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By now, everyone in Chautauqua County should know that changes are needed in the way we deal with the homeless – both those we see outdoors and those who are being housed temporarily in hotels.
For those who don't, consider something Karen Lippowiths, a documentary photographer from Detroit who has been on a mission to document housing insecurity and homelessness across the Appalachian region, said after staying in what is now known as the Falconer Hotel recently.
The hotel, she added, also had a more institutionalized sense to it as well, in that people have ranges of need when finding themselves in a place such as that; anything from needing a little bit of help financially such as needing help with the first month’s rent, to people who really need supportive care such as with severe medical or mental disabilities.
“That was what I found interesting,” Lippowiths said. “Everyone gets a room and a key. There’s no differentiation among these people. But, there’s a population with widely divergent needs in there.”
Lippowiths makes a good point that we hope county and state officials take to heart. Warehousing the homeless in hotels doesn't solve the underlying problem. Simply building more cheap housing will help, but it likely won't the sole action that solves this growing problem. The homeless population – both the one we see and the one hidden in hotels, couches and vehicles across the state and county – will require more than providing four walls and a ceiling.
That's why it's interesting that a proposed state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance regulation to require counties to extend services found in homeless shelters to the hotels being used to shelter the homeless hasn't moved quickly through the regulatory process. A 60-day public comment period began in late January, but there is no public record that the Part 902 regulation, as it is known, has advanced beyond accepting public comment.
The proposed OTDA regulations would require counties to submit to OTDA plans showing how a county would provide support services, enforce limits on overcrowding and ensure children aren't sharing beds with adults. Services that typically aren't provided in hotel settings include serving breakfast and dinner, connections to health services, supervision services and staffing minimums. While some counties are providing services to the homeless in hotels, supporters of the proposed regulation say families might not have to stay in hotels as long if they are provided more support. We would add that tying housing vouchers to passing drug tests and meeting mental health treatment requirements should also be considered if we're serious about getting at the roots of homelessness in the county.
Each homeless case is different, and unless they are handled differently we will never get beyond simply warehousing the homeless no matter how much new housing or how many shelters we build. Providing services to the homeless makes sense if the goal is to help people not return to homelessness within a few months.
The real question isn't what to do, it's who signs the checks.