Housing Assistance Corporation pursued a number of outlandish, lavish, expansion projects and attempted to expand negligent housing services to the neighboring Town of Sandwich. Extravagant homes were being planned for executives of Housing Assistance Corporation. Construction of the project was halted after intense lobbying of the Family Association of Sandwich represented by William Henchy, Esq. and formerly homeless people that came forward and testified before the ZBA in Sandwich. The administration of Housing Assistance Corporation planned an $11.5 million dollar project at taxpayer expense. In addition, clinicians and nursing personnel expanded negligent psychiatric services and drug addictions therapy using controversial treatment for habitual narcotics offenders.
Harm Reduction Theory devised by Edith Springer and The Housing First Model developed by the Department of Housing and Urban Develpment/Office for Research and Policy includes experimental practices such as Suboxone Treatment and Methadone Therapy.. Effectiveness for this experimental treatment is low and the liberal access to syringes and needles from recent legalization of over the counter sale of syringes increased the numbers of improperly disposed, contaminated needles strewn about downtown, Hyannis.
Criminality among the population remains predominant and the organization remains in proximity to two schools and a daycare center/preschool.
Where is the outrage?
HOMELESSNESS FACT SHEET
Cape Cod & the Islands
April 9, 2004
HOMELESSNESS ON CAPE COD AND THE ISLANDSThe Cape Cod & the Islands Coordinating Council for the Homeless conducts an annual point-in-time
count of the homeless.
In 2004, 1,733 persons were counted as homeless:
o 1,041 were individuals
§ 554 were in shelter, 296 were in motels and 191 were on the street
o 692 were persons in families with children
§ 275 were in shelter, 164 were in motels and 253 were on the street
In 2003, 1,763 persons were counted as homeless:
o 1,110 were individuals
§ 428 were in shelter, 326 were in motels and 356 were on the street
o 653 were persons in families with children
§ 348 were in shelter, 92 were in motels and 213 were on the street
In 2002, 1,230 persons were counted as homeless:
o 724 were individuals
§ 521 were in shelter and the remaining 203 were either in motels or on the street
o 506 were persons in families with children
§ 356 were in shelter and the remaining 150 were either in motels or on the street
NOAH SHELTER
This is a 50-bed emergency shelter for individuals:
• In 2003 NOAH saw 533 different individuals (379 were male and 154 were female), in
comparison to 486 different individuals in 2002.
• Of the 533 individuals seen by NOAH in 2003, 258 came to NOAH for the first time: 77% were
from Cape Cod and the Islands and 90% were from Massachusetts.
• Of the Cape Cod towns, Barnstable had the highest percentages of people at 32% of the
total population: of the individuals from Barnstable, the vast majority gave Hyannis as their
last address.
• All 15 Cape towns and both Islands were represented among the NOAH population.
• Many of the non-Cape residents came from the Southeastern Massachusetts communities
(Brockton, Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, etc.).
• In 2003 the shelter averaged 60 people per night, an increase from 53 people per night in
2002.
• In 2003, the total number of nights spent at NOAH was 21,748, up from 19,491 in 2002.
• When the shelter is full to capacity homeless persons are either allowed in the foyer,
allowed to sit-up inside the shelter, referred to the Overnights of Hospitality program,
referred to the Pilot House, or turned away.
• In 2003, 154 women were served at NOAH, up from 108 women in 1998.
PILOT HOUSE
Pilot House opened its door on January 22nd, 2003 as a community-based, locally funded collaborative
project to stabilize the most marginalized homeless men and women in the community.
• This program is the result of a collaboration between the Town of Barnstable,
Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc., Duffy Health Center
and Housing Assistance Corporation.
• The goal of Pilot House is to stabilize men and women who cannot access other shelters as a result
of mental health or substance abuse issues and improve their status so they can transition to more
permanent housing while continuing to receive support services.
• Since its opening in January 2002, 130 chronically homeless adults have stayed at Pilot House and
are working towards recovery and stability with clinical oversight and intensive case management.
• Within a one year period (January 22 to December 31, 2003) Pilot House provided 3,430
overnight stays to over 130 chronically homeless individuals.
OVERNIGHTS OF HOSPITALITY PROGRAM
The Cape Cod Council of Churches and the Salvation Army jointly coordinate this program:
• Churches and Synagogues open their doors to a small group of homeless persons
who need a warm, safe place to sleep.
• The “Overnights” program serves homeless people, thus lessening the amount of
overcrowding at the NOAH Shelter.
• Around 30 religious organizations participate in the program, with two
churches/synagogues providing shelter on any given night.
• Within just over a one-year period (October 2002 to early October 2003) this program
has provided over 3,000 hospitality stays to homeless men and women.
COSTS OF SHELTERING THE HOMELESS VERSUS PREVENTION
The cost-efficiency of preventing homeless is clear when comparing the following figures.
The cost efficiency of preventing families from becoming homeless is as follows:
• According to Housing Assistance Corporation, the average cost of sheltering a
family (including services) ranges from $23,490 for the least expensive shelter to $54,000 for the
most expensive shelter for women in recovery from substance abuse (based on calculating the
average monthly costs of $2,610 and $6,000 respectively times the average length of stay of nine
months).
• In comparison, Project Prevention, available countywide and coordinated by Housing
Assistance Corporation spends, on average, $1,333 per family for homelessness prevention.
The cost efficiency of preventing individuals from becoming homeless is as follows:
• According to NOAH, the average cost of sheltering a guest (including services) is $1,845 (based
on calculating $45 per night times the average length of stay of 41 nights).
• In comparison, in 2003, the Barnstable Interfaith Council prevention program, coordinated by
NOAH staff, assisted 78 individuals for an average of $317.
