CIVIC LEADERS ARE SUBMITTING A SUCCESS STORY TODAY. THEY SAY THE PILOT PROGRAM OF ROGER 25, THE COUNTY'S EFFORT TO HOUSE THE CHRONICALLY HOMELESS, HAS SURPASSED EXPECTATIONS. AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FINDS THAT 36 FORMALLY HOMELESS PEOPLE WERE HOUSED, AND MORE THAN $3.5 MILLION IN EMERGENCY MEDICAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES SERVICE DOLLARS THAT IS WERE SAVED BUT THIS GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE HOUSING FIRST PROGRAM COMES AT A TIME WHEN A NUMBER OF HOMELESS AND SAN DIEGO'S DOWNTOWN HAS RISEN BY MORE THAN 25%, AND THERE ARE CONCERNS THAT THE HOUSINGS FIRST MODEL IS THREATENED BY THE LACK OF HOUSING UNITS AVAILABLE. JOINING THE OUR MARK STEVENSON HE'S DIRECTOR FOR PROJECT 25 AT FATHER JOE'S VILLAGES AND MARK WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU MAUREEN IS GOOD TO BE HERE. AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON THE HOMELESS DOLOROUS WELCOME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. FATHER JOSEPH HAS EVER SEEN THIS PROJECT SPONSORED BY THE UNITED WAY. REMIND US OF THE CONCEPT OF PROJECT 25. THE CONCEPT BEHIND PROJECT 25 IS THERE A CERTAIN SEGMENT OF THE CHRONICALLY HOMELESS POPULATION . THAT WAS USING THE EMERGENCY SERVICES PERPETUALLY AND INCREDIBLY AT VERY HIGH COSTS AND SEEMED TO BE MISSED BY EXISTING SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS. THE IDEA IS THAT WE NEEDED TO REACH OUT AND FIND A WAY TO REACH THIS PARTICULAR GROUP SO THAT THEY COULD TRY TO IMPACT THE QUALITY OF LIFE BUT THE HIGH COST OF THE COMMUNITY. HOW DID YOU ACTUALLY SELECT WHO WAS GOING TO PARTICIPATE? PROJECT 15 WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED COLLABORATION. THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, THE COUNTY SAN DIEGO COP UNITED WAY AND OTHER SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE HOSPITALS AS WELL. ORIGINALLY, THIS WAS DEVELOPED BETWEEN HOSPITALS IN THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO TO IDENTIFY HIGH COST USERS. WE TOOK THAT LISTING COLLABORATED WITH THE EMS SERVICE AND FOUND OUT WHO WERE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE USING THE AND SERVICE THE MOST. THAN WE TOOK THAT LIST OF NAMES THAT WE RAN IT THROUGH THE HOSPICE TO FIND OUT WHO WAS SITTING THE ER IS THE MOST AND WHAT THOSE COSTS WERE. WE ULTIMATELY ENDED UP WITH A LIST OF APPROXIMATELY 71 OF THE CITIES HOMELESS HIGHEST COST AND MOST FREQUENT USERS. AND THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BACKED UP BY THESE EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS, EVEN PUTTING ASIDE THE HUMAN COST OF SUFFERING, BUT THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT IS STAGGERING. THIS THREE-YEAR PILOT PROGRAM OF FOCUSED ON THE PEOPLE WHO USE THE SERVICE IS THE MOST, HOW MANY PEOPLE TOOK PART IN THE PROGRAM? WE ORIGINALLY TARGETED 35 PEOPLE. THERE WERE 25 HOUSING VOLUNTEERS AND WE CALL THEM TELE-CARE WHO WAS GOING TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THOSE IDENTIFIED. THEY PROVIDED HOUSING MONIES THROUGH FINES FOR AN ADDITIONAL 10 OF THOSE. WE TOOK ON ONE EXTRA CLIENT AT THE PROMPTING OF THE CITY MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR SOMEBODY THAT HAD BEEN MORE RECENTLY IDENTIFIED AS THE HIGHEST COST AND MOST FREQUENT USER OF EMERGENCY SERVICES. A TOTAL OF 36 PEOPLE WERE SERVED. NONE OF THIS INCLUDES ANY OTHERS THAT ENDED UP IN PART OF THE PROGRAM WHO ALSO ENDED UP RECEIVING ASSISTANCE. SINCE THERE PEOPLE WERE TAKEN OFF THE STREETS AND PUT IN HOUSING, THERE'S EMERGENCY VISITS DECREASED ENORMOUSLY. GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW MUCH THEY WENT DOWN. OVERALL, 28 OF THOSE 36 PEOPLE THAT HAD BEEN IN HOUSING BY THE END OF 2011, SO THROUGH 2012 AND 2013, THE FINAL REDUCTION IN EMERGENCY SERVICES WAS 67%. AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT SAVED CAME OUT TOO CLOSE TO THREE POINT TOO CLOSE TO $3.5 MILLION. