Housing costs less than homelessness. That was the conclusion of a study presented Thursday morning by the Cape Cod Commission.
The cost of providing for those in supportive housing was 12 percent less than for those without housing, with an average cost of $43,184 for those with housing versus $49,308 for those who remained homeless.
Conducted over a one-year period from Sept.1 2006 to Aug. 31, 2007, the study tracked 51 people who were either homeless or living in a permanent supportive housing setting that helped in their accessing other social and medical assistance services.
The results of the study came as no surprise to Bob Murray, president of the Falmouth Housing Corporation.
“Housing people with services is cheaper than the ongoing homelessness, but you won’t house then successfully without the services,” Murray said.
“When we built that eight-unit studio apartment building in Falmouth for the street people the reason it was successful was because the Council of Churches provide a social worker that visits with those individuals every week, and so no problem gets out of hand. Everything gets addressed immediately,” Murray said, referring to Bridgeport, a small housing complex on Gifford Street.
“Many, many people told me not to build that building [but] it’s one of the most successful projects we’ve ever done.”
The need for support services relates directly to why some individuals become homeless. Alcohol and drug abuse was most often given by the study’s subjects as reasons for becoming homeless. Others factors that were cited as causing or contributing to their condition included domestic abuse, separation, death of a family member as well mental and physical health problems.
The vast majority reported difficulties with mental and physical health as well as substance abuse. And though Hamilton noted that health costs remained a consistent whether someone was homeless or recently housed, the survey showed a marked decrease in medical costs for those who were in supportive housing. The cost in providing health care, fire and rescue services, and legal service were also less for those in supportive housing settings.
While the study focused on people living in the Hyannis area, it did factor in services received in other parts of the Cape such as Falmouth Hospital and Gosnold on Cape Cod. It didn’t include the costs of creating housing for the homeless.
The study may also help to dispel myths that the majority of the Cape’s homeless come here from somewhere else. Sixty eight percent of the participants in the study lived on Cape Cod for 10 years or more prior to becoming homeless. Eighteen percent were living on the upper Cape when they became homeless
