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One step at a time.
In the last blog, I addressed a current local and national message that looks to assign the source of all homelessness as substance use and/or mental illness, and that places blame on service providers for the increase in homelessness. As a reminder, local data does not support a conclusion that any singular factor or condition is THE primary cause of homelessness. And those of us serving people who are unhoused are not causing people to newly fall into homelessness.
I have been asked throughout this current legislative session questions about the types of services provided and challenged on why more services are not offered, with the underlying assumption that everyone needs substance use or mental health treatment.
At Key Campus, after asking each individual who arrives seeking assistance a list of intake and assessment questions, we provide an overview of the services available at Key Campus. Individuals list the following as reasons for their homelessness and barriers to housing stability: mental health disorder, chronic health conditions, physical disability, drug use disorder, developmental disability, alcohol use disorder, both drug use and alcohol use disorder, and HIV/AIDS.
Focusing solely on Key Campus, a dozen organizations provide services five to seven days per week. These include ...read more...
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