As the Associate City Director in Boston, I’m extremely
blessed to have the opportunity to host groups that come to serve in my hometown
during the non-summer months. One of my favorite parts of hosting is taking
groups out on the prayer tour. One thing that you all may not know, each city
revises their prayer tour at the end of every season to update statistics, add
data and topics and to keep it relevant and interesting (even for repeat
groups!).
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reworking our Boston
prayer tour, adding a segment that discusses race relations in the city,
changing the route a bit and updating statistics on education, homelessness and
human trafficking. I love writing about my city. I love taking people on a
prayer tour of the place that has my heart. There is no greater joy for me than
having a whole van full of people praying for my home. It really is the
greatest. I thought I reached a point
where I was almost finished writing and ready to begin editing, when my mayor
released this tweet:
I absolutely encourage you take 20 minutes to read this
amazing and comprehensive plan to significantly reduce homelessness here in
Boston! (Click
here to read the plan)
Being a realistic lady, I know that you probably would be
more interested in the highlights, so here are some amazing tidbits I’ve pulled
out of this plan!
·
Nearly
97% of Boston’s homeless are sheltered. This is the highest sheltering rate in
the nation.
o At
the end of 2012, the City of Boston’s Homeless Census counted 193 people living
on the street.
o The
goal for street homelessness is to reduce the number of persistently
unsheltered individuals by 50%
·
80
homeless individuals use Boston hospital emergency rooms as a regular shelter
option and health care provider.
o These
individuals are among the most medically fragile, and by far the most costly,
subset of Boston’s homeless population in terms of health care costs.
o Since
2010, housing and supportive services resulted in a 56% reduction in Emergency
Department visits, a 33% reduction in hospital stays, and a tenancy retention
rate of 88%
·
Of the
almost 10,000 individuals who enter one of Boston’s shelters over the course of
a year, 68% are able to exit the system in less than 30 days and with
relatively little assistance
·
The goal
for Long-Term Homelessness is to further reduce the number of long-term
homeless in Boston’s shelters by 50 percent, reducing long-term homeless from
439 to 220 by 2016.
o extended-stay
(120-364 day) residents represent only 12% of the individuals using shelter in
a year, but utilize 52% of the shelter system’s annual capacity
o The
number of long-term homeless individuals in Boston has declined by 23%: from
569 in 2009 to 439 at the end of 2012
·
The goal
for Family Homelessness is to reduce by 25% the number of families with housing
subsidies who are evicted solely for rent arrearages by the end of 2016.
o In
2010, the average subsidized tenant had an arrearage of only $1,552; in 2011, the average was $1,670. The
cost of repairing that delinquency is a fraction of what it will cost the State
for emergency housing if that family becomes homeless
These are just a few of the amazing plans and goals that the
City of Boston has established for our most vulnerable citizens. I am so
excited to not only SEE how they are implemented, but to PARTICIPATE in the
implementation, as well, by bringing CSM Boston mission teams into shelters and
outreach organizations to be a part of this wonderful Kingdom restoration
work!!
- Jess Fothergill, CSM Boston Associate City Director
Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Boston!
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