Averting Homelessness In Nashville, And Why Shelters Are Not Working

Currently, it’s believed that there are around 2, 700 homeless people in Nashville, TN, and this number is rising currently at a rate of about 10% according to the Tennesseean. It’s believed that this rate rising is contributed to lack of affordable housing, the government becoming too involved in other activities outside of housing and urban development, as well as a wide variety of other topics. While this is true, in order to create more jobs there must be an expansion of industry (whether it be tourism, industrialism, or manufacturing). However, I believe that one of the largest issues preventing people from becoming housed is the existence of temporary housing and emergency shelters. Now, that statement seems incredibly broad and just absurd, however by providing temporary housing, we’re merely patching the issue… not providing an answer.

To quote Judith Tackett, director of the Metro Nashville Homelessness Commission: “What ends homelessness? Housing”. This could not be more true, and by shuffling those without a permanent residence in and out of homes, they are not being given housing. According to an article by The Atlantic, the average cost for providing a family in an emergency shelter housing is $4, 819 a month… Now you may think, that’s not awful, certainly there could be worse ways to spend money and try to fix this issue, and you’d be correct. But how much of this is unnecessary spending and how much could be covered by those employed?

Currently the Department of Housing and Urban Development offers federal funding and vouchers to PHAs, or Public Housing Agencies, that grant monthly vouchers to families living under the poverty line (those who make 30% of the average wage in that metro area) who may need assistance in having a place to live. Currently, the average voucher accounts for about $1, 400 a month. Right now, the average monthly rent in Nashville is about $1, 300. Now obviously, with this voucher assuming that they are employed, you can rent an average apartment in the Nashville metro area and still have a surplus with the voucher as well as have money to buy groceries and gas. This doesn’t even include any other benefits that they could receive and be eligible for such as food stamps, the free lunch programs at school, etc. Now you’re looking at someone who is able to provide basic living conditions for their family, and who can work to better themselves to get off of that governmental aid. Now yes, building small homes can be a productive way to decrease the homeless rate, and the end goal may be to make it a cheap affordable housing option. But thus far, it merely seems like another temporary housing project. This isn’t to say that temporary housing is not a good thing, it is. But at what point do you have to tell someone that their stay is up?

This is where I believe homeless shelters and programs need to do a better job of connecting these people who are disenfranchised to the world. Assist them in getting a housing voucher lined up, and assist them in finding a job. Once this is done, guide them toward finding adequate housing options with what finances they can secure through those measures. Yes, it may take a few months and it will require a lot more effort than simply feeding them and housing them but it’s the only way we can decrease the homeless rate. We have to take action, sitting in emergency shelters for months on end does nothing towards helping them become productive members of society, nor will it help more people get off the street. While one person or family sits in a shelter for months, that’s one more family that’s out in the cold. That nearly $5, 000 a month cost to house a family should account for two or three families coming in and being assisted.

While Nashville continues to develop and grow, we cannot forget those who are less fortunate and who have fallen on hard times, and while there are many organizations working to help those in need, there are many forms of aid in place that go unclaimed and unrealized. This is largely due to the structure and nature of emergency shelters, yes that temporary aid is very beneficial in the moment but what permanent effect will this have on the persons’ life? Quite simply, it comes down to an old Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.