Homeless funding needed

HOMELESS PEOPLE will be helped by $1.4 billion in newly announced federal grants, including more than $60 million for Massachusetts. The Department of Housing and Urban Development touts this as the "largest single commitment of federal funds designed to provide shelter and care for those without a home of their own." However, much of the money will go to renewing existing programs. Maintaining services is essential, but the federal government isn't investing enough.

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Of the $19 million that Boston gets, $1.5 million will be used to finance new housing for 32 individuals. That's an important gain, and it could help house some of the 299 people who were found on the street (of a total of 5,819) during Boston's recent homelessness census. But the city has also lost $350,000 from a different HUD program, which could cause a net loss in housing for the homeless. City officials are not yet certain of the impact.

Jim Greene, acting director of the city's Emergency Shelter Commission says the HUD money "does far too little to stimulate permanent housing solutions to homelessness on the scale that is needed from the federal government."

Advocates are waiting for President Bush's new budget, which will be released this month. There could be harmful cuts in funding for federal housing vouchers, called Section 8, that help people pay the rent. With a total of 18,000 vouchers in Massachusetts, this program is already underfunded. Lacking money for new ones, Massachusetts relies on attrition: 100 vouchers are relinquished monthly and transferred to new users. But this is slow progress given the 56,000 names on the state's waiting list for vouchers.

The Section 8 shortage is being felt at the Pine Street Inn and other shelters where many people are doing the right things -- giving up substance abuse habits, working, addressing mental illnesses -- but they still can't afford area rents. Pine Street's president, Lyndia Downie, points to a program for 65 homeless men at Holy Family Church in Dorchester. Downie says 40 percent could move into housing now if they had a voucher and if Pine Street had money to provide them with stabilizing social services.

Comprehensive programs for the homeless need enough funding to provide long-term support, during the first year of being housed and years later, to make sure that problems -- with bills, health, or other issues -- don't threaten people's stability and independence.

Washington is taking a broader approach to homelessness. Its programs support shelters and a "continuum of care" that includes health care, job training, child care, and mental health services. Still, federal spending on homelessness must be more comprehensive to make the gains that are needed.