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE STILL IN SUPPORT HOUSING? WE HAVE ONE PERSON WHO IS MISSING, THEY WERE THREE THAT PASSED AWAY IN THE DIGNITY OF BEING IN THEIR HOMES, BUT ALL THE REST OF THE PEOPLE ARE STILL BEING SERVED. THERE ARE SOME PERSONAL STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS PROJECT. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE PARTICIPANTS? WE HAD ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS WHO HAD MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, POST MALEK STRESS POST'S DRAMATIC POST DRAMATICS PRESS POST TRAUMATIC STRESS AND HE WAS OVER INTOXICATED AND WE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THOSE PARTICULAR NEEDS. WE DECIDED THE ONLY THING THAT WE COULD DO DIFFERENTLY IS CLEAN UP HIS MESS AND STAY WITH THEM. THAT'S WHAT WE DID, AND ULTIMATELY HE ENDED UP BEING 11 MONTHS SOBER AT THE TIME THAT HE PASSED AWAY IN HIS HOUSING, AND HE REDUCED HIS EMERGENCY SERVICES 20. TWO 20. HE WAS ABLE TO DILUTE WITH HIS DIGNITY. HE WOULD OFFER US AN ICE CREAM OUT OF HIS FRIDGE WHICH HAD MUCH PRIDE IN AND I INSTRUCTED MY STAFF THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME HE WAS ABLE TO BE HOSPITABLE IN THIS WAY, SO IT'S FINE WITH ME IF YOU ACCEPT THAT ICE CREAM WHEN HE DOES THIS. DOLORES DIAZ, HAS PROJECT WHAT IF I'VE HAD AN IMPACT ON THE LARGER ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS IN THE COUNTY? WE ARE VERY PROUD OF PROJECT 25. IT IS CERTAINLY A MODEL. AND IT DOES PROVE THAT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING WORKS. THE KEY WORD HERE IS SUPPORTIVE. FOR PROJECT 25, THAT LEVEL OF INTENSITY OF CASE MANAGEMENT IS CAT CRITICAL. WE DISCOVERED THROUGH SELF REPORTING THAT APPROXIMATELY 31% OF THE UNSHELTERED ARE CHRONICALLY HOMELESS. NOT EVERYONE NEEDS THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE INTENSIVE HOUSING. WE DO KNOW THAT IT IS CHEAPER TO HOW SOMEONE, PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAN IT IS TO HAVE SOMEONE BEING ON THE STREET AND GOING IN AND OUT OF THE EMERGENCY ROOM. YOU REFERENCED A POINT IN TIME THAT THERE WERE UPDATED NUMBERS RELEASED RECENTLY AND THEY HAVE SHOWN THAT THE NUMBER OF DOWNTOWN HOMELESS HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY.. THAT. IN 2014, WE COUNTED 662 PERSONS ON THE STREET. IN 2015, THAT NUMBER WHEN UP TO 833. THAT IS MORE THAN A 25% INCREASE. WE GET ASKED THE QUESTION WELL WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT IS? OVERALL, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE COUNT WENT UP COUNTYWIDE BY 2.8%. YET IN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, IT WENT UP BY OVER 6%. WE REALLY DON'T KNOW THE WHY, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT WE ARE BETTER ACCOUNTING, THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE OUT THERE LOOKING THE DAY OF THE COUNT WE HAD AN UNPRECEDENTED NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS THAT CANNOT COUNT. THERE IS A LOT OF INTEREST IN DOWNTOWN, AND I REALLY THINK THAT THE COUNT IS ABOUT AS ACCURATE AS WE ARE GOING TO GET FOR THAT SNAPSHOT OF TIME. WE GET THE QUESTION A LOT OF WHY