Here are three other “channels” that present views on Housing First: 1) The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Report (2020), “Expanding the Toolbox”; 2) Michele Steeb, executive director of Saint John’s successful Program for Real Change; 3) Progressive disciple Michael Shellenberger’s findings in his book “San Fransicko.” These channels document the “concerning results” of Housing First.   

Shouldn’t we consider a wider perspective than the single channel of National Alliance to End Homelessness – a mouthpiece for the HUD Housing First program?

#1)  United States Interagency Council on Homelessness:  “Expanding the Toolbox”

Housing First: History and Drawbacks

“The housing first approach has produced concerning results. Advocates for housing first argue that increasing the number of subsidized vouchers and permanent supportive housing units decreased unsheltered homelessness.   Yet unsheltered homelessness increased 20.5 percent while subsidized housing vouchers increased by 42.7 percent.” 

Since federal funding increases for homelessness assistance programs have failed to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness, policy-makers must look to other factors that cause individuals and families to experience homelessness….

The US Interagency Council’s Solutions Overview concludes: 

“Our aspirational goals should expand our thinking to move beyond the basic goal of providing subsidized housing assistance.   As Congress has suggested, we much optimize self-sufficiency through the reduction of reliance on public assistance and implement policies that pursue this as an end goal.”     

Mayor and Ms. (Emily) Ball, where is “optimize self-sufficiency through the reduction of reliance on public assistance” mentioned in the National Alliance to End Homelessness solutions? You will however find it in Asheville’s local shelters: ABCCM, WCRM and Salvation Army’s toolboxes.  

#2 Michele Steebe, Saint John’s Executive Director

In 2012, Michele Steebe was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to serve on the Board of California’s Prison Industry Authority because of a “robust, comprehensive, 18-month program supporting homeless women and children in their battle to overcome the very root of the ongoing cycle of poverty. She worked tirelessly to incorporate, not just a roof over their heads, but mental health services, educational assistance and extensive hands-on employment training in an effort to bring about real and lasting change.” The program’s success is nationally known. Here are her comments October 2022 in the Discovery Institute, Center on Wealth and Poverty:  

OCTOBER 2022: “NEW RESEARCH UNDERSCORES FAILURES OF ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL HOUSING FIRST APPROACH”

The 30-page report contains two titles: “‘Housing First’ Is Not Working”… followed by, “The Time has come for Real Reform”,  and in highlighted text it says, “Homelessness should be addressed primarily as a mental and behavioral health issue, rather than simply a housing issue. “

“California, the only state to embed Housing First into state statute (SB 1380, 2016), represents even more glaring an example of its failure to end homelessness. Despite a 33 percent increase in the number of permanent housing units dedicated to the homeless since the 2016 adoption of the Housing First approach, California’s unsheltered homeless population rose by 47.1 percent.”  

Asheville, by following the National Alliance to End Homelessness recommendations, is on the Housing First approach. Will we also see a 47 percent increase in our homeless population?   

#3) San Fransicko

“Michael Shellenberger has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for thirty years. During that time, he advocated for the decriminalization of drugs, affordable housing, and alternatives to jail and prison. But as homeless encampments spread, and overdose deaths skyrocketed, Shellenberger decided to take a closer look at the problem.

What he discovered shocked him. The problems had grown worse not despite but because of progressive policies. San Francisco and other West Coast cities — Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland — had gone beyond merely tolerating homelessness, drug dealing, and crime to actively enabling them.”   — book cover jacket.

Ms. Ball, your staff continues to grow. The 2022 PIT count shows over 20 percent increase in homelessness. Two hotels get converted into Housing First rooms to the tune of millions… and yet the PIT report states 28% of transition beds vacant.   

The city’s 10-year plan to end homeless has come and gone in 2015. Asheville has adapted the Housing First model in spite of a U.S. Interagency report, successful shelter examples, and research by veterans in the fight.    

Should this fixation on the Housing First “channel”  be the only source to be writing our playbook for Asheville?   

Asheville can’t afford to ignore the other channels of information out there. You may enjoy your visit to Raleigh and Charleston (S.C.) with the National Alliance team to review the shelters there.  

Why are you ignoring the successful programs in your city: ABCCM, WCRM, Salvation Army?