[NYAPRS Enews] Study: Supportive Housing Saves Tax Dollars

[Matt Canuteson]

NYAPRS Note: The article below highlights a recently released study out
of the State of Illinois that found major cost savings to tax payers
through the use of supportive housing programs for people psychiatric
disabilities. Researchers looked at money spent on 177 Illinois adults
and compared the cost of their tax-funded services for two years before
and two years after they entered supportive housing. Researchers found a
39 percent cost reduction in public services such as emergency rooms,
nursing homes, and jails, as well as a shift towards cost effective
preventive services like medical checkups and visits to the dentist. In
addition, there were 10 people who had lived in nursing homes before
they entered supportive housing. Their costs averaged $23,658 per person
over two years. After supportive housing, only three people spent any
time in nursing homes and stayed for shorter periods, at an average cost
per person of $2,171.

Study: Supportive Housing Saves Ill. Tax Dollars

By Carla K. Johnson Associated Press April 1, 2009 

CHICAGO - A new study shows supportive housing for the homeless and
mentally ill saves Illinois taxpayers money -- nearly $2,500 a year for
each resident served.

Researchers looked at money spent on 177 Illinois adults, comparing the
cost of their tax-funded services for two years before and two years
after they entered supportive housing. 

They found a 39 percent cost reduction in public services such as
emergency rooms, nursing homes and jails and a shift toward cheaper
preventive services like medical checkups and visits to the dentist.

It was the first statewide study of the cost savings of supportive
housing. 

"Supportive housing is an effective intervention for what people might
call the hardest to help," said Amy Rynell, who led the research for the
Chicago-based Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty. 

Illinois ranks highest among the states in the number of mentally ill
adults under age 65 living in nursing homes: More than 12,000 last year,
according to a recent Associated Press
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/arts-culture/mass-media/news-media/
associated-press-AUTOORNPR000041.topic>  analysis. Many of them could
live in supportive housing, advocates say.

In the study, there were 10 people who had lived in nursing homes before
they entered supportive housing. Their costs averaged $23,658 per person
over two years. After supportive housing, only three people spent any
time in nursing homes and stayed for shorter periods, at an average cost
per person of $2,171.

Residents told researchers they learned how to pay bills, were more
confident and felt pride in their achievements.

"I was at death's door. Now I have a chance to move myself forward,"
AIDS patient Karl Miller told The Associated Press. Formerly homeless,
Miller now lives at Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House in Chicago and
attends college.

Supportive housing combines trained caseworkers with affordable rents.
Residents can get help with money management, medication monitoring,
finding jobs, transportation and a variety of other services.

Illinois needs 7,700 more supportive housing units, said Janet Hasz,
executive director of the Supportive Housing Providers Association,
which commissioned the study but didn't influence its findings. 

The group is asking lawmakers for $3 million for 494 units poised to
open during the next fiscal year. The funds would leverage more than $27
million in federal help, advocates say.

Illinois now has 6,000 units of permanent supportive housing, serving
more than 8,000 people in 28 counties.

"Individuals living in their own homes can be a cost savings to the
state," said Brenda Hampton of the state's division of mental health.
Illinois is undergoing a "philosophical shift" toward more permanent
supportive housing, she said. 

The Chicago
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/us/illinois/cook-county/chicago-PLG
EO0100100501250000.topic>  Community Trust, the Illinois Department of
Human Services and private foundations funded the study. 

Researchers said the study likely underestimated the costs savings
because they couldn't count many services provided to the homeless.
Unlike some other states, Illinois doesn't have a unified data system to
track services to the homeless. 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-supportivehousing,0,5851448
.story

 

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