Voice & Viewpoint News Wire
SAN DIEGO – “First comes the Lord, then the Beatles and then Project 25,” according to Douglas Hutchison, 53, who was chronically homeless for 25 years before he secured permanent housing through Project 25 in 2011.
Started in 2011 as a three-year pilot program, Project 25, United Way’s frequent user initiative, had a tough challenge: permanently house at least 25 of San Diego County’s chronically homeless who were the most frequent users of public resources. The program uses the “Housing First” model, permanently housing participants first and then helping them with supportive services to keep them housed.
The results show that in Project 25’s third year, the program has been successful with 35 participants in permanent housing and 70 percent savings to the community, totaling more than $2 million in 2013.
“With Project 25, we’ve proven that Housing First works in San Diego,” said Kevin Crawford, president and CEO, United Way of San Diego County. “Now it’s time for the broader community to scale up the program to save lives and taxpayer dollars.”
Conceived of and funded by United Way, Project 25 is a historic public-private partnership between the County of San Diego, City of San Diego/ San Diego Housing Commission and United Way. St. Vincent de Paul Village has managed and overseen the program for the past three years and plans to continue and expand the program moving forward. United Way has stepped up with $100,000 of bridge funding to boost St. Vincent’s fundraising efforts.
“We are honored United Way chose St. Vincent’s as the lead agency for the Project 25 pilot. Three years later can even more be done? You bet,” said Ruth Bruland, executive director, St. Vincent de Paul Village. “There’s much more money to be saved and lives that can be changed. Let’s stop clogging up the emergency rooms, ambulances, jails with people who can, and want to, do better.”
Bruland said that $550,000 per year would allow St. Vincent’s to sustain efforts with the current Project 25 group and add 20 to 25 chronically homeless to the program. With United Way’s $100,000 and $29,000 committed from other sources, St. Vincent’s is on its way to raising the needed capital but knows that more needs to be raised to secure a future for the life and money-saving program.
Project 25’s third year data provides a powerful snapshot into the difference Housing First can make. The chart below outlines the services used and associated costs for 34 participants for the last year they were homeless compared to this past year (2013) in Project 25. These results are preliminary and currently being reviewed and validated by the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University:
The success of Project 25 is based on its strong partnership with dozens of organizations countywide, including: Alpha Project, Alvarado Hospital, Alvarado Parkway Institute, American Medical Response, Catholic Charities, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Palomar Pomerado Health, Paradise Valley Hospital, Promise Hospital, Rural Metro Corporation, Salvation Army, San Diego County Public Defender’s Office, San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego Housing Commission, San Diego Police Department, San Diego Rescue Mission, Scripps Health, Sharp HealthCare, Tri-City Medical Center, UC San Diego Medical Center, VA Medical Center and Veterans Village of San Diego.
The Fermanian Business & Economic Institute is also currently compiling and verifying the data for the full three-year pilot program, to be released later this year.
A chronically homeless person is defined as an unaccompanied disabled individual who has been continuously homeless for over one year.
“Total cost” includes all of the above services, as well as crisis house admissions, detox admissions, homeless shelter costs, Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) visits and public defender costs. Hospitalization costs are incorporated into the Hospital Days costs. There were a total of 39 Project 25 participants for 2013; this chart reflects the data for the 34 individuals who were enrolled for the full year.
