Lack of Permanent Housing for Homeless Costing Central Florida Taxpayers
Thursday, May 22, 2014
By: Ernest Duffoo

May 22, 2014 | WMFE, Orlando - The lack of a coordinated plan in Central Florida has contributed to its rising numbers of chronic homelessness, says the lead researcher of a new report detailing the financial burden to taxpayers. This is in contrast with the country's declining numbers.

[Photo: born1945 - Flickr]

The independent study estimates that each chronically homeless person costs taxpayers $31,065 each year, not including non-profits’ costs.

Providing permanent housing and assigning case managers would save about $10,000 yearly per person, according to the report.

“The lack of an overall coordinated plan to aggressively address the problem across the three county area, and kind of the lack of a coordinated planning has allowed the problem to grow by leaps and bounds over the past several years,” Shinn said.

The study was conducted by Creative Housing Solutions, led by Greg Shinn, who has worked to establish permanent housing solutions in Oklahoma for over a decade, and also acts as the associating director at the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma.

The study was funded by the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, using $15,000 that the Orlando Solar Bears donated. The Commission reviewed the report earlier today.

The study tracked 107 of the 1,577 homeless people in the three counties.

Even if ten percent of the relocated homeless return to the streets, taxpayers would still see a savings of $149 million in the next decade, according to the study.

Shinn says Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s goal to get a third of the city’s 900 homeless people off of the streets within three years is a good start.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs recently stressed homelessness as one of the biggest problems to tackle during a recent press conference.