In the LA Times article written by journalist Steve Lopez, you can read how new Step Up resident John J. was homeless for 30 years. Every other attempt for housing with him had failed for three decades. Step Up’s support is allowing him to succeed in housing. In each of Step Up’s permanent supportive housing communities, we find that it can take up to six months, sometimes longer, for tenants to make the transition from living on the streets to living in their home. There may be boundary and territory issues to be worked out between the tenants as they move into housing. These tenant-to-tenant issues are worked through with our trained staff, and there is very little spillover into the local neighborhoods. I’m happy to report that some 90% our residents do succeed. If you didn’t see the articles, here’s the link:
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0821-lopez-beverly-20130817,0,2903012.column