The Four Kinds of Housing that Help the Homeless

Projects to add housing resources to help give homeless people a roof over the head have run into all sorts of public opposition—often times fueled by ignorance of how different kinds of homeless housing options work.

July 11, 2019, 11am PDT | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

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An article and video by Lisa Halverstadt explain the differences in the kinds of homeless housing to counter the confusion that sometimes fuels community opposition to projects intended to assist homeless populations.

"Exhibit A: Residents and even news outlet KUSI recently wrongly declared that the city was proposing a homeless shelter in Mission Hills, when the project is actually something else entirely," writes Halverstadt.

Halverstadt lists four kinds of homeless housing: 1) Homeless Shelters, 2) Transitional Housing, 3) Permanent Housing, and 4) Affordable Housing.

It might be surprising to see affordable housing included on the list, but there is evidence that a lack of affordability in the housing market is contributing to the homeless crisis in expensive cities. Halverstadt makes the case that when people can afford housing, they are no longer homeless, which is exactly the point.

The video below also offers Halverstadt a chance to explain clearly the distinctions between the kinds of housing that can help homeless people, and why those distinctions matter.

VOSD's @LisaHalverstadt explains four different types of housing for homeless residents in less than two minutes.

More info here: https://t.co/hB8gfCR4BP pic.twitter.com/sLy5NGz2dG

— Voice of San Diego (@voiceofsandiego) July 10, 2019