Posted on 03/25/2010 10:11:51 PM PDT by Libloather
Average cost of sheltering a single homeless family in D.C.: $2,500-$3,700 a month
By Mike Riggs
03/25/10 at 9:33 AM
According to a study released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and reported by USA Today, it’s cheaper to put homeless families in real homes than it is to house them in shelters:
Many communities probably don’t know that they are spending as much “to maintain a cot in a gymnasium with 100 other cots” as it would cost to rent an efficiency apartment, says Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor who studies housing policies. “We are paying for a form of housing that is largely substandard, and we are paying as much, if not more, than standard conventional housing.”
Not only that, but:
Nationwide, 1.6 million homeless people received shelter in 2008, according to government figures.
“We saw higher costs and longer lengths of stay than expected,” he says. The longest average stay for individuals was 73 days in Des Moines. The longest average stay for families was 309 days in Washington.
But here’s the thing: Forget about efficiency apartments. For between $2,500 and $3,700 a month, one could rent any of the following swank homes:
A five-bedroom home in the WASPY/AIPAC-Y neighborhood of Chevy Chase: “Near American University, metro, 4/5 bedroom, 2 ½ bath, central A/C, formal dining room, living room w/fireplace, updated kitchen, and breakfast room/nook, full basement w/washer and dryer, huge deck with separate patio w/magnificent park views, and garage with workroom. On a quiet street near Lafayette school District, walking distance to St. John’s, 20 mins to downtown/Capitol Hill”
A newly renovated Georgetown row house: “Newly renovated 2 bedroom, 1 bath with patio, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, granite and stainless steel kitchen, remote control fireplace and separate entrance. Gorgeous exposed brick.” Approximately 1200 SF. Close to Georgetown University, Georgetown Hospital,Wisconsin Ave. and the brand new Safeway set to open May, 2010. A U Street condo: “Sunny, recently renovated 3 BR, 3 full BA, bi-level Townhouse Condo in a two-unit building. Short walk to U Street and Metro. Gourmet kitchen w/granite and stainless steel appliances, LR w/FP, Master BR w/double closets, balcony off rear BR, 3rd BR on ground level. Skylight, hardwood maple floors throughout. Security features, parking included, CAC plus heat. Pets considered on a case by case [basis]“ And for just $2,100–let’s say $2,400 with utilities–a homeless family of four (or more, if the kids shared rooms!) could live in the wonderful Petworth neighborhood (where yours truly resides), less than a mile from the Metro. On the high end, that’s $1,400 in savings per family, per month.
“Gourmet Kitchen w/ Granite Counters & Stainless Steel Appliances; Separate Dining Room. Located on a quiet residential street with off street parking and a back yard. Home features CAC, 2.5 bathrooms, finished basement, hardwood floors, washer/dryer in unit, pets okay”
A backyard! That’s great!
Story #5: Homelessness Skyrockets in the Age of Obama
RUSH: From the Daily Caller, this is Chatsworth Osborne Jr.'s website: "According to a study released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and reported by USA Today, it’s cheaper to put homeless families in real homes than it is to house them in shelters." Do you know what the average cost of sheltering a single homeless family in Washington is? Let me put it another way. Think of your mortgage, whatever that number is, put it in your head when I tell you that according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average cost of sheltering a single homeless family in Washington ranges between 2,500 and $3,700 a month. "Nationwide, 1.6 million homeless people received shelter in 2008, according to government figures. 'We saw higher costs and longer lengths of stay than expected.'" All of this is happening under Obama's watch. I'm shocked and stunned we're even getting news about the homeless given that we have a Democrat in the White House.
http://dailycaller.com/2010/03/25/average-cost-of-sheltering-a-single-homeless-family-in-d-c-2500-3700-a-month/
Oh crap! Somebody would have to earn that $500.
There's the problem.
All those bureaucrats, all that overhead...
Here what I think this article smells like: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2479993/posts
The Dee Cee govt used to put people up in a place called the Pitts Hotel, for what would be about 100 bucks a night in today’s dollars.
I kid you not, that’s what the place was called.
Another recent example of hugely wasteful government spending was the $24,000 per clunker inspired car sale. Sicko, hugely wasteful, mindless federal government "idea".
$3700 a MONTH? That’s more than DOUBLE my mortgage, taxes and insurance included!
I call it priorities in the wrong place.
Then, try to hire someone legally to do repair work, yard work, etc. and they never show up.
I know there are lots of people huring right now who would love to find a decent paying job. Then there are those who don’t want anything but a handout for the rest of their sorry lives.
Guess which ones Obama wants to help?! /s
The question is: WHY?
WHY does "a cot in a gymnasium with 100 other cots" cost as much as it would to rent an apartment - or a house?
Obviously, there's some reason (or reasons).
Are the programs inefficiently run?
Are they hugely lining someone's pockets?
Are they located in expensive areas?
Do they require expensive additional services, either because of the areas they're located in (security?) or because of the clientele they serve (people who vandalize the facilities?)
Whatever those reasons are, if not corrected for, would make putting people in houses far more expensive.
Personally, I wonder how much it would cost to maintain homes that many homeless families were housed in. It's certainly not true in every case, but in many cases there may be drugs, alcohol, violence, abuse or mental illness involved.
“Are the programs inefficiently run? Are they hugely lining someone’s pockets?”
Those would be the top ones I think. I forget what the cost of foster kids in Washington State is. But it was something like $100,000 a kid per year. With lots of kids getting put into homes of relatives of the folks running the program!
Kind of reminds me when Rush mentioned that DC spends 13k per year per pupil. They could go to a private school, driven by a limousine, and have a private chef prepare their lunches for about half the cost. And they’d actually be educated instead of having the worst schools in the country.
Ship them to Haiti and give them $50 per month (the average income per person there)
Why don’t the Democrats house them with them?
Ship them to Detroit. They have $2 houses there. They already know the language. Ebonics.
I wouldn’t be surprised. I suppose you’ve seen the recent news about the seminar NASA put on a couple of years ago for their buyers?
The seminar was apparently all about how to buy effectively for the agency, how to know what was a reasonable price, etc.
Of course you know how seminars will provide coffee, tea, soft drinks, fruit, bagels.
NASA paid $66 per person per day for the snacks.
It’s going to be much more interesting, after the politicians stop passing extensions for the unemployed. They use food stamps to buy food, but they use unemployment benefits to pay their rent. So far, they’re only delaying the inevitable mother of all depressions.
Move them to the neighborhoods of politicians. ;-)
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