Dissecting the "Homeless" Headlines

Today, people all across the U.S. read similar headlines in their local papers: "City of <blank> receives $X million dollars to combat homelessness."

Yup, this is that wonderful time of the year when the Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes Continuum of Care funds to communities throughout the country. But don't let the headlines fool you. The ceremonial awarding of cash and bold newspaper headlines is, more or less, just a carefully orchestrated political stunt.

As Brian at the Coalition for the Homeless in Cleveland points out, this major flow of cash from the government into homeless services is, in many communities, simply renewing existing programs across the U.S.:

This dates back to the Clinton administration when they combined all the homeless money given to states and localities into one release of dollars to maximize news coverage. Clinton did it right by releasing the money right around a big, tug-on-the-heart-strings-holiday of either Christmas or Thanksgiving. It was difficult for the Bush administration to manage the release of the HUD grant around a good holiday, because the federal budget was not regularly passed by the October 1 deadline. Bush was often relegated to second tier-tug-at-your-heart holidays like MLK Day or President's Day for his homeless press release. Obama released the funds yesterday with a $1.6 billion headline provided to local and state jurisdictions.

That's not to say that receiving a federal homeless grant is not a reason for celebration. Anyone who's ever completed a government grant application knows that you need the endurance of a marathoner combined with the patience of a preschool teacher. 

The reason these headlines are so misleading, as Brian points out, is because the grant monies awarded do not include any kinds of adjustments, such as cost of living, salaries, or additional strains on services:

The shelters do not get a cost of living increase or money to serve new populations (like foreclosure victims). They get the same amount of money that they asked for when they were originally funded. While utility prices, food prices, health benefits, and salaries have all gone up over the years, the shelters must figure out how to make up the shortfall because the federal government does not pay for any cost of living increases.

So when you open your papers this week and read headlines like this one in LA, this one in West Virginia, or this one in Washington State, be sure you know what's really going on behind those fancy headlines. Don't let the pomp and circumstance of level funding fool you.