Shelter in Springfield allows addicted homeless

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A new shelter in Springfield is providing a place to stay for homeless people who use drugs or alcohol, unlike other shelters that require people to be sober and drug-free.

The program, called Housing First, is run by a not-for-profit called The Kitchen, which has put eight people in apartments, with hopes to house at least 30 more. Providing rooms for homeless addicts is called "wet housing," The Springfield News-Leader reported.

Annie Busch, who co-chaired a city task force on homelessness, said she has urged area providers to give shelter to all homeless people.

"We have to do something to help people with addictions," Busch said. "We can't say, 'You have to stay on the street."'

Housing First programs typically provide housing in scattered-site apartments rented from private landlords. Support teams are on call 24/7, but people can refuse services such as taking psychiatric medication or working with a substance-abuse specialist. Advocates for Housing First believe finding shelter for homeless people should be the priority and that other issues can be addressed later.

Randy McCoy, grants coordinator for The Kitchen, said housing advocates knows of 230 people in the Springfield area who are chronically homeless.

"I want to house all 230 that we have on that list and anyone else that we find," McCoy said.

Jim Harriger, the executive director of the Victory Mission, said he supports The Kitchen's work but his group doesn't plan to provide housing for people with addictions.

"The danger is that you end up with people unsuited for housing who do well for a month or two months and then they fall back into homelessness because they can't do what it takes to maintain housing," Harriger said.

Jeff Smith, the social services director for The Salvation Army, said people who are at the agency's shelter are seeking sobriety.

"They're committed to change in their lives," Smith said. "They don't want to be around that type of atmosphere."

The Kitchen received a three-year, $499,248 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to pay the salaries of a licensed clinical social worker, a registered nurse and two case managers.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com