[Mpls] Re: Goods Below Cost

[Aaron Klemz]

Regarding the argument that folks voluntarily migrate to take advantage of shelter beds.

 

In terms of out of state migration: 72 percent of individuals seeking shelter in Minnesota were residents of Minnesota for more than two years (http://www.wilder.org/research/reports/pdf/homeless2000%2011-03sum.pdf). If folks are in-migrating to take advantage of shelter beds, they sure are waiting a long time to do it.

 

Similarly, 75% of individuals utilizing shelter beds in Hennepin County were residents of the county for over one year. http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us/opd/htf/finalreport/finalreport.htm). 

 

Also, as the Wilder Foundation notes, homeless individuals are more likely to be "pushed" into a jurisdiction than be "pulled" by desire to take advantage of services. Some jurisdictions will go so far as to give homeless people a bus ticket to other counties, with the destination usually being Hennepin County.

 

"The migration of people experiencing homelessness is explained by both push and pull factors. Like the broader population, people experiencing homelessness probably are �pulled� to new locations by friends, family, job opportunities, or access to services and amenities. Unlike the broader population, however, people experiencing homelessness probably experience harsher �push� factors. Many of those who participated in the MESH/CSH survey indicated that they had been denied either housing or services in the county that they were in at their time of need, due to county residency requirements (see section 1 of this report). Some had been told to seek services elsewhere, or were even handed a bus ticket to another county."

(http://www.wilder.org/research/reports/pdf/Addresshomeless3-03.pdf)

 

However, as a general rule, the vast majority of people seeking shelter are longer term residents.

 

"On any given night most of the region�s sheltered population, about two-thirds, report that their last permanent address was somewhere in Minnesota, with the vast majority of these coming from the 7-county metro. The remaining third mostly come from elsewhere in the U.S., but many in this group had lived in Minnesota sometime earlier. Of all adults without per manent shelter in the 7-county metro, 20 percent report that their current spell of homeless is their first stay in Minnesota."

(http://www.wilder.org/research/reports/pdf/Addresshomeless3-03.pdf)

 

To me, the economics of this problem have less to do with the mythical rational consumer's choices in regards to location than they have to do with some jurisdictions choosing to pass the cost on to others. The model of economic rationality proposed suggests that homeless people are perfectly mobile, have access to shelter availability information, and make "rational" choices based on that information.

 

There is something to be said about a lack of "burden sharing," even among metro area jurisdictions. A Minneapolis-Hennepin county Joint Task Force on Homelessness reported:

 

�As part of the research for the City/County Task Force on Homelessness, an informal survey of selected counties, HRAs and cities in the metro area was conducted. The purpose was to gather information from these jurisdictions about homelessness in their communities. The jurisdictions responding to the survey were:

 

Counties: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott, Washington

HRAs: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott, Washington

Cities: Bloomington, Burnsville, Chanhassen, Chaska, Hastings, Savage, Shakopee, St. Paul, Stillwater

Extent to Which Homelessness is a Problem. Ninety percent of those responding to this question said that homelessness is a problem in their city or county. Families were reported to be the largest category of those who are homeless. Large and migrant families were mentioned as part of this group. Other categories of people mentioned were homeless youth, a small number of females with chronic mental health and/or substance abuse problems, the elderly, and transient males living in camps outdoors. Several respondents cited the tight rental market and landlords not accepting Section 8 as a driving force behind the problem.

Number of Street People. Seventy percent of the respondents said street people are rarely seen in their communities. Two populations mentioned by a few respondents were single men who have trouble remaining housed and females with mental health problems. An outer-ring county mentioned that some families stay in campgrounds because they are without permanent housing. �Homeless youth end up in Minneapolis� was a comment from one respondent. [�]

Do Homeless Go to Other Jurisdictions to Access Services? Except for Anoka, Ramsey and Washington counties and the city of St. Paul, respondents said that people go outside their communities to deal with housing problems. Able-bodied men, youth and migrant workers were mentioned as categories of people who seek shelter resources elsewhere. Some suburbs identified people who have employment but cannot afford housing in their cities.[�]

What is the Need for Shelter? Three-fourths of those responding said that there are unmet needs for shelter and affordable housing in their city or county, but there are �not in my backyard� attitudes about siting shelter and low-income housing. One respondent said single males may have needs but are not a high priority group. Another said that motel vouchers have been an adequate response to their community�s need for shelter. �

 

To me, this seems to be the most pressing "economic" explanation for the migration of homeless people. I think this explanation makes more sense than treating homeless folks as performing some sort of "rational consumer" behavior.

 

Aaron Klemz

Hale

---

Do you Yahoo!?
Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard