Running Head: NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR HOMELESS ADDICTS
Needs Assessment of Transitional Housing for Homeless Addicts in Kitsap County
Whitney Turrieta
Western Washington University
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NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR HOMELESS ADDICTS IN KITSAP COUNTY
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Introduction/Target Population
There’s no question that homelessness is an issue in our nation, and Kitsap County is no
exception. The Point In Time Count of 2012 (a single count conducted in a 24 hour period)
identified 523 homeless in Kitsap County, 30% of whom cited re-entry into the community from
institutions as the cause of their homelessness and 18% cited the use of alcohol or other drugs
(Kitsap County, 2012). Trends studied over the last 5 years indicate that “about 30% of people
who are chronically homeless have mental health conditions; about 50% have co-occurring
substance use problems” (Kitsap County, 2012). The Housing Solutions Center of Kitsap
County, who addresses the needs of community members who are homeless or in danger of
becoming homeless, enrolled 5,856 clients for services in 2013, and a total of 34% of referrals
made were to subsidized housing/Oxford,
treatment centers, and transitional housing
(Housing Solutions Center, 2013).
Chemical dependency treatment has
markedly lower outcomes when
participants are or become homeless.
According to the National Coalition for
the Homeless, “a person experiencing
homelessness is more than twice as likely
Source: Housing Solutions Center Quick Facts (2013)
to have had five or more previous treatment
episodes as their housed counterparts” (2010). Addicts in particular are often ineligible for
housing in shelters due to criminal histories, others because they cannot meet the sobriety
requirements of the shelters. When a homeless addict decides to reach out for help, service
NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR HOMELESS ADDICTS IN KITSAP COUNTY
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providers are often limited by lack of documentation, transportation, and ability to contact
clients. As the new healthcare reform replaces the previous ADATSA program, new protocols
have to be established for screening and serving clients. An addict who walks into a treatment
center will have to be signed up for medical, given an appointment for a drug/alcohol
assessment, and then wait for a bed to open in an inpatient facility. Many clients disappear before
that process can be completed, lacking a safe and sober place to stay until they can transition into
inpatient treatment. For those who make it into treatment, homelessness greatly limits a person’s
options when they release from treatment. The Kitsap Recovery Center has a “guest program”
where people who complete inpatient chemical dependency treatment can stay for a short period
of time following treatment, but their bed space is limited and insufficient to meet the needs of
the county’s clients. According to Linda Kerkes, who previously ran the ADATSA program out
of the Kitsap Recovery Center, “When someone gets out of an inpatient drug program, they need
to go to a stable place. If they don’t have access to a clean and sober environment, they will go
back to where they lived before and fall back into their old habits. The first three or four months
after getting out are the most important.” (Bermant, 2009).
Oxford Houses, which provide rehabilitative support in single family homes for
recovering addicts are self-supporting and require most (if not all) of the application fee and first
month’s rent to move in. Members who do not pay their rent on time are required by the houses
charters to be expelled. Even sober, many addicts will still be turned away from shelters because
of their criminal histories.
Stakeholders
The homeless status of addicts affects both the persons suffering from addiction and the
community in which they live.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR HOMELESS ADDICTS IN KITSAP COUNTY
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Untreated addictions and mental illnesses present serious barriers to employment and
permanent housing, perpetuating an ever-worsening cycle of poor physical health,
hospitalization, social dysfunction, incarceration, poverty, and homelessness. These are
tragic outcomes for homeless persons and their families; burdens on healthcare, social
service, and corrections systems; and costs to taxpayers (National Coalition for the
Homeless, 2012).
Of the stakeholders affected by this issue, there are specific groups who are in a position
to collect and organize data that will be useful in addressing the needs of this population and
identifying potential resources that can be allocated for increasing and subsidizing transitional
housing. Law enforcement officers, specifically those doing intake/booking at the Kitsap County
Jail are in a position to collect data and, for those being booked and released or released after
serving a sentence, make referrals for housing for at-risk offenders. “Former inmates are at high
risk for death from drug overdose, especially in the immediate post-release period” (Binswanger,
Nowels, Corsi, Glanz, Long, Booth, & Steiner, 2012, p.1). Many inmates return to toxic
environments, lacking a safe and sober alternative, and resume the cycle of homelessness and
addiction.
Other stakeholders who are in a position to gather data and advocate for expansion and
subsidization of transitional housing for homeless addicts include chemical dependency
treatment providers and client service providers, including the Kitsap Recovery Center and
Housing Solutions Center staff. Often there is overlap between agencies, and monthly or
quarterly meetings convene to address the needs of the homeless population. It is a logical
progression to include this specific population who is often being excluded from services based
on existing criteria.
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Oxford House, the largest provider of clean and sober housing in the county (and state) is
also a stakeholder in a position to gather data and directly affect the living situation of some of
the homeless addicts transitioning out of treatment. Houses are self-ran on a democratic basis,
which five Outreach employees (including one in Kitsap County) whose positions are funded by
state grants. Houses meet monthly as chapters, chapters meet every other month as a state
association.
The final stakeholders are the potential clients themselves, the homeless population
whose circumstances are further complicated by chemical dependency. Often overlapping with
Veteran status, co-occurring with mental health issues, and ostracized based on criminal
histories, people in this situation have unique insight into their needs and the potential to help
each other as they break the cycles that bind them.
