TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Philosophies vary on the best way to help homeless people get off the streets. While some say offer housing first, others say treatment should be the top priority.
Rocky Garcia says, “When I came down here, you know, I had been homeless, I was an addict and alcoholic. And when I came to these doors, I was basically beaten down, broken and my spirit was broke.“
Rocky Garcia says he would escape being homeless, slip back into addiction, and fall back onto the streets.
He says Gospel Rescue Mission’s treatment first approach, reinforced his faith, trained him for a career in information technology and helped him break the addictive behaviors that would have made him homeless again.
He says the independent living of the housing first method would have put him on a path to failure.
“I've been through the Workforce Program part of it, and I ended up in the housing, but I never worked on any type of rehab or, you know, rehabilitation throughout my lifetime. So I failed three or four times doing that, not knowing that I really needed help and I was afraid to ask for help.”
Gospel Rescue CEO Lisa Chastain says, “The crisis of homelessness is messy. It's not a one size fits all solution.”
Gospel Rescue Mission does offer places to stay and can arrange independent housing but they believe if someone’s homelessness ties to trouble like addiction, failing to give treatment the top priority will allow the cycle of homelessness to repeat again and again.
Chastain thinks Housing First is most likely to work if someone’s homeless due to economics alone, like losing a job or being priced out of a home.
“But I would say it's the minority of the solution for some 80% of the people that we see are here because they're homeless because of drug addiction, alcohol addiction, mental health, or sometimes all of the all of the above.”
And while many of Gospel Rescue’s beds will be full tonight, the Mission says it has about a hundred empty spaces—and the treatment that comes with them.
RELATED COVERAGE:
- Housing First approach in Tucson aims to shelter people fast
- Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness needs help with street count
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