Wayne Winegarden
Housing alone won’t fix homelessness
By Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
No matter how bad the homelessness problem looks in other metropolitan areas, they pale compared to California’s.
While the state accounts for not quite 12% of the U.S. population, roughly 28% of the nation’s homeless are in California. The lesson: Don’t copy the Golden State’s policies for mitigating homelessness – they simply don’t work.
California’s homeless population was not quite 139,000 in 2007. Within seven years, it had fallen to about 114,000. From there, it grew sharply to more than 161,000 in 2020. Over the same period, the total homeless in the rest of the states fell from a little more than 508,000 to 419,000.
This happened even though California’s economy expanded about 50% more rapidly than the rest of the country from 2014 to 2020.
Clearly, California does not have the answers.
In April 2020, as the pandemic struck, Project Roomkey was introduced in California. The program’s mission was to house the homeless in hotel and motel rooms, as well as trailers, to help flatten the curve of viral infections and “preserve hospital capacity,” said the governor’s office.
From Project Roomkey grew Project Homekey, which directed state and federal funds for the purchase and renovation of hotels and motels, which would then become permanent housing for the homeless.
While well-intentioned, both programs have a structural flaw: they follow the failed “housing first” approach.
Yes, the homeless need homes. But housing first, which has been the official state policy since 2016, is better described as housing-and-nothing-else. According to a Cicero Institute study, attempts to alleviate homelessness based on housing first appear “to attract more people from outside the homeless system, or keep them in the homelessness system, because they are drawn to the promise of a permanent and usually rent-free room.”
Housing first is nothing more than a husk of a program because it doesn’t treat the root causes of homelessness, which for many are addiction or mental illness, and often both.
Despite the shortcomings of housing first, California’s commitment to Project Homekey has racked up billions in expenditures of federal and state dollars without having much if anything to show for all the spending.
In Los Angeles, where a third of the state’s 161,548 homeless are located, Project Homekey has not met expectations. The 15,000 rooms that were set as the goal were never provided, while the excessive costs of Homekey have made it unsustainable.
A different set of problems has beset homeless housing in San Francisco. An investigation by the Chronicle found that the city’s effort to shelter the homeless operate “with little oversight or support,” which has led to “disastrous” results. Rodents infest rooms, crime and violence is common, and death–often from overdoses—is a frequent visitor.
Nevertheless, the city, as well as other Bay Area communities where Project Homekey has shown itself to be insufficient, remain dedicated to the program and its poorly aimed spending.
Here’s some advice for lawmakers across the country looking to beat homelessness: don’t ignore effective innovations from the private sector that are changing people’s lives. Treating the addictions and mental health struggles that are at the core of the problem must be a priority.
California continues to insist its way is the only way. Until that changes, the state has nothing to offer other states in their struggle to reduce homelessness.
Dr. Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson are co-authors of the new Pacific Research Institute brief “Project Homekey Provides No Way Home for California’s Homeless.” Download a copy at pacificresearch.org.
Local News
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
Spread the loveBy Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time.…
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
Spread the love. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was…
Archer Manor Little League starts its 2024 season
Spread the love. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the boys and girls, moms and dads, umpires and coaches, and everyone else participating in Archer Manor Little League’s Opening Day parade and ceremonies at Archer Park. Since 1952, AMLL has provided athletic opportunities for thousands of boys and girls in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Central…
Dread over car drifters on streets
Spread the love. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by…
Don’t raise pilots’ retirement age, García says
Spread the love. From staff reports U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently led a letter joined by 121 Members of Congress urging House Democratic leadership to reject any changes to the pilot retirement age in a final version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill.…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
Spread the love. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
Spread the love. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic,…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
Spread the love. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to…
It’s ‘Batter up!’ time in West Lawn
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . It must be May because baseball season is here. I recently reported on the West Lawn Little League, whose 2024 season is now underway. Another West Lawn youth athletic association is Midway Baseball Softball Association. Their teams…
Neighbors
Lions Club District 1A Helen Keller race draws big field
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The damp weather from overnight rain did not deter more than 100 people on Sunday morning from getting some exercise. The 14th annual District 1A Helen Keller 5k Fun Run/Walk proudly took place along at Harold L. Richard’s High School, 10601 Central Ave., Oak Lawn. “This is a really great…
EPCHS students collect shoes for Christmas Without Cancer Sneaker Drive
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Students in Evergreen Park Community High School’s junior physical education leadership class teamed up with the non-profit organization Christmas Without Cancer to help local families battling the devastation of cancer. The class – taught by EPCHS physical education teacher Ree McDonald – helped gather donations for Christmas Without Cancer’s second…
Swallow Cliff Chapter, NSDAR, honors JROTC cadets
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Swallow Cliff Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, participated in recent JROTC awards ceremonies held at Shepard High School in Palos Heights and Richards High School in Oak Lawn. The DAR JROTC award, consisting of a medal and certificate, was presented to Navy Cadet Emily Schrode at Richards…
Man charged with child abduction in Stickney Township
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Chicago man was charged last week with child abduction and luring of a minor after Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives found he attempted to lure a minor into his vehicle, said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. According to police, about 4:43 p.m. on Monday, April 22, officers responded…
Worth Library celebrates 60th anniversary
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Worth Public Library has been around for decades. Resting in the heart of the village at 6917 W. 111th St., the library held an event focusing on its rich background story on April 23 with a historical photo exhibit. “It’s amazing because this library is still so important to…
Rose Zubik, Woman’s Club veteran, installed as 3rd District president
Spread the love Rose Zubik, of Palos Heights, the new president of the 3rd District General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Illinois, lights a candle during the installation ceremony held April 27 at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park. Heather Linehan, the outgoing president, is beside her.By Dermot Connolly A longtime member of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club…
Shots fired in Chicago Ridge Commons parking lot
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Shots were fired Wednesday night in the parking lot at Chicago Ridge Commons mall. Police said they received reports of the shooting about 9:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Multiple witnesses told police four men were walking through the parking lot from the XSport Fitness area. They approached two vehicles…
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski,…
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Spread the loveGabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized…
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
Spread the loveBy Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos…