KJZZ takes a look at a program called H3 in a two-part special report “Homes for the Brave,” to try to explore why.
Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2018 - 11:50am
Updated: Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - 9:23am
(For some reason the writer uses former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton as the whipping-post, but Mesa Mayor John Giles also declared publicly that vet homelessness is 'effectively zero')
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Mesa mayor tells conference there are no homeless in city
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https://azceh.wildapricot.org/project-h3-vets
According to KJZZ's report, those working on-the-ground have a less-than-rosy view
of what either politician boasted about hyping-up a success story when they need one.
Advocates for homeless veterans across the Valley point to a myriad of obstacles faced by veterans when they leave the active service, many of which can lead to homelessness. The bureaucratic system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is rigid, and even navigating the web of nonprofits and agencies offering help can be confusing. Add in an affordable housing crisis and fractured access to mental health care and advocates say it’s no wonder the number of homeless veterans has grown in recent years.
Phoenix brought national attention to the issue and used a “housing-first” model for those original 222 veterans.
“The housing first strategy operates on the premise that it is more effective to secure social services for the chronically homeless when they first have the stability of housing. . . . But Terry Araman, director of MANA house, a charity for homeless veterans run by formerly homeless veterans, said the model has some serious oversights . . .
Community Bridges Inc., MANA House and the city of Phoenix, along with 21 other agencies, nonprofits and organizations that provide services to homeless veterans in Arizona recently came together under a system known as “coordinated entry". . .
“We have finally said, ‘Listen, this is a community problem. We need to solve it as a community.’ And the only way to do that is to get everybody to the table,” Johnston said.
The magic of coordinated entry is basically just a giant spreadsheet.
In the first six months of this year, 998 veterans were placed in housing through this process. This is the first time this all efforts across the private and public sector were tabulated so there’s no comparable number.
. . . It's just that we feel we finally sort of figured it out and have better data to report on it,” he said.
Wright doubts the number will ever be zero
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