As Homeless and Hunger Awareness Month drew to a close, Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler announced $1.4 million in funding to help create a new program for Lincoln’s homeless and near-homeless.
On Nov. 23, Beutler announced the creation of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP), which is focused on using temporary financial aid to develop long-term housing for the homeless.
“It’s important for all of us to do what we can to help those struggling to keep roofs over their head and food on the table,” Beutler said at the 10th annual Hunger and Homeless Recognition Event, hosted by the Center for People in Need.
“The rapid re-housing component will help those without homes find shelter quickly,” said Beutler. “And the prevention program will help those affected by the economic downturn who face the real possibility of losing their housing in the near future.”
Lincoln has received about $726,148 directly and another $746,130 from the state for the HPRP.
Region V, a political group dedicated to serving the needy, has been appointed to handle the new program.
“About half of the program’s money we allocated to homeless prevention, and the other half to the rapid re-housing,” said Housing Coordinator John Turner, who is the leader of HPRP.
“The re-housing part of the program is for the nontraditional homeless, who may have recently lost a job or just been hit by the economic crisis,” Turner said. “These people can be re-housed with minimal barriers to get back on their feet.”
There were 486 homeless people in Lincoln between January 2008 and March 2009, according to Turner. About 300 of them didn’t receive assistance.
“You just don’t see them as much in Lincoln because they aren’t out on the street as much,” said Turner. “But about 80 percent of our requests are for the homeless prevention.”
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s own expert on the issue is Les Whitbeck, a professor of sociology and co-author of a book on homelessness. Whitbeck said that every community contains people who live paycheck to paycheck.
“A lot of people live one medical bill away from being homeless,” he said. “Especially with the economic situation, it’s creating more stress.”
The $1.4 million awarded to Lincoln is a hefty amount, according to Whitbeck, and he said it’ll make an impact on the city.
Whitbeck believes the HPRP is just the kind of program that can be extremely effective in combating homelessness.
“It’s exactly right on target,” he said of the program’s focus on using temporary financial aid for long-term housing stability. “When people are a paycheck away from living in a car, a bridge to that gap is incredibly important. If we can keep people stable until they get back on their feet, it makes all the difference.”
jacegatzemeyer@dailynebraskan.com
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