Gaps
The most pressing gaps currently affecting the homeless, chemically dependent
population are lack of bed space in shelters and other transitional housing, lack of funding for
alternative housing sources, and a lack of safe living environments to transition in and out of
inpatient treatment facilities. Data currently available may be insufficient to identify the needs of
this specific group, as many homeless addicts who are actively using do not seek resources for
fear or law enforcement, so they are uncounted. Statistics recently published regarding the
homeless population in Kitsap County identify possible causes of homelessness but there is little
known about how effective increasing transitional housing will be, and/or for how long.
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Data Collection Plan
Data collection will vary based on the stakeholder collecting the data. Jail intake officers
will gather data by surveying the target population in booking, at the time of intake and upon
release. Chemical dependency professionals will gather data specifically from the target
population about their circumstances and track progress, including long term outcomes for those
who are available for contact. Housing Solutions Center will gather and track data specific to this
population, including how many clients meet the criteria of homeless and chemically dependent,
how many of those have criminal histories, and how many are turned away due to lack of bed
space/qualifying criteria. Oxford Houses would be tasked at the house level of tracking how
many post-treatment applicants are/will be homeless at the time of application, as well as how
many of those applicants are refused based solely on a lack of financial resources. Oxford House
is the topic of an ongoing study at St. Paul University; a request could be made to expand the
portion of the surveys they conduct to include more specific questions about homelessness. The
target population will be surveyed to see what resources they believe are most lacking and
identify their greatest barriers to meeting their own basic needs.
10 Needs Assessment Survey Questions
(These questions will be directed toward service providers)
1.
What is the biggest barrier your homeless, chemically dependent clients face?
2.
Does your agency provide case management or are you limited to emergency
services? If your agency is law enforcement, do you refer to agencies for case
management of inmates who you believe would benefit from it?
NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR HOMELESS ADDICTS IN KITSAP COUNTY
3.
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Would opening a shelter that does not require background checks make a significant
impact on the homeless clients that you serve? Why/why not?
4.
Would it be useful (if you are not already a chemical dependency treatment provider)
to have a CDP available at your site to conduct intake assessments?
5.
What areas in Kitsap County do you believe have the greatest need for transitional
housing before and after chemical dependency treatment?
6.
Do you believe that a significant number of your homeless, chemically dependent
clients have co-occurring mental health issues?
7.
Does your agency do long term follow up, and if not, would you be willing to?
8.
Are you willing to include a short survey in your intake process of homeless,
chemically dependent clients?
9.
Would you be willing to advocate for funding for transitional housing to assist
homeless, chemically dependent people from returning to homelessness after
completing treatment?
10.
Do you have any suggestions to address the issues faced by the homeless, chemically
dependent population?
Who is Served, and How
There are other funding options that go beyond seeking grants based on identifying the
needs of stakeholders and gathering data. One of the Oxford House chapters in the area
(Chehalis) was able to form a partnership with the United Way, and in exchange for some
community service work, they were awarded a grant of several thousand dollars, that is eligible
to be reissued annually, and is used to offer scholarships for people releasing from treatment
without resources. Although this type of funding is technically a grant, is it sustainable in a way
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that simply applying for government funds is not, because those who benefit from the funding
are required to participate in the community service that begets the grant. Other chapters have the
option of creating a partnership with the United Way, and other organizations as well.
The population that is served directly is the homeless, chemically dependent population,
as they will have the opportunity to have the basic need of housing met and be in a better
position to focus on other issues, especially chemical dependency. By providing housing from
the intake process to the start of inpatient treatment, clients will have a better chance of showing
up for treatment. By making provisions for housing after treatment, clients can focus on their
recovery and use their energy to resolve other barriers, such as education and employment.
Inpatient treatment centers expanding or including on-site housing for those not requiring
medical detox but needing a safe place to stay while awaiting an opening in inpatient treatment is
the first step. Subsidizing safe and sober housing upon release from treatment for homeless
clients will help keep them on a path to self-efficacy.
The community is served as well. The costs of emergency room visits, law enforcement
interventions, and incarceration for homeless addicts are staggering. Emergency interventions as
well as long term care at the tax payer’s expense can be greatly reduced, and tax revenue
generated, by providing transitional housing and bridging the gap between chemical dependency
treatment and the streets of Kitsap County.
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Works Cited
Bermant, C. (2009, March 12). Kitsap's drug treatment cuts could increase homelessness,
officials say. Central Kitsap Reporter. Retrieved from
http://www.centralkitsapreporter.com/news/41175569.html.
Binswanger, I., Nowels, C., Corsi, K., Glanz, J., Long, J., Booth, R., & Steiner, J. (2012). Return
to drug use and overdose after release from prison: a qualitative study of risk and
protective factors [Electronic version]. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 7(3).
doi:10.1186/1940-0640-7-3 Housing Solution Center (2013). 2013 Housing Solutions
Center quick facts. Housing Solutions Center of Kitsap County; Bremerton, WA.
Kitsap County, (2012). Homelessness, mental health, and substance use disorders fact sheet.
Retrieved from
http://www.kitsapgov.com/hs/mhsa/DOCUMENTS/FACT%20SHEETS/Homeless%20F
act%20Sheet%20wo%20recommendations.pdf
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2010, June 10). NCH public policy recommendations.
In Nationalhomeless.org. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/PPR/2010/10%20-%20HART%206-1010.pdf