Ability Housing: Q&A With Shannon Nazworth

[Metro Jacksonville]

Ability Housing: Q&A With Shannon Nazworth



Ability Housing has been creating miracles for Disabled People and doing some of the most important work amonst the Homeless in Jacksonville.  This is a Question and Answer session with the executive director, Shannon Nazworth.  Join us after the jump for a look at the inspirational work of this organization.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-aug-ability-housing-qa-with-shannon-nazworth

[twojacks]

So, dance around the issue, "what are the causes of homelessness". Sure, everyone wants a roof over their heads when it rains, walls and heat when it's cold.  but the homeless I see are not capable, or driven, to PAY for housing at market rates.  Are Abilitie's clients working? Or just freeloading?

[whislert]

In reply to Two Jacks, I think its obvious that the vast, vast majority of homeless would obtain housing if they were capable of doing so. I mean who are they really:  the broken vets, the battered women, the abused foster kids aged out of the system without families, the drunks and addicts with the bad addictive genes; sick people unable to work self medicating when the money and insurance run out, and the unemployed middle aged people dumped from their jobs by the millions without resources and unable to find work. Once you fall off the boat, its really hard to climb back in, so yeah, I think most of these folks would prefer housing and a return to dignity. The alternative is to believe they would impose the privations they experience every night and day as some obstinate form of cutting off their nose to spite their face:  "I'm going to suffer so much that strangers will feel compelled to feed me and provide some kind of shelter for me. I'll suffer til they cry uncle and give me all the goodies for free!"

But from an economic standpoint alone, you are asking the wrong question. Yes, let's assume they are all simply freeloading. The fact is the soft, bleeding heart liberals have cried uncle. The suffering is so great they've dedicated vast sums of your money to try and make the suffering go away. They build temporary shelters; open up emergency rooms; pay for prisons and guards and courts and defense attorneys who staff an endless revolving door operation that "house and feed" the homeless as much or more than the shelters do.  All of this "managing" of the homeless "problem" costs about $30,000 to $34,000 per year per homeless person (figures from north Florida and Charlotte N.C.). These are dollars that are being spent and are going to continue to be spent because soft society simply can't tolerate the idea of calling their bluff and just letting these freeloaders starve and freeze to death.

So what needs to be done is figure out how to make these costs go down as much as possible, right?  OK. I'm with you.  The answer seems to be that giving them a permanent place to live costs about $10,000 to $14,000 per year per formerly homeless person assisted.  The way to save yourself about $20,000 per year per homeless person is to secure basic permanent housing for these folks. Their medical costs go down because they're not out there freezing, or being beaten, or having their bedding and clothes and medication stolen. They have less survival stress and they enjoy proper sanitation. With an address they can receive social security and disability checks and all that other bleeding heart public assistance. But it turns out they start getting employment too when they have someplace to bath and sleep and eat and an address to put on their employment application.  They get arrested less often if only because they get drunk indoors instead of on the street. Yeah, they still get reduced rent but really: would you rather spend $30-$34K and still have them sleeping in the park across the street, or $10-$14K and not have to see them at all?  I mean, I know it sucks that they get a place to live instead of sleeping in the weeds, but would you really rather cut off your nose just to spite your face? 

Go here for most of the stats.  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/23/4787934/study-concludes-charlotte-homeless.html#.VAPS78VdWSp

And this operational project came up with stats almost identical to another similar study down in Oceala Florida. Subsidized permanent Housing First for the homeless is a more cost efficient, compassionate and effective solution to ending homelessness than "managing" the homeless as we've been doing. Please do yourself and everybody else a favor:  read this article with an open mind and let yourself rethink what you "know" about the homeless.

