Macon Magazine

52 maconmagazine.com | DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 homeless and achieving permanent supportive housing. Other models have gateways or levels that someone has to achieve in order to qualify. It's like asking someone whose life is falling apart to build their life back up to where they're whole enough or good enough for your services. It's just not reasonable to expect someone to be able to do that on their own without a different level of engagement." Research shows people will end up in cycles of getting to these certain levels, getting stuck, and then having to start all over again. This can sometimes lead to people giving up and becoming chronically homeless. The goal with the housing first model is to put people who are experiencing chronic homelessness into permanent housing. How do we do that? First, we need to identify who those people are. United to End Homelessness is hoping to do that by going out, boots on the ground, and capturing data. "Statistically, 85% of people experiencing homelessness will accept permanent supportive housing. What they won't accept is a revolving door of graduated care that doesn't seem to work," Hall said. People who would qualify for these vouchers are people who have extended mental illnesses, lack a support system, and can't care for themselves. The only way to fund permanent supportive housing is through permanent sources of funding like federal and state grants. By working with Housing and Urban Development (HUD), our Housing Authority, Veteran Affairs, and other organizations, these vouchers can be deployed for those who truly have the greatest medical need for supportive housing. Hall's role allows him to bring these groups together to do so. The goal is to get people into housing within the next year. There are also plans for rapid rehousing, providing short- term rental assistance and services for families who are barely getting by. When helping people with housing, it is critical to get them help with their mental health and follow up with it. Macon Mental Health Matters representatives and counselors are already teaming up with United to End Homelessness and other agencies when they are doing community outreach. Andrea Cooke has gone to a few of the encampments around town and has seen many people suffering mentally. "Mental health is a basic need. If your mental health isn't intact, you don't care about where you stay, you don't care if you eat or drink, don't care if you have clothing, you don't care about anything," Cooke said. "We're going to have to address this issue from the perspective of intersectionality. WE'RE IN THIS FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. THIS WILL BE TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR OUR COMMUNITY, NOT 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, BUT NEXT YEAR." — MAYOR LESTER MILLER "

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