Homeless no more?

A recent Gallup Poll found that "nearly two-thirds of Americans are concerned about hunger and homelessness in the nation." Such widespread unease has the attention of public officials from city mayors up to the president, and they are lining up to address the homeless issue. Over the past year, communities in every state have joined with the federal government on a national initiative to end chronic homelessness in ten years.

The chronically homeless make up just 10 percent of the homeless population nationwide but use 50 percent of the sheltering resources and other costly public services such as emergency rooms, detox facilities, jails, and courts. This results from the intensity of the problems experienced-the chronically homeless lack stable housing for long periods of time (often years), frequently suffer from mental illnesses, and begin with or later acquire serious physical disabilities and drug and alcohol addictions.

By targeting the chronically homeless, the Bush administration hopes to solve a finite problem affecting community safety and attractiveness and to free up resources for homeless youth and families. Another motivating factor, backed increasingly by federal dollars, is the emphasis on ending rather than managing homelessness. What sets this "new approach" apart from past efforts?

First, planning to end chronic homelessness brings with it a demand for accurate and detailed information on who is homeless, why, and what services they use. Moreover, it is important to know which programs are successful in ending homelessness. A decade ago, this type of data collection was rarely done-primarily due to opposition among homeless ...