St. Paul's among study showing homeless costs the same as leaving them on streets

For every $10 invested in housing the mentally ill or drug addicted, $9.60 was saved in taxpayer-funded services such as emergency rooms and shelter beds, according to a $110-million national study.

In other words, by spending four-per-cent more, society’s most troubled homeless people could transition from living in precarious or no housing with little support to a safe place with services to help them stabilize.

“On average, the intervention comes close to paying for itself among high-needs participants,” says the final report involving the At Home/Chez Soi project.

Lori Culbert Reports

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