Is Housing Forward Working? Jesse Moreno Says Alternatives Are Needed to Shelter Homeless
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Dallas leaders are stepping up their game when it comes to removing unsheltered residents from city streets, but not everyone is satisfied with a proposed approach to create alternative options, which could pull funding from what proponents say is a proven, successful Housing Forward model.
Members of the Dallas City Council’s Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee were briefed April 23 about the All Inside Initiative, a U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness proposal to reduce unsheltered homelessness
The following week, during a May 2 meeting of the Dallas Area Partnership to End Homelessness, HHS Committee chair Jesse Moreno said the City Council is exploring alternatives. It was unclear exactly what Moreno was referring to, but the councilman repeatedly mentioned tiny homes and pallet homes and said council members have recently visited Austin, Los Angeles, and Atlanta to gather ideas and study best practices.
Alternatives to Housing Forward
Housing Forward works in collaboration with the All Neighbors Coalition to lead system-wide strategies for ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties. The All Neighbors Coalition comprises more than 40 partner organizations that provide critical resources and support directly to individuals, veterans, youth, and families experiencing homelessness.
Dallas is one of just 27 communities in the U.S. where homelessness is decreasing, said Rachel Wilson, federal team lead for Dallas and Collin counties’ All Inside Initiative.
“We believe that with enhanced coordination and additional resources, you guys have the real potential to end homelessness in Dallas,” Wilson said.
Moreno represents a portion of downtown Dallas and has taken heat from the business community about corporations relocating out of downtown due to public safety issues related to homelessness.
“We know that there are so many different subpopulations within homelessness, people who have just lost their jobs, people who are chronically homeless and have been on our streets for years, individuals who are struggling with substance abuse, mental health, or are seeking refuge from a domestic violence situation,” Moreno said in the Dallas Area Partnership meeting. “We can’t have a one-solution-fits-all. We have to have an alternative solution for those who are potentially not ready for Housing [Forward] or are waiting to be placed in permanent supportive housing. My challenge is to look at alternatives to make sure we are more successful.”
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the Dallas Area Partnership to End Homelessness, questioned how that would work for unhoused people who refuse to go to a shelter.
Moreno said his No. 1 priority was to provide a place for people to go.
“Once we reach that goal of number of beds or number of providers to help us achieve that, then we’ll be able to explore different methods to ensure that people get the help they need voluntarily or by offering alternatives,” he said.
Ashley Brundage, a Dallas Area Partnership board member who recently became CEO of Dallas Habitat for Humanity, pushed back on Moreno’s theory.
“Can you explain how it’s not diverting resources away from what [data is] showing has already been working?” Brundage asked. “How are you going to pay for it?”
Not a Diversion of Funds From Housing Forward
Moreno said he’s not talking about adding encampments in parking lots.
“We’re looking at tiny homes and a variety of different options,” he said.
He’s also exploring funding options that would include partnerships with the business community, nonprofits, and philanthropists.
“This is not a diversion of funds from Housing Forward,” he said. “This is about alternatives. We’ve looked at other cities that are part of the All Inside process that have Housing [Forward]. They’re seeing individuals who are coming off the streets. it’s just not OK for us to say we’re going to allow people to continue living on our sidewalks, to continue living in the conditions that they are. I disagree that it’s better to let someone live on our streets than get them into transitional housing.”
Brundage said no one trying to solve homelessness wants to leave people on the streets.
“The evidence says that moving people off the streets into a permanent housing solution is what works best,” she said. “There’s been a lot of research put behind that and we’re seeing the results here in Dallas, when we move people from encampments and from under bridges into permanent housing versus some kind of tiny home or sanctioned encampment, which is a temporary solution. When you’re building out temporary solutions, you are spending other resources that could be put toward permanent solutions to house our homeless folks. You have to consider how you would get folks to move into sanctioned encampments or tiny homes because we certainly cannot force anybody to go somewhere they do not want to be.”
Brundage, Moreno Agree to Disagree
Brundage doubled down during the May 2 meeting, pointing to data that shows Housing Forward is working.
“What you’re proposing is diverting resources away from the system that is working to rehouse folks into a permanent solution where we are seeing success,” she said. “When you talk about going out and raising additional dollars from philanthropy, you’re telling nonprofits that they’ve got to find the money to do something different. That’s taking away resources from what’s working. We need to stay focused on what we know is working as a continuum of care, that Housing Forward is championing.”
Moreno said he was disappointed that they weren’t able to “work through this.”
“I’m committed to looking at all options and my goal at the end of the day is to house as many people as possible and get them ready for successful long-term housing,” he said. “I’m willing to come to the table and stay here at the table, and I just hope our partners are willing to have that same commitment.”
Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis said residents are demanding other options be reviewed.
“It’s working, but it’s a crawl,” she said. “We just can’t afford to do that.”
Mendelsohn said the city has been a good partner in addressing homelessness but staff ultimately takes direction from the City Council. The city has decommissioned just 20 of its 400 encampments, the District 12 council member pointed out last month.
“It appears there’s a pivot that’s happening as council members have become overwhelmed with increasing homelessness complaints,” she said. “There’s no question that visible homelessness has increased. It’s not just in one place in the city. It’s everywhere.”
Mendelsohn added that it sounds like there’s no effort to change what is currently working.
“I think there’s been big applause for the coordination that has improved dramatically, especially in Dallas,” she said. “I think there’s an interest in adding options, expanding what the choices are, especially for people who refuse to be part of the shelter system or don’t have immediate housing or even don’t want that kind of housing.”
But the data shows a story of progress that is not visible when driving around Dallas, Mendelsohn added.
“The data is based on a Point in Time count that is highly inaccurate,” she said. “Every single day I hear about homelessness in my district. I do appreciate the efforts that have been made. We allocated a lot of money … and what we got was a 4 percent decrease in homelessness.”