DO YOU REALLY THINK THE NUMBER WHEN UP IN DOWNTOWN SPECIFICALLY? WILL PEOPLE TEND TO GO TO WHERE THERE ARE SERVICES. THERE ARE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE DOWNTOWN. THESE ARE PROGRAMS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO TAKE PEOPLE OFF THE STREET PERMANENTLY. IT ISN'T JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE FLOCK THEREFORE MAYBE SOME OF IT FORESTRY CLEANING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THOSE PROGRAMS ARE THERE TO HELP PEOPLE GET OFF THE STREET. TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION. JOINING ME ON THE LINE RIGHT NOW IS PRONOUNCED SCRAPPERS SHE'S WITH VETERANS VILLAGE. HELLO HONORABLE ON THINK YOU FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE POINT IN TIME COUNT WITH DOLORES. IT ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESS VETERANS IN SAN DIEGO. WHAT HE THINK THAT IS THE REASON FOR THAT? THAT WAS A SURPRISING TO EVERYBODY AS IT WAS FOR US. IT JUST MEANS THAT THERE IS MORE WORK FOR US TO DO. WE NEED TO ADDRESS THE BARRIERS AND ISSUES FACED BY HOMELESS VETERANS. THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE DOING ACCOUNT AND WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHERE THE HOMELESS OR. I THINK AT THIS POINT IT IS REALLY PUTTING THE SUPPORT AROUND THEM TO ADDRESS THE CORE ISSUES OF HOW THEY BECAME HOMELESS AND FOR PERMANENT HOUSING. HI NON-HAVE VETERANS MADE UP A PERCENTAGE OF PROJECT WHAT IF I PARTICIPANTS? YES MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY SERVE VETERANS IN PROJECT WHEN HE FIVE. IT'S A GREAT MODEL, AND IT REALLY HELPS THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED. THOSE VETERANS THAT WERE SERVED TO THIS PROJECTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND STILL MAINTAINING THEIR HOUSING. THEY'VE BEEN THERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME. THERE ABLE TO CONNECT INTO ALL VETERAN SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THAT CAN HELP THEM STAY IN THEIR HOUSING. JUST TODAY IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE VA IS BACKING OFF FROM THE ADMINISTRATION'S GOAL OF ENDING VETERANS HOMELESSNESS AT THE END OF THIS YEAR. NOW THE OFFICIALS SAY THE GOAL IS TO END HOMELESSNESS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THAT? WE ARE ON BOARD WITH THAT. THE PROGRAM I OVERSEE REALLY LOOKS AT ADDRESSING VETERAN HOMELESSNESS AND PROVIDING HOUSING TO PLACE THOSE IN PERMANENT HOUSING. THE BIGGEST THING IS WORKING WITH THEM SO THAT THEY CAN SUSTAIN THEIR HOUSING AND THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES AND LOOK AT THE MAIN REASON THAT THEY HAVE BECOME HOMELESS. IT COULD BE PTSD RELATED, GENETIC BRAIN INJURY OR VARIOUS OTHER REASONS THAT WE NEED TO TACKLE AND GET TO THE CORE ISSUE. EVERYONE DESERVES A HOME. WHAT ABOUT THEM BACKING OFF ON THIS? AS YOU VERY WELL KNOW, THERE WAS THIS BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE ARE GOING TO AND VETERANS HOMELESSNESS BY 2016. IT'S JUST NOT WORKABLE? IT IS. IT'S ABSOLUTELY WORKABLE. IT'S MORE JUST BEGINNING FROM ANYWHERE IN SAYING YES WE ARE GOING TO FROM TODAY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WE ARE GOING TO PUT VETERANS IN HOMES AND THEY ARE GOING TO SUSTAIN THAT. NOBODY SHOULD BE ON THE STREETS. I THINK IT'S ABSOLUTELY DOABLE AND I BELIEVE IN ALL VETERANS DESERVING NOTHING LESS. WE CAN DO IT AS A COMMUNITY. I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING WITH MS. SCRAPPER IS. