We found this news story from WLBT in Philadelphia of interest.
Temple University students worked with SafeHome Philadelphia this semester to find affordable housing within the community for Philadelphia’s homeless families.
The project stemmed from SafeHome’s Executive Director Phyllis Ryan Jackson’s belief that if affordable housing did not exist in Philadelphia, the numbers of homeless would be much higher, as they are in New York and Los Angeles.
Ms. Ryan Jackson says, “It was always puzzling to me that if it were true that there was absolutely no safe and affordable housing available for homeless families — as is commonly reported — why wasn’t Philadelphia’s homeless family population skyrocketing every year? City reports show the number to be remarkably stable over the years, which suggests to me that by employing Housing First strategies like rapid rehousing or prevention, we could truly empty our shelters.”
Units ranged from one to seven bedrooms and were in areas including North, South, and West Philadelphia, as well as Germantown, Kensington, and Port Richmond. The average rent was $668 per month. Yearly rental cost, on average, was $8,684 including security deposit. Providing subsidies for the housing, as well as home-based supports and linkages to community-based social services, would cost the city far less than the $35,000 per year it pays to house a family in shelter.
To read the full article click here.
Tags: Ending Homelessness, Housing First, rapid rehousing
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