Homeless Update - Montgomery County, MD

From WaPo:

In 2002, Montgomery County officials vowed to end homelessness in the county within 10 years. As part of their initiative, they said they would construct 800 studio apartments by 2012.

Six years later, only 48 such units have been created -- eight of which opened last month. And according to the most recent census of homelessness in the region, there are more homeless people on the streets of Montgomery than there were in the year before then-County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) made his pledge.

"Six years have gone by, and we haven't made any progress," said council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large). "We haven't fulfilled our promise." (my bold)

Many towns and cities in the nation have launched grand plans to end homelessness and, thus far, it appears that all are in trouble. It will be interesting to watch as each of the communities backs out of its promises.

The problem appears to be that the grand plans to end homelessness, which provide shelters and permanent housing and services, etc., do not seem to have any impact on the actual number of homeless people. In virtually every case, the population stays the same or increases. Take the example of Montgomery County, permanent housing was created to reduce the number of homeless and the exact opposite result was achieved.

I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that all plans to end homelessness are destined to fail. A more logical approach would be to work for a reduction in the homeless population that is reasonably achieveable.