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. LET ME GO TO MARK AGAIN ON THE PROJECT 25. THE REASON WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS IS THERE IS A BIG CELEBRATION TODAY MARKING THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT WHAT IF I PROGRAM. ONE OF THE INNOVATIVE ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT 25 HOUSING FIRST PROGRAM ACROSS THE COUNTRY WAS THAT PARTICIPANTS DID NOT HAVE TO ENTER INTO DRUG OR ALCOHOL REHAB BEFORE GETTING HOUSING. IS THAT STILL THE CASE? I THINK IN A LOT OF WAYS IT HAD TO BE THE CASE. REMEMBER THIS WAS A SEGMENT OF THE CHRONIC HOMELESS POPULATION THAT WAS BEING MISSED BY SERVICE SYSTEMS BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T WILLING, THEY WERE FOUND NONCOMPLIANT, THEY WOULD FAIL AT A PROGRAMS, SO A LOT OF THESE FOLKS IF WE WENT UP AND SAID IF YOU GET INTO DRUG TREATMENT WE WILL GIVE YOU AN APARTMENT THEY WOULD'VE STILL TOLD US NO THANKS. THAT WAS A LOT OF FIRST QUESTIONS WE HAVE GOT FIVE TO START STOPPED DRINKING AND SERVICES. WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE DEMAND APPROACH AND WE TRIED TO WORK WITH THEM WHERE THEY WERE. WE TRIED TO FIND OUT WAS MOST VALUABLE TO THEM INSTEAD OF TRYING TO DO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS IN THEIR BEST INTEREST, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT THEIR INTEREST IN WHAT THEIR VALUES WERE. BUT WE CAME TO UNDERSTAND WAS THE MAIN THING THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WAS BEING ABLE TO TRUST US AND HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH US. WE WORKED ON THAT IN THE BEGINNING AND IT WAS TO THAT RELATIONSHIP WE GOT THEM TO DO THINK THAT THEY MIGHT NOT OF DONE IN THE BEGINNING. NOW DELORS THERE'S BEEN SOME SPECULATION THAT SAN DIEGO IS PROGRAMS FOR THE HOMELESS ARE DRAWING HOMELESS PEOPLE FROM NOT JUST SIMPLY AROUND THE COUNTY, BUT OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THAT MIGHT BE CAUSING A BOOST IN OUR HOMELESS POPULATION. HAVE YOU FOUND THAT BE THE CASE? THERE ARE SOME ANECDOTAL STORIES FROM THE FIELD ABOUT THAT. WHEN WE GET THE COUNT, WE ASK SOME VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON WHETHER THAT HOMELESS PERSON WAS FROM SAN DIEGO, DID THEY STAY HERE ALL YEAR? AND WE DISCOVERED IN THE COUNT THAT OVER 80%, 86% BE EXACT, SAID THAT THEY WERE IN SAN DIEGO YEAR-ROUND. 70% OF THOSE UNSHELTERED HAD BEEN HOMELESS AND YEAR OR LONGER. THERE MAY BE SOME INSTANCES WHERE PEOPLE COME HERE BECAUSE THIS IS BEAUTIFUL SUNNY SAN DIEGO AND THEIR FOLKS THAT ARE GOING TO SAY IF I'M GOING TO BE HOMELESS, GOING TO BE HOMELESS WITH THE WEATHER IS BETTER. THAT MAYBE SOME CASES OUT THERE, BUT THE DATA TELLS US THAT 86% ARE HERE YEAR-ROUND. LET ME GET BOTH OF YOU TO TRY THIS. I JUST ASKED ABOUT THIS IDEA ABOUT THE PROJECT TO END CHRONIC VETERANS HOMELESSNESS BY 2016. BASICALLY IT HAS BEEN PULLED BACK. ILLUSTRATION SAYS YES WE SHOULD DO THIS ASSUMES POSSIBLE, BUT THE UNDERLYING THING HERE IS IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BY THE END OF THIS YEAR. THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER INITIATIVES TO END CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO BY 2016. DOLORES WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF THAT SUCCEEDING? IT IS A STRETCH. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HAS PUT SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES INTO ENDING VETERAN HOMELESSNESS. NOT ALL OF THE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN FULLY DEPLOYED YET OR THEY ARE ALL OPERATIONAL, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME PROBLEMS IN SAN DIEGO THAT ARE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER PARTS THE COUNTRY. