Oh, and what is better? The fact that Hope and Change may be helping pay for this.

Dubbed a "wet shelter" at City Hall - though it's long term housing, not a shelter - it would consist of 25 units in six buildings to be renovated along Odeon Street by Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, with help from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), which is leading the neighborhood's renaissance. The program would lease apartments to 25 of the hardest-to-serve homeless people – chronic alcoholics and those who are long-term homeless people in and out of the Drop Inn Center emergency shelter.

The Jimmy Heath House, named after a once homeless alcoholic and Cincinnati photographer who died in 2007, would follow the "housing first" model to battle homelessness being used by groups in Los Angeles, New York City and increasingly more cities around the country. Proponents believe getting clients into housing quickly, rather than giving them a shelter bed for the night, puts them in a more stable place to take advantage of whatever services they need to work on their addictions or other issues.

Studies, including one about a Seattle shelter published in last month's Journal of the American Medical Association, have shown Housing First facilities save communities money by keeping homeless people out of jail and out of emergency rooms. The study also found that clients still drank less over time, even though they were allowed to drink on the premises.

"It's very odd," Councilman Chris Bortz said of the idea that clients would be allowed to continue drinking on the premises, something that's not allowed by other shelters. "This is precarious. This is a new model."

Thanks, Barry.

Posted by: eddiebear at 02:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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