[sheclown]

In reply to Two Jacks, I think its obvious that the vast, vast majority of homeless would obtain housing if they were capable of doing so. I mean who are they really:  the broken vets, the battered women, the abused foster kids aged out of the system without families, the drunks and addicts with the bad addictive genes; sick people unable to work self medicating when the money and insurance run out, and the unemployed middle aged people dumped from their jobs by the millions without resources and unable to find work. Once you fall off the boat, its really hard to climb back in, so yeah, I think most of these folks would prefer housing and a return to dignity. The alternative is to believe they would impose the privations they experience every night and day as some obstinate form of cutting off their nose to spite their face:  "I'm going to suffer so much that strangers will feel compelled to feed me and provide some kind of shelter for me. I'll suffer til they cry uncle and give me all the goodies for free!"

But from an economic standpoint alone, you are asking the wrong question. Yes, let's assume they are all simply freeloading. The fact is the soft, bleeding heart liberals have cried uncle. The suffering is so great they've dedicated vast sums of your money to try and make the suffering go away. They build temporary shelters; open up emergency rooms; pay for prisons and guards and courts and defense attorneys who staff an endless revolving door operation that "house and feed" the homeless as much or more than the shelters do.  All of this "managing" of the homeless "problem" costs about $30,000 to $34,000 per year per homeless person (figures from north Florida and Charlotte N.C.). These are dollars that are being spent and are going to continue to be spent because soft society simply can't tolerate the idea of calling their bluff and just letting these freeloaders starve and freeze to death.

So what needs to be done is figure out how to make these costs go down as much as possible, right?  OK. I'm with you.  The answer seems to be that giving them a permanent place to live costs about $10,000 to $14,000 per year per formerly homeless person assisted.  The way to save yourself about $20,000 per year per homeless person is to secure basic permanent housing for these folks. Their medical costs go down because they're not out there freezing, or being beaten, or having their bedding and clothes and medication stolen. They have less survival stress and they enjoy proper sanitation. With an address they can receive social security and disability checks and all that other bleeding heart public assistance. But it turns out they start getting employment too when they have someplace to bath and sleep and eat and an address to put on their employment application.  They get arrested less often if only because they get drunk indoors instead of on the street. Yeah, they still get reduced rent but really: would you rather spend $30-$34K and still have them sleeping in the park across the street, or $10-$14K and not have to see them at all?  I mean, I know it sucks that they get a place to live instead of sleeping in the weeds, but would you really rather cut off your nose just to spite your face? 

Go here for most of the stats.  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/23/4787934/study-concludes-charlotte-homeless.html#.VAPS78VdWSp

And this operational project came up with stats almost identical to another similar study down in Oceala Florida. Subsidized permanent Housing First for the homeless is a more cost efficient, compassionate and effective solution to ending homelessness than "managing" the homeless as we've been doing. Please do yourself and everybody else a favor:  read this article with an open mind and let yourself rethink what you "know" about the homeless.

well done.

I cry UNCLE !!!  for all of the people with no place to call home.

[twojacks]

I call aunt....no, I don't think it prodent to spend (give) homeless people a $10-$14,000 living space for free just to keep them out of the weeds.  I don't doubt the figures quoted.  Just seems to me if you gave them a JOB mowing the waist high grass along main street, or picking up trash every day and PAID them the money and let them then find housing that would be a good solution.  Disabled people are only disabled in as much as they don't want to work.  Call it the conservative in me, but why should those that sit on their asses all day have this given to them? Maybe I should get on this gravy train fued by a rational accounting of which is worse.  Both options as far as I'm concerned amount to subsidizing laziness.  What ever happened to programs like the WPA that addresssed the unemployed?

[whislert]

twojacks, did you read the story? It talks about the increase of employment that results from having housing.

[sheclown]

twojacks, did you read the story? It talks about the increase of employment that results from having housing.

Ah come on -- I liked the unedited post!

[Jax Friend]

Simple international relations theory would tell you that organizations die hard. If an organization is formed with the soul intent of ending homelessness, what incentives do individuals have within the group to truly mitigate the problem. More homeless equals more denaro. This is a world full of empire builders, its not like you can blame anybody, but it is important to call a snake a snake. I would hope that few here would disagree that the concentrations of homeless services centralized in downtown cyclically creates its own problem, I believe this the be the same case with Ability Housing.

