Mayor's Messages

Mayor’s remarks at the Homelessness, A Community Issue Symposium

March 25, 2010; Tarrant County College Northeast Campus

Good afternoon everyone! It’s an honor and a privilege to join all of you and this distinguished panel to discuss the issue of homelessness.

If you haven’t noticed, finding an end to chronic homelessness is a major priority for Fort Worth, Arlington, and others in Tarrant County. It’s one of the first major issues I pledged to tackle when I was so fortunate to be elected as Mayor in 2003. We’ve made a lot of progress since then. And, moving this ball down the field is a direct result of the partnerships we’ve built in Tarrant County to tackle this very real and serious problem.

I’d like to begin by telling you about a true life-altering experience for me. In October 2008, I had the unique opportunity to lead a 22-member delegation on a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles, Seattle, and Denver. We got a first-hand look at some of America’s most active communities on the issue of homelessness. We saw some things that worked. And we saw some things that didn’t work.

Ladies and gentlemen, words cannot describe what we saw in Los Angeles.

As we entered the portion of the city known as Skid Row, we saw things that we will never forget. Skid Row is literally a sea of people. Men, women, and children for blocks as far as the eye can see. It was as if time stood still. These people had nowhere to go. They had nowhere to be. They looked scarred, sad, and depressed.

The homeless population in Los Angeles County is estimated to be over 70,000! Folks, that’s bigger than some cities here in North Texas. In fact, the Los Angeles homeless population would fill up TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium, Bass Hall, the Will Rogers Auditorium, the Convention Center Arena, and every hotel room in downtown! 70,000 homeless…can you imagine?

Every member of our delegation was touched in some way by what we saw. Our jaws were on the floor. Some of us were in tears. All of us were disgusted by the conditions we witnessed.

It was at that moment with we vowed that this would never happen in Fort Worth—never. Skid Row got this way for many different reasons. But, most importantly, the people didn’t make this issue a priority. And now they are paying the price.

As Americans, we have a deep commitment to the soaring aspiration of our nation’s founding. It’s a belief that the “blessings of liberty” can be secured for everyone without regard to race, religion, or where one sleeps at night. But homelessness challenges our civic pride. It challenges the notion that the “American Dream” is available to all who seek it. Homelessness challenges our American values and our business sensibilities.

The extreme poverty of homelessness challenges us as individuals, as communities, and as a society. For the most part, homelessness is something we’d rather not discuss. It’s easy to sweep this issue under the rug or stick our head in the sand.

We’d like to believe that we didn’t just see that man begging for money on the street corner—we didn’t see that family huddled under the bridge. But friends, we did see them! Progress is not made by complacency. Success comes at the end of a long and steep staircase.

Fort Worth will not turn a blind eye to these fellow citizens in need. We understand the challenges, and we are willing to accept them. We in Fort Worth value problem solving that is efficient and proactive. We like to tackle things head on. We thrive in checking problems off the list and charging forward. That’s what we are doing with this issue of chronic homelessness.

Recalling our trip to other cities, I can tell you we learned many lessons. One surprising lesson was that it costs less to provide permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless than it does to leave them on the streets or in shelters. You see, we can spend money to develop quality affordable housing and revitalize neighborhoods. Or, we can spend more money to “perpetuate lives of misery,” as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper puts it.

As I’ve studied every angle of this issue, what I’ve learned is three-fold: First: Housing without services doesn’t work. Secondly: Services without housing doesn’t work. And third: Doing nothing doesn’t work either. In Fort Worth, the dedicated folks at the Presbyterian Night Shelter, the Union Gospel Mission, The Day Resource Center, and the Salvation Army do the best they can with what little they have. Now, it’s time we came together to help them!

That’s exactly what we’re doing with our Directions Home 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness. Our vision is simple: To make homelessness a rare, short-term and non-recurring experience in Fort Worth by 2018. Here’s what I mean by that:

By making homelessness rare, we mean that fewer households will fall out of housing and into homelessness.

By making homelessness short-term, we mean that no one will be homeless more than 12 months—putting an end to chronic homelessness. There have been folks living in emergency shelters for years. This must end. That’s not the answer. A shelter is not a home—it’s a shelter.

And, by making homelessness non-recurring, we mean that homelessness will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If someone is slipping in and out of homelessness over and over again, there’s a problem. We need to work with that person to make changes that will help them keep their home.

So what’s our strategy?

