(The Center Square) — Homelessness has declined nationally over the last decade, but the number of those who have been unhoused for long periods of time has crept upward.
At the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual summit, government officials and experts discussed expanding the housing supply and the need for leaders to change their approach when something isn’t working.
More than anything else, barriers to building new housing drive homelessness.
“It all starts with, I think, scaling housing and supports to meet the demand,” said Beverley Ebersold, the director of national initiatives at the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. “There’s no question that the fundamental solution to homelessness is housing.”
Ebersold argued that states need to ensure they’re maximizing the use of existing programs that offer housing assistance and encouraged the creation of state-level councils to address homelessness across different agencies.
Pre-pandemic numbers showed some dramatic improvements nationally. From 2010 to 2020, homelessness overall fell by 33%, and 55% for veterans, though chronic homelessness (when a person has been homeless for a year) increased by 4%, according to the 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report.
“The country has made real gains on this issue,” said Rosanne Haggerty, president and CEO of Community Solutions, a non-profit that works to end homelessness. “They’ve been uneven … but this is not an issue to give up on.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development estimates that 15,000 Pennsylvanians are homeless. The Department of Human Services offers case management to help residents struggling with permanent housing, as well as rental assistance, temporary housing, and emergency shelter.
Philadelphia has seen a 22% decrease in the number of homeless from 2018 to 2022, and a 19% reduction in chronic homelessness, though chronic numbers grew by 14% from 2021 to 2022.
The city has received $109 million in federal funds in the last three years for homeless services, according to press releases. The city itself estimates that it will spend $78 million in fiscal year 2024 to fund the Office of Homeless Services and roughly $69 million annually through fiscal year 2028.
Driving down these numbers permanently will require new behaviors and approaches from government leaders, Haggerty argued.
Montana’s recent changes to its zoning laws that allow more housing to be built, she noted, could be a model.
“I think there’s a playbook there that we should all study,” she said.
Using state-owned land to build more housing, Haggerty said, “is such an untapped opportunity … state governments can take the lead with their own properties.”
Houston, Texas also received praise for its lack of barriers and zoning rules that otherwise limit action.
“Houston has done just phenomenal work I think around preventing and ending homelessness,” Ebensold said. “They’re not encumbered by all of those policies.”
