Kansas officials see a solution to chronic homelessness and the burden placed on state institutions, jails and law enforcement in the work of a psychiatrist who believes mentally ill people can help themselves without any strings attached.
The idea is to provide those who need treatment with unconditional housing and the support services they need, even if they are substance abusers who are likely to violate traditional program requirements for curfew and sobriety.
Sam Tsemberis, a Columbia University faculty member and proponent of the Housing First concept, is working with Kansas Aging and Disability Services to refine and possibly expand this approach from three communities to a statewide campaign. His initiative is internationally acclaimed, although it has some critics.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding of people’s capabilities,” Tsemberis said. “What we’re doing with a program like this is essentially leveling the playing field so that people who have for some reason become homeless have the same opportunity to have and keep housing as the rest of us. Most people in Kansas don’t have sobriety and treatment requirements in order to stay housed. And if they did, we’d be in a lot more trouble on the homelessness front.”
KDADS for three years has operated Housing First programs in Wichita, Shawnee County and Wyandotte County. Initially supported by federal grant money, the agency secured legislative support last year to maintain the programs. This year, the agency is asking for an additional $250,000 to target homeless communities elsewhere in Kansas.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)