Charlie Quimby on Homelessness, 2

Charlie Quimby left a quick comment on my last post on homelessness in Minnesota.  He says he's working on a longer reply.  In the meantime, I encourage those interested in reading about the front lines of the fight against homelessness to visit his blog "The Great Divide".

What We Talk About When We Talk About Homelessness

[Note:  on the subjects of homelessness in Minnesota and government accountability, in this post I respond to the thoughtful comment posted by author Charlie Quimby on this site last week.  I encourage you, the reader to read his comment first before reading this post.]

Upon reflection, I would say that my comments on these subjects have been directed more toward the media and public relations aspects of homelessness, rather than toward the efforts of people doing good work to alleviate the problem.  I hope that view is more clear in this post.

On the usefulness of audacious goals
Mr. Quimby provides some helpful history behind how the last Governor in 2004 brought together state and local governments, along with charities and the private sector, to set the goal of ending long-term homelessness in Minnesota by 2010.

Charlie Quimby Replies on Homelessness in MN

Author Charlie Quimby posted a reply to my short piece yesterday on homelessness in Minnesota.  Rather than having it buried in the Comments section, I thought it deserved more prominent display.  I will provide a response when I get a few minutes.  Quimby writes,

"Bill, I like reading your perspective on issues. We've gone back and forth on this on Twitter because I couldn't leave a more extended response here earlier.

Ending homelessness is an audacious goal. I know, because I volunteer with the homeless in Minnesota and Colorado. But I also see change and I see people getting into better living situations.

I see children who've been thrown into chaotic situations able stay safe and in school. I see breadwinners get training and help finding employment. I see veterans who've been living in tents for years get into clean, sober housing. I see men whose family life fell apart get admitted to college and reconcile with family members. I see families get short-term financial help to stave off eviction. I see a mentally ill man no longer in trouble with the law because he has stable housing and can consistently take his meds.

For all these people, homelessness ended, but it might not have without the help they received.

Homelessness is not one condition with a fixed population and normal housing supply and demand. As you've acknowledged somewhat, it's dynamic, affected by a variety of factors——broadly social, local and individual. One agency will not change it in a big way by itself, and the leaders of all the public and private organizations working in this field know it.

So have the various agencies and non-profits working on this failed? Is pointing to changing economic factors shrugging shoulders? Has leadership failed, going back to Gov. Pawlenty who, to his credit, initiated the plan?

In our Twitter discussion, I agreed with you on the need for accountability in government and the private sector. But you seem to dismiss or not understand the reasons why organizations adopt big goals and initiate efforts that have a chance of falling short, especially in the short term.

Pawlenty's goal was not for state government alone. It was for business, non-profits, foundations, local government agencies, the faith community and private citizens. And it was intended to create a sense of urgency around tackling a larger issue that crossed so many lines, it would be easier to shrug off responsibility.

Out here in Colorado where I am, there's just such a coalition working homeless issues, ranging from the police department to Catholic Outreach to the public library in addition to housing agencies and the VA.

How do all these diverse entities decide to work together and share credit and expense without a big goal that's out of their individual reach?

I'm sorry that in your desire to beat the accountability drum you picked this target. I'd encourage you to become more informed about the issues and what's being done. Consider how homelessness is not just a "government" problem with a government solution.

Tell me, given your jaundiced view of government, are you truly handing the issue over to government with this: "homelessness will not end in Minnesota until someone in state government's job depends on ending homelessness in Minnesota"?

Or maybe, in your desire to make a point about accountability, you've decided to ignore a larger point about homeless."

Who Will Fix Homelessness in Minnesota?

I've written a couple of times about the problem of homelessness in Minnesota.  The issue perfectly illustrates a number of problems around government accountability and effectiveness.

In 2004, our state government set the goal of ending homelessness by 2010.  The agency in charge says it has met 99 percent of its program goals.

But, somehow, we have more homeless than ever, 10,214 at last count, thousands more than when the 2004 campaign began.  In the past 10 years, state government has spent enough money on the problem to provide a home to each and every one of those 10,214 people.

Yet homeless advocates blame the problem on "market failure."  MinnPost reports on one advocate's opinion,

"The homeless numbers, he says, are 'clear evidence of market failure, both on the wage side and the housing side, the huge mismatch between people’s income and their ability to secure housing.' "

No mention of the half billion dollars spend by state government in the past decade or the blown deadlines, recalibration, or shoulder-shrugging of the people in charge.

I feel confident in predicting that homelessness will not end in Minnesota until someone in state government's job depends on ending homelessness in Minnesota.