Unfortunately, we probably aren’t going to eliminate domestic violence or mental illness overnight. We may never rid this world of substance abuse or unemployment. But we can build a system that reacts quickly and persuasively once a person does become homeless. This is key. Once a person slips into homelessness, it’s like quicksand. The longer they remain homeless, the more tightly the poverty cycle wraps around the person as they struggle to break free.

Gary Shaheen and John Rio are leading researchers in employment and housing for the homeless. In a recent report, they said, “Without work and without daily productive activity to cement relationships and support systems, people become isolated… withdrawn…disengaged…and self-absorbed in their illness and symptoms.” But this isn’t rocket science. It’s just common sense.

We must have a compassionate, yet accountable support system that can rapidly pluck someone from a bad situation and set them on a new, steady path — a path to becoming a self-supporting and contributing member of our community once again

Our 10-year plan is built around seven overarching strategies:

1. Increase the supply of permanent supportive housing
2. Expand opportunities and services linked with accountability
3. Develop and operate a central resource facility
4. Coordinate and expand homelessness prevention initiatives
5. Support and strengthen existing public, private, and faith-based efforts
6. Mitigate the negative community impacts of homelessness
7. Lead, educate, and advocate for change

Within each of these strategies are specific action items with target dates, lead organizations, possible funding sources, and proposed funding levels. Some of the programs and initiatives contained in the Directions Home plan are paid for by city.

We also have funds from partners like the Wal-mart Foundation, Cook Children’s Hospital, the SITE International Foundation, and the United Way of Tarrant County. Thanks to this plan, every sector of our community is now deeply engaged in the efforts to end—not just manage—chronic homelessness. We are literally entering a new era of collaboration and innovation.
Our plan includes people and organizations representing the faith-based community, local health care systems, and our housing and service providers. Even our corporate partners have jumped on this train, and we’re moving forward with a lot of momentum!

Today, roughly 265 people previously living in emergency shelters or on the streets now have a home as a direct result of Directions Home programs. And, people in emergency shelters are receiving better care thanks to Directions Home-funded case managers.

Along with safe and clean housing, these individuals are being linked with the social services they need to get back on their feet. Many have been homeless for years and require substance abuse and/or mental health services. They too are getting the help they need.

Hope takes many forms, but the equation will always include a steady job. We all know how hard it is for anyone to find a job on the heels of this national recession. But think of how hard it must be for someone who’s been homeless.

Take a single mother fleeing an abusive home situation…Maybe she hasn’t had a job before. Maybe she has no marketable skills…All she has is the desire to support her children and improve her situation. If she gets an interview, is she prepared? Does she have a place to shower and prepare herself? Does she have clothes that would allow her to put a confident foot forward in an interview? If she’s still living at a local shelter, where will she keep her things while she goes to the interview? And, more importantly, who will watch her children?

These are some steep obstacles. But the challenges are not just limited to single mothers or fathers. What about those with mental or physical disabilities? What about those with a criminal past? What about the simple fact that you don’t have an address to put on an application?

Despite what many people may think, those who are homeless do want to work. They long to earn a fair wage for a good day’s work. That’s why job training and employment assistance is a major part of our early intervention. Through Directions Home, our shelters and Day Resource Center have partnered with our friends at Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County. We’re making headway through Workforce Solutions’ Project W.I.S.H. Hundreds have graduated from this program and other partners like UPS and the Gaylord Texan Hotel have stepped up to find them jobs. This is real progress folks!

And our success flies in the face of the myth that progress cannot be made in midst of such heavy economic storms. It can, and we have!

But while progress is real, I still believe that our society is in need of a change in mindset. We need to change our attitudes. I have faith that our Directions Home movement will begin to remove the stereotypes and quell the uncertainty some employers may feel about hiring the homeless. Many of our corporate partners have already stepped up. And, this is not just a challenge with private employers. The public sector must also change its attitude. We’ve already done a few things in the city along these lines. For instance, our Public Events Department entered into an employment initiative with Goodwill Industries to provide equitable wages for temporary labor preformed by homeless people with disabilities.

These are the types of innovative ideas that must be interwoven into our efforts to eliminate chronic homelessness. No one is foolish enough to think that fulfilling the goals outlined in our Directions Home plan will be easy. But so far, not one door has been closed in our face. At every stop more and more doors are opening. We are making a difference—one individual at a time.

Today, this community stands united and committed to help every homeless citizen find their own Direction Home. I thank you for your time today.

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