2. Homelessness: Next Steps Dr. Dan Gerlowski If you have not done so you are encouraged to read “Million Dollar Murray” by Malcolm Gladwell. It is available at: http://gladwell.com/million-dollar-murray/

3. What are the Costs to Society of Homelessness?  If the homeless would contribute to economy/society but for the fact that they are homeless, then there is an opportunity cost to the homeless.  For some individuals who are not homeless, there is a loss in utility, or welfare, in simply knowing there are some homeless in society.  More can be learned by considering the causes and correlates of homelessness.

4. Homeless Causes/Correlates?  The list of factors associated with being homeless is vast, some common “groups” of factors include Economic Mental health Substance Abuse Domestic Violence Other things  The underlying problem is that we don’t know if homelessness causes those things/ or if those things cause homeless / or if they are simultaneously determined.  The situation is more complex because of the “types” of homelessness Shorter term emergency Shorter term extended Longer term – “Chronic” – an official definition.

5. What did we learn from Million Dollar Murray? ?  We learned that Murray suffered from many “ills”  Clearly he was an alcoholic and had been in and out of treatment.  We learned that a small percentage of the “homeless” are responsible for a very large percentage of the costs of treating homeless people Sheltering costs Medical costs Costs for police and medical services.  We also learned that sometimes when people are given housing that they can afford, some of the other “ills” disappear – not for all but for some. This is the argument for “Housing First”  This is the “current thinking” and has focused attention on the “hows” and the “whys”

6. What are the costs and benefits in treating the homeless  In Utah the argument is made that medical and police service costs for homeless are $16,670 per person while it costs about $11,000 per person for a home. Program in Utah http://www.nationofchange.org/utah-ending- homelessness-giving-people-homes-1390056183 - Housing Works Program.http://www.nationofchange.org/utah-ending- homelessness-giving-people-homes-1390056183 Video report on program in Utah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbBp1yMU7lE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbBp1yMU7lE Utah Report October 2013 http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56983937-90/according-chronic- chronically-families.html.csp reports homelessness increasing but not chronic homelessness. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/56983937-90/according-chronic- chronically-families.html.csp Official Report Homelessness in Utah 2013 http://jobs.utah.gov/housing/documents/homelessness2013.pdf http://jobs.utah.gov/housing/documents/homelessness2013.pdf  Estimates vary widely Very good, unbiased source http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/cost_of_homelessness http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/cost_of_homelessness Almost as good, but somewhat less than objective source http://greendoors.org/facts/cost.php http://greendoors.org/facts/cost.php

7. What are the costs and benefits in treating the homeless (2)  There is more and more high quality scholarly research on the costs of homelessness New England Journal of Medicine (1989). http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199806113382406#t=citedb y http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199806113382406#t=citedb y There is a very readable study in Los Angeles at http://usich.gov/usich_resources/research/where_we_sleep_costs_when _homeless_and_housed_in_los_angeles/ http://usich.gov/usich_resources/research/where_we_sleep_costs_when _homeless_and_housed_in_los_angeles/ And a more recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA 2009 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505162437.htm  These studies estimate and provide a way to estimate the costs of serving the homeless.

8. The Entrepreneurial Problem  Given the costs of homelessness, is there a role for entrepreneurs to solve the problem?  Some of the studies identified private, philanthropic efforts, were these entrepreneurial?  If you were to think about a “pitch” for funding from government and other sources, what would the characteristics of that pitch be?