THE PROBLEM AND ONE SOLUTION About the Homeless Population in South Hampton Roads On any given day, more than 1,400 people in South Hampton Roads are homeless. Among this group, 37 percent spend their days and nights unsheltered. Many suffer from mental and physical health problems that have only worsened due to living on the streets. Other factors resulting in greater vulnerability include limited education and skills training, foster care, incarceration, and alcohol or drug abuse. The Chronically Homeless The majority of people remain homeless for short periods of time, while a small group spends months or years living in shelters, on the streets, and in and out of jails, hospitals and mental health or substance abuse facilities. These individuals are described as chronically homeless and nearly all have a disability. A Solution that’s both Humane and Cost-Effective Across the country, permanent supportive housing is making a difference in the effort to end homelessness. Permanent supportive housing combines affordable rental housing with services to support residents, including employment, literacy and substance abuse recovery programs. A 2002 study by the Fannie Mae Foundation revealed that it cost the public the same amount to house a person with serious mental illness in permanent supportive housing as it did to keep that person homeless. When placed in supportive housing, hospital, prison and outpatient health care usage and costs declined dramatically and the outcome was more beneficial to both the individual and society. Late in 2006, South Hampton Roads became home to the first regional supportive housing residence of its kind in the nation. Through a partnership of the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach, the South Bay Apartments in Portsmouth will house more than 60 chronically homeless individuals in efficiency units. Residents are connected to employment and other supportive resources, and are expected to pay 30 percent of his or her income as rent. MAKE A DIFFERENCE – MAKE ROOM Unfinished units within South Bay and at a future site are in need of funding to purchase furnishings and to assist with ongoing expenses. The Lead Hampton Roads Class of 2007, a Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce program that builds and strengthens regional leadership, has taken on the issue of chronic homelessness in Hampton Roads with “Make Room Hampton Roads,” a campaign to raise awareness and increase funding for permanent supportive housing programs such as Gosnold.