Comments for The Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness

Comment on News-Sentinel’s excellent recent series by mary hawk

mary hawk — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:28:47 +0000

As a former employee @ ETCDH , former employee and @ Hillcrest nursing Home, I am aware of the release of numerous folks from Lakeshore Hospital . Many of these people were tramatized by change and are considered some of the homeless victims. Just as East
Tennessee Chest Disease Hospital was closed in the 70′s and the TB problem was at a low,we could rest knowing we were safe from harm .(I don’t think so.) By closing Lakeshore as it was, a lot of people suffered for the loss. Families of mentally ill people as well as the patients ,lost security of having a family member more sane ,most of the time. My mother was a patient @ Eastern State Mental Hospital ( now Lakeshore ) for many admissions most of my life. I am so thankful for the services she recieved at both facilities ,as well as Helen Ross McNabb . Living with a father who became a alcoholic during the mental breakdown of my mother ,was a nightmare for a child. Nightmares of many types of abuses and being taken away ,and sent to other abusive places is not the answer for children either.By now ,being blessed to work assisting the homeless population for 20 + yrs to find all of the blessings they should have ( as any human should) is the best time of my life! However, i do believe the supportive housing should have more restrictions on use of alcohol and or drugs due in part because some deranged people think it is funny to give a mentally ill person crack ie…. any thing other than the prescribed medication. It is a great idea for the supportive housings to be staffed 24-7 with case managers (who will be accountable ) and not just to keep the numbers up. During the years working with the homeless i have seen several of the housed men who did come to VMC on Jackson Avenue under the influance of an assortment of things. I feel that by having caring , and real employees to moniter the residents it can be workable. One thing i strongly feel that is needed at Flenniken and Minvilla is on site AA and NA meetings to encourage the residents to change their lifestyle. The community SHOULD hold the housing agency(s) accountable for doing the great job citizens help pay for. Everyone should have the same respect as all people because no one is better than the other (only circiminstances are different).

Comment on Ending chronic homelessness by Brenda

Brenda — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:48:59 +0000

I don’t understand why you don’t purchase apartments that are already for sale and have already been built to move homeless people into. There are apartments on the market that cost a lot less than the proposed building of new apartments. It just doesn’t make sense to build brand new apartments with so many apartments on the market and you could probably get a pretty good deal for them during today’s economy downside. How badly and how quickly do you want to do this?

Comment on Ending chronic homelessness by thomas frederick

thomas frederick — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:53:42 +0000

The first thing you got to remember homeless people just like we are. Homeless need job just like us and no is giving a job to a Homeless person. Getting trust Homeless is hard to do But it’s lot harder for a Homeless to trust body. Trusting Government is hard for any Homeless person to do. Why this because of the Knoxville Police Department. Police always jumping Homeless people. The Police doesn’t talk to Homeless way there talk non homeless and police want lock them. I know the police hass Homeless a lot first hand I was homeless for 4 years and only people well help Homeless. The mission is one of the biggest joke I have every whet to. The people write this above didn’t know one end from other end..

Comment on Ending chronic homelessness by Tina Goodson

Tina Goodson — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:32:44 +0000

Art, your’s are fair questions—-interestingly enough, neither Dunthorn nor Finley even live in Knoxville.

Comment on Public Conversation #3: How we got our TYP by Robert Finley

Robert Finley — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:31:38 +0000

Thanks for the questions, Judy.

HMIS can produce reports that can be used precisely as you suggest. Increased usage of HMIS across the service provider spectrum is one reason we know more about the homeless population than we did a couple of years ago. HMIS is a work in progress, but every month it helps us add to our knowledge and work much more efficiently with people in Knox experiencing homelessness and those in supportive housing.

The 7000-8000 number refers to unique individuals, not episodes, including people who are chronically homeless and those who experience homelessness episodically.

Episodes of homelessness are counted in terms of entry into the system of homeless services and exit from them. A person exits that system when he or she moves out of emergency shelter or transitional housing and into permanent housing. A person re-enters that system if he or she becomes homeless again and becomes “visible” to the service delivery system by accessing services.

Comment on Public Conversation #3: How we got our TYP by Judy B

Judy B — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:47:25 +0000

Thanks for adding the back story on the Cox St/HRM houses. Quite understandable. Does HIMS produce any standard management reports? Any data that can be compared month to month and year to year? What does it mean to say 7000-8000 people will experience homelessness in Knox County this year? Are these individuals or episodes? Episodic or chronic? Repeat episodes, how are they counted? I understand it’s a dynamic situation, but I hope the HIMS database can be used to make a case and measure progress… Thanks, again.

Comment on TYP at Cansler, Wednesday, May 19 by Robert Finley

Robert Finley — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:00:39 +0000

Yes, Judy. I’m working on my notes right now. I’ll post all of that today.

Comment on Public Conversation #1: Case Management in PSH via VMC by Robert Finley

Robert Finley — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:59:02 +0000

Good question. Thanks for asking. Over 300 people who had been chronically homeless have been placed in existing housing ( public housing and Section 8 ) in our community over the past 20 months, approximately. These folks all receive supportive services where they live, and are thus living in permanent supportive housing ( they have leases, are paying rent, and can stay as long as they need/want to ). Of those so placed, almost 90% have kept their housing. The organizations working to end homelessness in our community will continue to house folks in available, suitable housing stock, and we’ll continue to work very hard to seek out what’s available. At the same time, appropriate affordable housing is becoming harder to find, which means we’ll need to develop more of it.

Comment on TYP at Cansler, Wednesday, May 19 by Judy B

Judy B — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:51:13 +0000

Robert, can you post the presentation materials – handouts, powerpoint – so that we can study them even if we didn’t make the meeting? Thanks.

Comment on Public Conversation #1: Case Management in PSH via VMC by Joan Weaver

Joan Weaver — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:23:46 +0000

There are plenty of housing projects and federally funded houses in Knoxville already. My question is why can’t you place these individuals in existing facilities?