PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has seen a slight decrease in the number of people living on the street, and officials believe one of the reasons is a rapid rehousing program known as Streets to Home.
It was one of the programs that grew out of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway encampments in 2020, when the city was trying novel approaches to homelessness.
The city long believed the best way to get people from the street to permanent housing was to provide intensive services, but Streets to Home is showing that a lighter touch can work.
“The retention rate was extraordinary,” said Office of Homeless Services Director Liz Hersh. “It was in the 90% range, so we really started to see that this was an approach that would be really helpful for folks coming in off the street, who had the wherewithal to find their own place to live.”
One of the program’s successes is William Santee, who was homeless for five years. Growing up, he never learned to read. By his 20s, he committed a felony that put him to jail for 20 years. After his release, he couldn’t even manage to stay in a shelter.
He was living under the I-676 overpass when he was recruited by Streets to Home.
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He looked at three apartments — among landlords who participate in the program — and chose one near Temple. The program paid his rent for 16 months and assigned a caseworker to help with his transition.
“Without her, I would not be where I am right now,” he said. “I really didn’t think I would ever get off the street. I thought I’d live whatever life I was going to live out there.”
Once his final month in the program came and went, Santee decided to take over rent payments and furnish the place himself.
“[The program] did for me what I didn’t think anybody else would ever do,” he added.
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Case manager Quanda Guyton said many of her clients, like Santee, stay housed after the program is over.
“The individual has to want it,” she noted, “and that’s where I come in with the enthusiasm and the resources.”
The city has spent $1.6 million on the program in its first year and a half. Hersh said that’s about $10,000 per person.