This month, we're highlighting our Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program.  PSH houses people with histories of chronic homelessness - the most vulnerable population we serve. We’d like to share more about chronic homelessness and our PSH programs.

What Is Chronic Homelessness?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development formally defines chronic homelessness as:

an individual or family that is homeless and resides in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter, and has been homeless and residing in such a place for at least one year or on at least four separate occasions in the last three years...The individual or family has a head of household with a diagnosable substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive impairments resulting from a brain injury, or chronic physical illness or disability.

Chronically homelessness individuals and families stay in family members and friends’ couches, motels, vehicles, parking garages, abandoned buildings, forest preserves, under bridges and viaducts, and other unsustainable and unsafe places. Their disabilities can prevent them from regaining housing and accessing healthcare, behavioral healthcare and supportive services.

How Does Chronic Homelessness Affect People and Communities?

Chronic homelessness exacts an enormous physical and mental toll on individuals and families and incurs community costs. People experiencing chronic homelessness have “complex and long-term health conditions,” including a range of mental/behavioral health conditions, disabilities, and/or other chronic illnesses. Without housing and supportive services, they often rely on hospital emergency departments for shelter and health and mental behavioral healthcare. They account for an estimated one-third of hospital emergency room visits.

With the growing criminalization of homelessness, people experiencing chronic homelessness are more likely to interact with law enforcement. If they have a serious mental illness (like 30 percent of our clients), they are ten times more likely to have physical force used against them. Even if they don’t, they are more likely to be arrested than members of the general population. There’s an important distinction here: more likely to be arrested does NOT mean more likely to be criminals. The general population is more likely to commit crimes against people, theft, burglary, and robbery. People experiencing homelessness are more likely to have violent crimes committed against them, and their risk is growing. Most arrests of people experiencing homelessness are for behavior that results from homelessness: loitering, sitting or lying down in public, sleeping in public, camping in public, sleeping in vehicles, etc. Or that would not be criminal if individuals lived in an apartment or house: trespassing, violations of public order, possession of alcohol, etc.

Between hospital, first responder, law enforcement, and incarceration, people experiencing chronic homelessness can cost communities an average of $35,578 a year. Ultimately, they die 30 years earlier than their housed peers.

How Does Permanent Supportive Housing Help?

PSH offers long-term care for clients with disabilities, whether mental or physical, serving as a vital lifeline for those who may struggle to maintain housing stability through other programs. For many clients experiencing housing instability, PSH becomes the only option for sustaining successful housing, as they often require more intensive case management and financial support than alternative programs can provide.

PSH stands out by actively promoting independence and self-guidance among its clients through comprehensive case management services. Recognizing that each individual's journey towards stability is unique, PSH works on goals specific to each client while offering the necessary support and resources to their customized level of stability.

Clients can remain in the PSH program indefinitely. BEDS programs clients receive:

• shelf stable food and basic supplies
• intensive case management services
• connections to supportive services
• services from the state, medical insurance and community healthcare, mental/behavioral healthcare, and human service providers

And most importantly, we extend the lives and improve the quality of living for each person we serve.

BEDS is able to house an individual for $15,000 a year, which is $20,578 less than the public cost of chronic homelessness. This equates to a savings of $4 MILLION to Southwest Suburban Cook County communities!

How Can I Help?

Join our Housing Heroes Monthly Giving Club. For $100 a month, you can provide one of our Permanent Supportive Housing clients with safety, comfort and community for a year.  Click here to get started and choose Recurring for your gift. Thank you for being a good neighbor!