THE HOMELESS IN WASHINGTON AND GREENE COUNTIES

The O-R is to be congratulated on the recent awards bestowed on its yearlong series about homelessness in Washington and Greene Counties.  These deep dive articles attracted the interest of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).  This organization gives annual recognition to “a print journalist who has made a dedicated effort to inform the public about the inequities in housing and to aid in the understanding of the disparities between the well housed and the poorly or un-housed in a community.”

While other awards for these articles were given to the O-R for journalism excellence, it is the NLIHC annual media award which drew my attention. The NLIHC works to help acquire capital for the National Housing Trust Fund which was established as a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  The stated purpose of the trust fund is to provide communities with funds to build, preserve, and rehabilitate rental homes that are affordable for extremely and very low income households.  According to NLIHC “But for the 7.1 million American households for whom even a modest rental home is unaffordable and unavailable, life is a daily struggle for survival. Families in this situation find themselves making impossible choices between food and rent. When illness, job loss or other tragedy strikes, they often become homeless.”

The homeless problem in Washington and Greene Counties is epidemic for several well known reasons.  In the discussion below, my points are derived from my knowledge of Washington County.  In some cases they may be appropriate for Greene as well.

First, at a time when the local economy is booming, rental properties are scarce at any price, because of oil and gas workers who have absorbed all available resources.  Landlords are able to command top dollar, freezing out the working poor and low income families.

Second, the recession, state and federal budget battles and deficit freezes have left minimal resources to fund or expand low cost housing, including the above mentioned National Housing Trust Fund.  Those individuals who cannot afford Obama Care even with its generous subsidies are simply below the safety net for any type of traditional housing.

Third, the infrastructure of the mental health system has collapsed, leaving no long term institutional care or treatment in place for the chronically mentally ill.  These individuals with their unique set of problems are forced into the larger pool of homeless people to compete for limited resources.  In many cases the County Jail has become the institution of last resort for the mentally sick and addicted individuals of our area.

Fourth, compared to the rest of Appalachia, Washington County is a virtual social service paradise.  We have become a magnate for the down trodden from less fortunate areas.  Two square meals a day at the City Mission is better than starving.  Leaving an out of town alcoholic uncle at the Salvation Army is a common occurrence.

Fifth, whatever resources are available are confined to designated “dumping grounds” within the City of Washington where the social service agencies are located.  This creates a situation where one small area of the County is expected to absorb all of the homeless, addicted and mentally ill in group homes and faith based programs like the City Mission.  The City tax base continues to shrink, special needs children are disproportionately centralized in a small City school system and a large percentage of the area’s crime and drug use is concentrated in the City.  When much of the County has no skin in the game, it is difficult to get excited about the homeless.

The result of this growing problem is to place an undue burden on the City and its residents, with inadequate assistance from County, State or Federal revenue sources.  There are only so many low cost housing and special needs group homes that the City can support.  The City Mission is bursting at its seams.

So what is to be done?  First, Washington County is in a unique position to attack the problem on its own, without waiting for federal/state assistance that may never materialize.  County leaders are right to crow about 10 billion in new capital expenditures, a byproduct of the expanding oil and gas industry.  They are not right to ignore the plight of its poor, homeless and mentally ill residents.  Funding must be earmarked for low income housing, rehabilitation services and long term facilities for the mentally ill.  Local government is not the sole province of gaming interests, real estate developers and large mining corporations.

Experience has taught us that simply providing housing to the homeless with addiction or other untreated socialization issues, without addressing the underlying problems, does not work. In this regard, the City Mission is a phenomenal resource for Washington County.  While its faith based approach is not everyone’s cup of tea, for thousands of homeless individuals, it has been the first step back to a productive life. Why not provide the resources for the Mission to build a modern campus in a rural area to expand its services and unlock its full potential?  Give them a piece of land with gas revenue and they could be self sufficient and a model for other jurisdictions.

Second, the City of Washington must be decoupled from the plight of the County’s homeless and mentally ill.  A place to start would be to open satellite social service offices in hard to reach areas of the County.  Municipal officials need to be open to changing zoning requirements to permit low cost housing, group homes and other resources to operate within their boundaries.  Of course this needs to follow a sea change in public opinion from “not in my back yard” to “we are all in this together.”

Third, and this point may create legal issues, Washington County must find a way to develop its plan without being overwhelmed by outsiders seeking to take advantage of the new programs.  A time based residency requirement, discouraging immigration to receive benefits, would be crucial to getting new programs established.

My proposals are elementary.  I am sure that the much wiser and battle hardened social service professionals of Washington and Greene Counties can come up with better ones. The point is that the next expose published by the O-R on the homeless will hopefully be able to focus on how one section of South Western Pennsylvania, using its new revenue and tax base, was able to attack the problem with resolution and vigor.