[qeorge]

Housing first is a wonderful program. My stepmother has been running a similar pilot program in Greensboro, NC [1]. The thesis, which is holding up, is that the total cost to taxpayers is lower if the city pays the rent vs. emergency room visits, court system, police, etc. that result from homelessness.

Its also hard to implement. Its hard to find willing landlords with safe housing, and you want to spread folks out instead of ghettoizing them and creating a larger problem. The whole thing only works because of the ridiculously hard work the case managers and other social workers are putting in.

[1] http://greensborohousingcoalition.com/