KERA's Justin Martin recently talked with Christopher Connelly and Yfat Yossifor about their reporting on a new way to combat homelessness. Here's a transcript of that conversation:
Justin Martin: So Yffy, let's start with what exactly Dallas is doing differently.
Yfat Yossifor: So there are really three big changes in the way the homeless response system in Dallas is dealing with encampments. First, this new approach brings nonprofits and local agencies out to the encampment — helping people where they're living. Second, it delivers permanent housing with no conditions like getting sober and no time limits. Third, it's a long-term, ongoing support from a caseworker who comes in, helps them navigate challenges, sets goals — so they don't fall back into homelessness.
Christopher Connelly: Yeah, and ... Chris here ... there's also another big change, and that's money. During the pandemic, a ton of money came in from the feds for homelessness, which came just as this big system transformation, this "rethink" was happening. And then when that started showing positive results, the feds sent even more money to Dallas to bolster the effort.
Martin: So is it too early to say whether this new process is making a difference?
Connelly: It seems like it really is making a difference. So just looking at the numbers. For years, Dallas homelessness just kept rising. In 2021, when this new approach started being implemented, that trend seems to have started to reverse. So since 2021, homelessness dropped by 19%. And that drop in Dallas was happening at the same time that homelessness in most of the rest of the country was going up.
Yossifor: And here's what really stands out, though. There is an even bigger drop in the unsheltered homelessness. "Unsheltered" is what they call people who are living outside in tents or sleeping on the streets or in their car. Those are the people considered the hardest to help.
Martin: What makes it so hard to help people who are unsheltered?
Yossifor: These folks are detached from society. They've been homeless the longest. They don't have the social networks to help them out. And then they're vulnerable to violence and theft, their health suffers and they're not sleeping enough.
Connelly: And ... when the when they're out on the streets for a long time and dealing with that ... it sort of leads to decisions that add to their problems. So just ... one of the guys that we followed for the story talked about how he had been off drugs for years before he became homeless. And then after he became homeless, he started doing drugs again ... basically because it's it’s so miserable.
Martin: How long does it actually take to to shut down an encampment and move people into apartments?
Connelly: Yeah. So at this encampment in East Dallas that we followed, it took about four months. But it sort of changes over time. They're constantly tweaking the way that they do it, kind of learning lessons each time they close an encampment. So after the East Dallas encampment closed, the city started working on three encampments downtown and those closed faster than the one that we followed.
Martin: Let's pull back a little and talk about what it means for a person when they're able to move out of homelessness.
Yossifor: You know, the one constant we heard from everyone was that showering was a big deal. But also, this is the first time they feel safe. They have a door that they can lock. The way the homelessness beats people down, puts them in a constant fight or flight mode. They're just trying to survive. And once they have their own place, they get a decent night's sleep, they have food to eat. Then they can actually start thinking about building a future.
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