Anti-homelessness efforts hailed

The man assigned by President Bush to end homelessness praised Utah's effort to do so Wednesday, saying it is among the top four most-progressive states in the country and that it will be on the faculty of a multi-state conference next month.

Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, was in Salt Lake City to meet with Salt Lake County Mayor-Elect Peter Corroon, Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson and various state officials.

"What is happening in Utah is of national consequence," Mangano said, noting that few states have fully embraced the collaborative effort launched by Utah.

"It is extraordinary," he said, describing a state, county and city coalition to end chronic homelessness in 10 years. "What makes Utah unique is the integration is performance-based and results-oriented."

For too long, government has lacked the "political will" to end homelessness and has been content to "manage" the problem, he said.

"We can't just settle for hitting the target of homelessness," Mangano said. "We want to hit the bull's-eye and the target is to end it, not just manage it."

Mangano, who has worked with homeless populations for 25 years, crafted the nationally recognized Multi-Service Center in Cambridge, Mass., and received the Non-Profit Sector Achievement Award from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

"I take time to sit and talk with homeless people and I say to them, 'Tell me what you want.' They never ask for a pill, a program, or a protocol. They always ask for a place to live . . . I've never met a homeless person who wants to be dependent on the government."

Utah, right now, is in the midst of a study modeled after a probe conducted by the University of California at San Diego. Conducted under the auspices of city and county government, the study tracked 15 of the area's "chronic" homeless for 18 months.

"Contrary to public perception, these are the most expensive people to the public wallet," he said.

The cost-benefit analysis examined expenditures related to emergency room visits, hospital stays, interaction with police and incarceration.

In that time period, the 15 people had nearly 300 emergency room visits, multiple day hospital stays, multiple arrests and long periods of incarceration.

The study found that the costs of those people incurred by city and county government came to $3 million — or $200,000 per person.