How much does homelessness cost?
On average, United Way of Lancaster County calculations show, each chronically homeless adult costs $60,000 annually for services and care.
With an estimated 10 percent of the county's homeless population falling into the "chronic" category, that means the estimated cost for a year is $2.34 million.
In fact, the numbers show, it's far cheaper to move homeless people into homes than it is to continue to serve them on the streets.
"Jenny," for instance — names of the people whose cases the United Way studied to determine costs have been changed for privacy — relapsed into homelessness in 2004, after 13 years in recovery, when a series of medical problems made her depressed.
Over 15 months, the cost of providing care for her was more than $60,114, including emergency and transitional shelters, drug and alcohol treatment, welfare and food stamps and work at the Water Street Rescue Mission dental clinic.
But after Jenny moved into permanent housing and began earning $800 a month at a new job, the total cost of supportive services and rent subsidies is $9,198. That's an 85 percent savings, the United Way says.
The "Smith" family, a mother and one child, was homeless off and on for four years. Services and government benefits for just one year for them totaled more than $59,350.
In permanent housing, though, the only cost was for nine months of "on-site supportive services," at $2,448 — a 96 percent savings.
"Pat," a single woman, was homeless for seven months before entering treatment for addiction and then moving into a shelter. Her government benefits plus shelter care and addiction treatment cost more than $47,420.
Now she earns $18,540 a year at a job and lives in a one-bedroom apartment; the only cost has been $4,216 for supportive services — a 91 percent reduction in cost.
In those three cases, the United Way said, the total spent for shelter care and benefits was $166,884; in permanent housing, the total was $15,862, a difference of $151,022.
Sometimes, homelessness means incarceration at the Lancaster County Prison, which costs $40 to $45 per day; emergency medical services, $400 for a single response; a case manager from Mental Health/Mental Retardation, at $64 an hour; a visit from the city police, at $20 to $25 per hour; and a drug and alcohol treatment center, at $83 a day.
Valerie Case of Mid-Penn Legal Services said the benefits of helping homeless people transition into permanent housing are clear.
"This is a no-brainer," she said.
Homeless people fall into three categories: chronically homeless, episodically homeless and transitionally homeless.
Chronically homeless people are 10 to 15 percent of the total homeless population. These are people, usually with some disabling condition, who have been homeless for a year or more or who have had at least four episodes of homelessness over three years. The chronically homeless use 50 to 80 percent of social-service resources, Case said.
The episodically homeless use shelters repeatedly. Many have mental illnesses or addictions, and their income is unstable. They represent about 9 to 10 percent of the homeless population.
Transitionally homeless people are those who have short stays in the social service system. In most cases, they have run into a traumatic situation that forced them out of their homes.
"They're living hand to mouth," Case said. "These are people who are going to have no idea it's coming."
Helen Colwell Adams is a Sunday News staff writer. E-mail her at hcolwell@lnpnews.com.
