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Destitute Lost in Election Noise

CALGARY, Oct. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – A just-released public service announcement draws attention to the plight of the homeless, as Canada and the USA both approach elections. It’s available free of charge to support any organization that serves the homeless. The call to action can be easily modified to provide the contact information for any organization.  The PSA can be viewed on any device that connects to the Internet at www.homelesspsa.com.

In Canada, the Liberal government has committed to the Housing First philosophy, providing $1.25 billion dollars over 9 years towards a program dubbed “reaching home.”  Housing First strategies are also supported in the United States, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.  It’s not clear if other Canadian political parties support Housing First.

As the name suggests, in the Housing First approach stable housing is provided first. Any other issues that may affect the household can and should be addressed once housing is obtained.  This contrasts with the housing ready model, wherein an individual or household must address other issues that may have led to the episode of homelessness prior to entering housing.  Proponents of Housing First say the HF approach saves taxpayers money through a reduction in police interactions, emergency room visits, and hospitalization.  Issues leading to homelessness cited in both strategies include things like mental health and addictions.

Addictions have gained a lot of attention worldwide in the last few years because of the opioid crisis.  According to the World Health Organization, in the United States of America alone in 2016, there were an estimated 63,632 deaths due to drug overdose.  That’s a 21% increase from previous years.  Meanwhile, mental health has become one of the defining issues of our time.

While homelessness might not be an issue that is top of mind for some voters, billions of dollars are spent combating it.  Voters have a right to know what housing strategy is supported by those vying for public office.  Do they support safe injection sites? What is their plan to deal with overdoses & improve the mental health of their citizens?  Billions of dollars and thousands of lives are at stake.

Website: www.homelesspsa.com (includes information sources)

SOURCE Barry Moore