RSS Feed
September 15th, 2015 
Awake Goy Beginning in November, fifty chronically homeless individuals in Dallas will each move into their own cottages, according to the city’s Corporation for Supportive Housing. Situated in a complex, each cottage comes with green recreational space, solar energy, and rainwater collection – among other features.
The residents will also have access to skills training and mental and physical health services.
Not only will the homeless individuals helped through this initiative get a fresh start, the program will also save taxpayers a significant amount of funds.
As the Dallas Morning News reports, a homeless person who cycles through the prison system and emergency health services on average costs the county about $40,000 a year. Keith Ackerman, executive director of Cottages at Hickory Crossing, told HuffPost that the program will bring down those costs to less than $13,000 per year.
That equates to about $1.3 million in total savings for taxpayers.
The drastic figures are nothing new: Programs focused on giving those without homes “housing first”, and then addressing their health and unemployment issues, have proven many times to be efficient and cost-effective.
For example, a similar housing initiative in Charlotte saved the city $2.4 million in medical costs alone. The non-profit Moore Place houses homeless individuals in its 85-unit complex and also provides each client with a team of social workers, therapists, nurses and psychologists to help them thrive long-term.
Source Article from https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/183343-2015-09-15-dallas-is-building-cottages-for-the-homeless-and-saving-1.htm?EdNo=001&From=RSS
Views: 0
Posted in 
