The Housing Services Network 14th annual symposium was held at the Rochester Institute of Technology Wednesday morning.
The goal was to showcase the various resources and services available to providers who continue to address homelessness and housing needs within our community.
Mike Rood is the Regional Director of Social Services for the Salvation Army in Rochester, he said as a community and a society; we need to look at the options provided to the working poor and chronically homeless.
"Can you work at McDonald's and still afford housing and not be paying 75% of your income to your rent, which gives you no room for food or clothing and the things you might need."
This year focused on Housing First, an approach guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to other obstacles, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or dealing with substance use issues.
Keynote Speaker Daniel Malone said he’s seen success with this concept. He works for the Downtown Emergency Services Center in Seattle. He says housing shouldn’t be looked at as something that is “earned.”
"I just think we have a choice to make as an American society about whether we're okay with the consequences of something basic like housing not being seen as a basic human right."
Malone says the positive aspects ripple throughout the community. With people in stable housing, they're less likely to need other public services.
"People who become housed need to go to the emergency department a lot less. For one thing, they can be established with some kind of more regular care but a key component of it they're not getting injured as much. They’re not doing as much damage to themselves so they have less need for those kinds of services. And like wise they get arrested a lot less. They go to jail a lot less so communities don’t need to create more space for jails.”
Malone says the stabilization of a home eliminates the chaos of homelessness that often keeps people from tackling other issues.