Homeless Action Report

(Baltimore, Maryland) Mayor Sheila Dixon has vowed to end homelessness but it's not clear exactly how she plans to do it. Nonetheless, homelessness has been identified as a housing problem, a good start.

A census earlier this year indicated that about 3,000 homeless need shelter while only about 2,000 beds are available in emergency and transitional housing.

As part of the solution, the Housing Department committed to provide 88 apartments over five years starting last January. That equals 17.6 apartments per year, not a large amount. Sadly, the goal may not be achievable since no apartments have been provided for this year.

Additionally, Baltimore has snagged federal funds for 50 to 150 residential units over five years with future plans for 500 in a decade.

This all sounds good but, frankly, the numbers don't seem to add up. With 3,000 homeless and a plan to add 238 permanent housing units within five years, ending homelessness would require each unit to have about 13 residents. I can't imagine that the city of Baltimore is building houses with 13 bedrooms.

As far as Mayor Dixon making the end of homelessness her signature issue, I'd suggest that she might want to reconsider.