Providing services to people who are unhoused and those on the brink of becoming homeless has become harder and harder over time. Nevertheless, there is an evidence-based initiative with a proven track record to keep individuals in their homes and off the streets with nowhere to go and little access to health and social services. This impactful program is called Housing First, and the model prioritizes that people secure a basic necessity like permanent housing, then receive support with wrap around services to address the root causes of their personal challenges. So, it’s housing first but not housing only. People need a safe place to live to be able to successfully work toward getting a job, managing a monthly budget, or improving their mental or physical health.
Over the last 11 years the Camden Coalition has operated a program that has effectively battled the homelessness crisis in Camden County. The landscape for the unsheltered and those on the edge of becoming homeless continues to deteriorate, and between the retreat of the federal government to fund programs and the affordability crisis, we are witnessing the growth of this vulnerable population. The annual point in time count has underscored this need with the growth of individuals experiencing homelessness every year in the state and in Camden County since the start of the pandemic.
That said, our Housing First program has been extremely effective at not just finding housing for people who have been chronically unhoused but keeping them in it and enhancing their lives. Think about these numbers for a second: our program has an almost 80% retention rate of participants, a 71% reduction in emergency room visits, and a 32% reduction in hospitalizations. These numbers are extraordinary considering almost two-thirds of them have both a mental health and substance use diagnosis. More than half have at least two chronic physical health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease that necessitate continued care, and one in five has more than four chronic diseases.
This is why it’s so important for Governor Mikie Sherrill and the legislature to support two of our programs that will be included in legislative appropriations in the current state budget cycle. They are our Housing First program at $750,000 and our Pledge to Connect program at $500,000. They are both model programs to eliminate homelessness and connect people with mental illness to the care they need. Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez and Majority Leader of the General Assembly, Louis Greenwald, have been advocates for our work and see the impact and know the value these investments bring to Camden County.
They both know that some individuals participating in our programs could be living on the streets, admitted to long-term care facilities at the cost of $130,000 a year, or remanded to a jail or prison at a price tag of about $74,000 a year or more than $200 a day in New Jersey. For the annual cost of $15,000 a participant, we provide critical support services so they secure the treatment they need combined with housing to keep individuals in a stable environment and off the streets. That’s quite a cost saving compared to the other options.
Let’s meet one of the people I introduced to the state Senate Budget Committee that is a current participant and an example of how this investment saves taxpayers money. Ms. M. is a senior citizen with bipolar disorder whose medications stopped working, so she started to display new, disruptive symptoms at her senior day program, and steal packages from the mail room in her building. This put her at serious risk of being removed from the day program and evicted from her apartment. But these things did not happen because our Housing First team helped her get in to see her doctor to have her medications adjusted, and her symptoms went away.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 2.5 million New Jersey residents are suffering through a mental illness, that’s 28% of the state. Individuals who are working through these challenges often report the inability to find the proper care, landing them back in emergency rooms and crisis centers. The program is a navigator for those individuals; here is one participant’s experience. Mr. J has schizophrenia, substance use disorder, several chronic illnesses and was homeless. In a six-month period, he used emergency rooms at four hospitals 97 times.The Pledge to Connect team not only connected him to outpatient mental health services, but also proper medical care and stable housing.
The bottom line is that these two incredibly important programs are investments that save taxpayers money, lower utilization at our health care institutions, and make our community a better place to live. These programs deliver dignity and respect to individuals that need some support to get back on their feet. The Housing First and Pledge to Connect programs do just that, and without them, our community members and communities will suffer the consequences.
Kathleen Noonan has worked in the health care field for more than 20 years and is the CEO of the Camden Coalition.