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE ZERO VACANCIES. WE COULD HAVE ALL OF THE RESOURCES IN THE WORLD TO HELP SOMEONE IN A RAPID HOUSING PROGRAM. IF THE UNITS ARE NOT AVAILABLE, SOMEONE COULD HAVE THEIR UNIT AVAILABLE THIS MORNING AND HAVE IT RENTS ERRED WITHIN TWO HOURS. IT'S THAT TOUGH HERE. WE DO NEED MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THE VA HAS PUT A LOT OF RESOURCES IN AND I THINK THE VA IS CORRECT IN SAYING THAT WE CAN AND VETERAN HOMELESSNESS BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO. WE DID HAVE QUITE A FEW UNSHELTERED VETERANS IN THE COUNT. WE HAD OVER 600 THAT WERE UNSHELTERED IN 2015. IT IS DOABLE, IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME CREATIVE WORK BY OUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE ARE VERY PLEASED THAT THE VETERAN A MINISTRATION HAS REAP PROVIDED THE RESOURCES. WE ARE PLEASED THAT THEY HAVE PROVIDED THE RESOURCES. MARK MY FINAL QUESTION IS HOW WILL PROJECT WHAT IF I CONTINUE ON? CURRENTLY WE ARE OPERATING UNDER A GRANT TO SERVE 20 MORE OF THE CITIES MOST FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY SERVICES. WE ARE LOOKING AT COLLABORATING CURRENTLY WITH THE HEALTH PLANS AND ARE IN A GREAT POSITION TO IDENTIFY WHO THE MOST FREQUENT USERS ARE. MOVING FORWARD WITH THOSE EFFORTS WE ARE LOOKING POSITIVE. THANKS SO MUCH. THANK YOU.
Civic leaders are touting the success of a pilot program to house the chronically homeless in San Diego County after a report released Tuesday shows it has surpassed expectations.
Project 25 helped find housing for 36 homeless people and helped the county save $3.5 million in emergency medical and social services, according to a report by the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University.
In 2010, 28 individuals used about $3.5 million in public services. After two years of being in the program, that number dropped by 67 percent.
Marc Stevenson, director of Project 25, said all but four of the 36 participants are still involved in the project. An example of someone who the project helped is a man who had mental health issues, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder, Stevenson said.
“It was very difficult to house this person,” Stevenson told KPBS Midday Edition on Tuesday. “We decided the only thing we could do differently is be willing to clean up his mess and stay with him.”
The man was 11 months sober when he passed away in his own, safe apartment, Stevenson said.
Project 25 began in 2011 to determine whether permanent supportive housing works in San Diego, "and now we know the answer is a resounding yes," says Kevin Crawford, president and CEO of United Way of San Diego County.
Finding permanent housing for the homeless has been termed “Housing First.” The program comes at a time when the region found more than 8,700 people to be homeless in San Diego County in 2015, according to the latest count by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless. And there are concerns that a Housing First model is threatened by the lack of housing units available.
The project was conceived and funded by United Way with $1.5 million over three years. Project 25 is a public-private partnership between the San Diego County, the city of San Diego’s Housing Commission and United Way. Father Joe's Villages, a homeless service provider, managed the pilot and will continue to oversee the program.
