Program gives hope to the homeless
Published: May 4, 2005
Supportive housing helps address problems of the county’s less fortunate.
At 48, JAMES Orenstein dreams of settling down and starting a family.
With a roof over his head and a place to call his own, the formerly homeless man is making a new start.
He has a part-time job as a clerical assistant that, along with government help, pays the rent. But most important, he has hope for the future.
What’s made that possible is a program that offers help and a stable support structure for people who don’t have family or friends to help. Through the program, known as supportive housing, participants have access to drug treatment, counseling, job placement and other services. The combination of the network of support and housing gives the formerly homeless a chance to get on their feet.
Since moving into a Redwood City residence in October, Orenstein has been feeling better about himself.
“It’s given me hope — hope that I can have a fruitful life,” Orenstein said. “The big difference is that I’m not isolated.”
Orenstein said that despite a college degree in business and a music-composition degree, he lacked focus and wasn’t able to find regular work.
“I kind of floated a lot and never solidified an interest in any one thing,” Orenstein said.
After living in various places in Southern California, Orenstein took a chance and came to the Bay Area, where he had some family and friends. After staying in local homeless shelters, he was able to get in the supportive-housing program.
He’s now looking to the future and enjoying his sense of autonomy. He also has more chances to indulge his love of music, and plans to fix up a broken piano he bought from the Salvation Army for $100. Even as it is, a little off-key and with a few missing notes, Orenstein enjoys immersing himself in the music. By his estimation, he practices four hours a day, playing Mozart, Bach and jazz.
For Orenstein, the program has been a beacon of hope. After years of wandering aimlessly, he’s thinking about how he can put down roots. He has lined up an internship with the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau and hopes it will lead him to work as a location scout for TV commercials. Orenstein said he’d like to meet a woman and settle down, but he understands he needs to get his life in order first.
“(The program) gives me a sense that in order to be appreciated by people, you have to do something productive every day.” Orenstein said.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, thinks these kinds of efforts have value and has introduced the Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act, a bill to bolster the funding for supportive-housing programs. The bill claims there are between 200,000 and 250,000 chronically homeless people in America and that supportive housing can be a cost-effective way to get those people of the streets.
An example cited is a University of Pennsylvania study that showed thatfor each unit of supportive housing for homeless people with mental illness, taxpayers saved $16,281 in health care, mental health, and other services that would have otherwise been needed.
Supportive housing looks to provide an affordable alternative for homeless people with very low incomes who need a little extra help. Those who participate in supportive housing programs are required to sign a lease, as any other renter would. Twenty to 30 percent of their income goes to paying the rent, while the rest of the cost is paid via government subsidies.
Addressing the House of Representatives, Eshoo said there are more than 1,730 homeless people in San Mateo County, with approximately 650 defined as chronic.
“Chronic homelessness is very costly to emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, VA hospitals and the criminal justice system. This legislation will provide more resources to reduce these costly expenditures, while simultaneously permitting individuals with complex health needs to be housed and begin their journey to a productive life,” Eshoo said.
Helping bring the homeless into mainstream life is all about instilling them with a sense of worth, said Lyn Hikida, the Director of Communications and Fund Development for the Oakland-based Corporation for Supportive Housing.
“It has so much to do with self-esteem,” Hikida said. “Once they have a nice little room, even if it’s small, they reconnect.”
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