Forget Cost-Benefit Studies, Housing is a Human Right!

A new study out of Los Angeles today has found that housing a homeless person is cheaper than leaving them to fend for themselves on the streets. It's an argument has been reinforced for years by cost-benefit analysis after cost-benefit analysis in cities across the country.

The emphasis on these types studies is incredibly frustrating. Why do cost studies trump historically significant declarations that proclaim housing to be a basic human right, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the National Housing Goal in the 1949 Housing Act?

I think it's time that we, as advocates, get our priorities and our messaging straight.

The report released today was conducted by the United Way of Greater LA. It profiled four individuals and tallied the costs of their homelessness - including shelter stays, emergency room visits, etc. - for two years. Not surprisingly, the study concluded that the total cost to provide services on the streets was more than $80,000 greater than it would be with permanent housing with support services. That's a "43 percent savings for taxpayers," according to LA's NBC affiliate.

But seriously - how many cost-benefit analysis studies should it take to change a system?

Clearly, the dollars and cents research has proven effective in certain cities for vamping up support of newer approaches, such as housing first. And this is not to undermine the importance of these types of studies in cities desperately needing additional political/financial backing for homeless services. But will this piecemeal, incremental approach generate the vast support needed to truly overhaul a system that grossly under-values safe, decent, affordable housing?

The truth is, the importance of housing is well-established in history. It has been established, internationally and domestically, as a basic human right. Read the following. Refer to them often when you find yourself having to - for some reason - make an argument in favor of providing housing the homeless.

Start with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reads, "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."(article 25(1))

If that doesn't work, refer to the 1949 Housing Act, in which Congress declares a National Housing Goal of "a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family."

Cost-benefit analysis are devaluing the historic emphasis on housing, something we seem to have forgotten over the years. It is up to us, as advocates, to remind the world that housing has been established as a basic human right. Perhaps framing the issue as a basic human right rather than a cost-benefit analysis will drum up the outrage necessary to make real progress.

Image from Farm4's public Flickr photo stream.