Reviewing articles published in the Cape Cod Times can be more palatable by listening to The Rolling Stones. Log on the lyrics of "Gimme Shelter". I never realized the potency of the lyrics!
Cape lawmaker criticizes housing aid proposal
By MOLLY CONNORS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
November 12, 2009
A Cape lawmaker has challenged a portion of a housing bill he generally supports, claiming that, as written, it could encourage people to become homeless to receive housing aid. State Rep. Matthew C. Patrick, D—Falmouth, was one of the few to raise concerns about the bill that would change the way housing authorities and other housing agencies distribute housing assistance money at a hearing held by the Joint Committee on Housing Tuesday at the Statehouse. Patrick told the committee that, although he supports many parts of the bill, because one of its provisions would give homeless and "imminently homeless" people priority over those who already have housing but are waiting for assistance, the legislation may inadvertently spread the very problem it aims to prevent.
"It's an incentive to become homeless," Patrick said in an interview after his testimony.
Patrick said he hopes the committee will consider an amendment to address his concern. The bill would also require preference for affordable rental housing be given to people who have medical conditions that cannot be accommodated in their current housing and to those who have rent payments that are more than 50 percent of their income. Ellen Shachter, who works with Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services, denied Patrick's claims that the bill would create incentives for people to enter shelters. Shachter, who helped write the legislation, said some housing agencies already give priority to those who are homeless or about to become homeless and the bill would simply create a uniform standard throughout the state.
"In a crisis, every housing provider has to be a part of the solution to homelessness," she said in an interview after her testimony the housing committee. The bill, co-sponsored by state Rep. Cleon Turner, D—Dennis, would require housing programs to ignore an applicant's bad credit score if the applicant has a "positive history" of rent payment. The bill also requires housing providers to accept electronic payments and allows public and subsidized housing applicants to designate someone — for example, a friend or relative — to receive copies of all of their housing paperwork.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Carl M. Sciortino Jr., D-Somerville, would also make it more difficult for housing authorities to deny housing to domestic violence victims.
There was no disagreement among advocates that demand for affordable housing is high. Approximately 76,000 Massachusetts residents — about 4,000 on Cape Cod — are waiting for Section 8 housing vouchers, which provide federally funded housing assistance.
The housing committee has not set a date for a vote on the bill, and Patrick said he was not confident the measure would be voted on this year. Frederick B. Presbrey, chief executive officer of the Housing Assistance Corporation of Cape Cod, said the group receives requests for help from about 30 people daily. Many of them, he said, are in danger of losing their housing. But Presbrey said he shared Patrick's concern that the bill would create incentives for people who are facing years-long waits for Section 8 housing assistance to become homeless. "I'm trying to do what works best for the families in the long run," he said.
Reality indicates that the homeless crisis was created by malfeasance. That is, misdirection of public funds and mismanagement of the reasources supplied by 94-97% taxpayer dollars.
Cape shortchanged on homeless
By Patrick Cassidy
pcassidy@capecodonline.com
October 07, 2009
HYANNIS — In what local housing advocates are calling a potentially devastating blow to the cause, a grant to keep local families from becoming homeless has been awarded at a fraction of what was requested. "We're still going to get the telephone calls, we're still going to get the people walking through the door," said Estella Fritzinger, executive director of the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands, the lead agency to request the grant money from the state. Instead of the $1.6 million asked for in the grant proposal, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development awarded Fritzinger's organization, Housing Assistance Corp. of Hyannis and the Homeless Prevention Council only $200,000 for a variety of programs, including homelessness prevention and other initiatives designed to divert families who would otherwise move into shelters to other forms of housing.
The federal stimulus money is allocated by the state agency, which, HAC president and CEO Rick Presbrey said, is more focused on efforts to move families out of motels in other parts of the state than it is on the Cape's needs. Also, none of the money for the state's Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program that provides short-term financial assistance to families who are homeless or who are about to become homeless is expected to be allocated for the Cape, Presbrey said.
The concept behind these programs and efforts over the past 20 years is that it costs much less to keep a family housed than it does to keep them in a shelter or in a motel, Presbrey said. HAC and the Community Action Committee each see between 20 and 30 people a day who are in need of emergency housing assistance, Presbrey and Fritzinger said. Without the money they had originally requested the agencies will only be able to help 100 families stay in their homes each year versus 700, they said.
The state understands the disappointment of regional agencies but was required by strict federal guidelines to disburse the stimulus money throughout the state in the best possible way to prevent homelessness, Housing and Community Development spokesman Phil Hailer wrote in an e-mail to the Times. In addition to the $200,000 for homelessness prevention services, the Cape — through the Duffy Health Center — will receive more than $600,000 for individual homelessness prevention efforts, Hailer wrote.
For over ten years, executives at Housing Assistance Corporation planned a lavish $11.5 million dollar experimental farm project slated for the Town of Sandwich. The architect's shematic plan included two half-million dollar homes for adminstrative staff, a sports arena with an Olympic size swimming pool, horse and pony stables, a dairy farm, gardens to be cultivated, and a chicken coop intended for clients to gather eggs and sell at a dairy stand.
The initiative failed to pass at the ZBA in Sandwich after concerned former clients introduced information indicating the organization is operating at a negligent standard. Livia Davis and Tom Brigham promised the Town of Sandwich that candidates for the experimental project would be carefully screened from a pool of applicants at the existing NOAH Shelter. Davis and Presbrey also promised the Town of Sandwich that they would return unrehabilitated clients that failed at recovery to the Hyannis area.
Davis continued to bill third party reimbursement and public insurance for clients in the Hyannis area to support the establishment of the project. Housing Assistance Corporation denied that there were any violent narcotics addicts and sex offenders housed at NOAH. Presbrey referred to me as "irresponsible" in August in 2003.
