[mersar]

Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby

Wouldn't it cost less to ensure proper housing, education, etc. for everyone???

Quite simply, yes.

Calgary just announced their plan to eliminate most homelessness in 10 years, heres a story from the Herald on it:

Homeless solution will cost $3.2 billion
10-year plan stresses need for long-term homes
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ending homelessness in Calgary will cost $3.2 billion, says a volunteer committee that released its plan Tuesday. But how much governments and the private sector are willing to invest remains to be seen.

"What we need right now is for the three levels of government to work together to source what works -- and how are we going to fund this, on the basis that we will actually save taxpayers' dollars over a 10-year period," said Steve Snyder, chairman of the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness.

Both the province and federal government applauded the plan, which emphasizes finding homes for the homeless before dealing with addictions and other obstacles, but neither promised new dollars.

"At the outset, I have no problems endorsing that approach generally," Monte Solberg, minister of Human Resources and Social Development, said of the 10-year plan. "As for the specifics, we do want to have a closer look."

Yvonne Fritz, the associate minister of affordable housing for the province, said the Stelmach government is committed to providing more units.

Mayor Dave Bronconnier said he will introduce a motion at Monday's council meeting to look at the recommendations of the 10-year plan that fall under the city's purview, including secondary suites.

"That doesn't mean we're going to move forward on all of them, what it does mean is there's been a community report with some recommendations. We want to take those seriously and see how we can move forward as quickly as possible to enact the ones we can as soon as possible," Bronconnier said.

Bronconnier added the city is also looking at tax incentives to encourage the private sector to build affordable housing.

The committee of volunteers released its ambitious 10-year plan Tuesday, outlining capital and operating costs it believes will give permanent shelter to all.

Spending the money upfront will save about $3.6 billion in ongoing direct and indirect costs over the first 10 years, Snyder said, while praising the work done by existing shelters and organizations.

It is less expensive to pay for treatment programs that work than allowing the current system to continue, he added.

Calgary's Pathways to Housing began in December as a pilot project and will have six people in their own apartments by the middle of February.

The document is asking for just over $2 billion -- $1.4 billion of that from the private sector -- to create more than 11,000 affordable housing units, secondary suites, affordable rentals and rooms for single people.

Another $1.2 billion would be required from governments to cover the cost of programs that would help keep people in housing, including rent supplements, treatment beds for those with mental illness and addictions, and income support.

"I think it is amazingly ambitious, but absolutely something we need to do," said Pat Nixon, executive director of the Mustard Seed. "The biggest issue is going to be: can it be sustained? The only way is if all three levels of government shake hands and come together on this."

Dermot Baldwin, head of the Drop-In Centre, the city's biggest shelter, has mixed feelings about the plan.

The push for more affordable housing is necessary, he said, adding he expects governments will pony up the cash.

"In balance, there are things I like, things that need to be tweaked and others that show significant inexperience," he said, pointing to an "extremely expensive" recommendation that calls for a case management model that would give every homeless person a guide through the system.


kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com


Key Milestones of the Homeless Strategy

• Retire 50 per cent of Calgary's emergency shelter capacity within five years.
• Decrease the chronic homeless population 85 per cent from current levels within five years, with a complete elimination of chronic homelessness in seven years.
• Eliminate family homelessness in two years.
• Stop the growth of homelessness and stabilize the overall homeless count at 2006 levels by May 1, 2010.
• Deliver a 12.5 per cent annual decrease in total homeless population starting in 2010.
• Reduce the economic cost of homelessness.
• Reduce the maximum average stay in emergency shelter to less than seven days by Dec. 31, 2018. By that point, anyone in emergency shelter will be rapidly moved into permanent housing.

They are basing their plan off a model used successfully in the states, and should work fine just about anywhere so long as everyone is onboard.