing homelessness. The state of California rejects criminalization strategies and promotes #HousingFirst. 17/

@CityofSanDiego So the @CityofSanDiego, in its insistence to arrest those who do not have housing and forcing them to address their problems while still living on the streets is setting up homeless persons for failure and wasting city resources. It's also violating state and federal law. 18/

@CityofSanDiego .@CityofSanDiego constructed a shameful statutory scheme permitting police to arrest persons without homes wherever police see them. This sends homeless persons not into housing but into canyons & toxic river beds creating fire & sanitation consequences for community at large.19/

@CityofSanDiego Urge your lawmakers, wherever you may be (except in Finland which has virtually no homelessness), to adopt #HousingFirst strategies, to create adequate low-income housing in your community and to reject criminalization strategies which are ineffective and costly. 20/

@CityofSanDiego Citation for quotes in thread: Staten, L. and Rankin, S. Penny Wise But Pound Foolish: How Permanent Supportive Housing Can Prevent a World of Hurt (July 12, 2019). Available at SSRN: ssrn.com/abstract=34191… or dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3…
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