[strider]

Jax Friend, organizations evolve.  Ending homelessness may happen though the odds are against it.  Meanwhile, someone has to manage those apartments and houses being used by the formerly homeless and so I doubt an organization like Ability Housing has to worry about running out of things to do such that they purposefully, as you seem to be implying, sabotage their own efforts.

[Jax Friend]

strider, you use the word "formerly homeless" as though these peole are now somehow miraculously the same as a traditional market-based renter, this is not the case. This "formerly homeless" person brings along all the baggage that required Ability's services to begin with.  I really don't question Nazworth's sincerity, I was more making a general statement about profit motives and incentives. I do not believe that she is working against the homeless, she is merely filling the void in services that should be taken up by a more capable group of people, I can get into Deinstitutionalization, if you'd like. Just because there are homeless people downtown does not mean that is their point of origin, and probably like most of us, if it wasn't for some special event there is really not much that downtown has to offer. Spread the burden, give these people nice neighbors to build their safety net with, don't corral them into one neighborhood then make those citizens out to be veteran haters. This is a deep issue that. The fact that Nazworth live in Ponte Vedra makes it stings all the worse.

[strider]

Jax Friend, the fact that you think the fact that Ms Nazworth lives in Ponte Vedra matters in this issue one bit shows that you have no idea what you are talking about.  I get it, you, under whatever name you happen to choose to use here today, don't like the homeless, think all non-profits are evil and wish you yourself lived in Ponte Vedra.  Work harder, hate less and perhaps you make it there yet. 

[twojacks]

twojacks, did you read the story? It talks about the increase of employment that results from having housing.

Ah come on -- I liked the unedited post!

au contraire, I watched the video and read the story in the Charlotte paper.  Aside from a vague notion that housing leads to employment, I recall the story of the formerly homeless man who now can dream of going fishing...   Oh, self-employed fisherman on his next tax return.   

And I recall the tremendous savings realized by NOT spending the money on hospital visits and arrests.   This program is for the chronically homeless.  I don't see how this program really brings value to a community other than taking people off the street so they're not the hospital's nor the police's problem.

Was there a story I missed, or simply not skilled enough in comprehension to read between the lines?

[sheclown]

HUD Secretary Julián Castro speaking at the 2014 Homelessness Conference

http://www.youtube.com/v/x8pgtVCaHXg?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0

In fact, I want to stress how proud I am that my first major speech as Secretary is with the National Alliance to End Homelessness. My appearance here ought to send a loud and clear signal.

HUD's commitment is the same as it's ever been: strong, passionate and firmly dedicated to working with you to end homelessness once and for all.

We determined that 37,000 new units of permanent supportive housing are needed to end chronic homelessness. Then we calculated that this exact figure will meet that demand and fulfill our moral obligation to our neighbors in need.

It will also meet our economic obligation to protect taxpayer dollars. We know that it costs up to $50,000 a year to let a person cycle through emergency rooms, hospitals and other costly public services.

Permanent supportive housing only costs up to $20,000 year. So this funding works for both the bottom line and the common good. Right now, Congress has the chance to act on this issue.

[sheclown]

I think it is significant that the new Secretary is addressing homelessness as the subject of his first speech. 

This is the same HUD that dumps millions of dollars on Jacksonville each year.

The same HUD that is watching Jacksonville a bit closer with its entitlement grants.

Perhaps we shouldn't bring HUD/DOJ lawyers into town to fight discrimination.  Who knows what else they might find?

[sheclown]

Shannon Nazworth Receives CSH Eastern Region Advocate of the Year Award

Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) named Shannon Nazworth, executive director of Ability Housing, as its Eastern Region Advocate of the Year this past spring.  CSH is a national nonprofit that funds, supports and advocates for housing with supportive services.

"Through her work, Shannon Nazworth has proven to be a true advocate using her talent, position and tenacity to develop supportive housing solutions for some of Florida's most vulnerable residents," stated CSH.