On my way in to work today I read an article about projects to help the homeless. (I shamelessly copied the title). They made mention of two specific projects: Plymouth Housing Group’s Plymouth on Stewart and Downtown Emergency Service Center’s 1811 Eastlake.

PHG’s mission is to provide permanent housing for the homeless. DESC’s mission for 1811 is targeted specifically to the chronically drunk homeless population. 1811 has been controversial since it was planned, with the bulk of the criticism aimed at their policy of allowing tenants to drink in their homes.

The article focuses on the dollars saved by the city and county, but I think there is more to it than that. The amount of time spent by hospital and on-site nursing staff on these homeless-now-with-homes has been reduced significantly. 1811 reports that their tenants are getting drunk less often. The visits to the “drunk tank” tanked (heh).

I think this is all good news. I’m sure it won’t stop the detractors from voicing their standard arguments: “There are homeless in Seattle because Seattle is good to the homeless”, “They spent MY money on THEM”, etc. However, it seems to me that this is another case where the public wealth can help the needy and the taxpayer at the same time: the hospitals are that much less overloaded; the ambulances are that much less busy transporting drunks; the police are that much less busy dealing with the homeless on the streets. More of their resources can now be spent servicing the taxpayer.

This looks like a big win for the region, and at a small price, too.

Full disclosure/shilling: I don’t know if this is necessary (I’m concerned it might come across as self-congratulatory bragging). I am a regular donor to PHG. Although they are affiliated with a church, I think their mission is still sound, and all of the reports I’ve read suggest that most of the donated money goes directly to their chartered services. Check ‘em out.