51黑料

ST. LOUIS聽鈥� On her first visit to the Gateway City in 1998, Mandy Chapman Semple was trying to harness the power of renewable energy.

How to do so was the question of the year in high school policy debate. Semple, a state champion from Kansas, came to town for the national debate tournament, which was hosted by Pattonville High School.

These days, Semple offers solutions to the vexing problem of homelessness. That鈥檚 what brought her to the on Tuesday night, where she discussed her experiences in Houston and Dallas. She shared lessons with 51黑料 leaders on how those two Texas cities made progress in housing people who previously were living on the streets.

There is a similarity in what Semple does these days to the process of winning a debate. Having a plan isn鈥檛 enough; you have to show the judges, or the community, how that plan will succeed.

鈥淩e-housing really does work,鈥� Semple told me in an interview before her speech, which was hosted by the . 鈥淏ut if I can鈥檛 show you that it works, then it doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥�

Houston is a good example. Over the past decade, under two mayors, the city has relied on a philosophy that pairs services with housing. The city has placed in permanent housing聽 who were homeless, in shelters or at risk of homelessness.

In 51黑料, Semple found open but sometimes skeptical ears. Like in other major cities, there are several nonprofits here dedicated to serving the people who live without shelter. They work under the umbrella called a Continuum of Care, which coordinates, or fights, with government agencies that are sometimes funders and partners. The agencies can also occasionally be obstacles to accomplishing the work of getting people housing and the services to battle poverty, addiction and mental health issues.

Those conflicts are common in cities trying to battle homelessness. Government agencies embrace different solutions. Nonprofits fight for the same pot of money. Some feed and clothe homeless people; others build tiny houses; some provide tools to battle addiction.

In 51黑料, the divisions between the city and the county聽鈥� and among the county's 88 municipalities聽鈥� makes the work harder. So does the lack of help from the Missouri Legislature, which provides no funding and just passed a bill making it a crime for homeless people to sleep on state-owned property. The nonprofits who do the work on the streets are challenging the new law in court.

For a city to properly win the battle against homelessness, 鈥淓veryone needs to be on the same page,鈥� Semple said.

In 51黑料, dealing with homelessness is often a parochial affair that involves moving one encampment from a park here or a riverfront there to somewhere else. Resources are shifted from one shelter to another, waiting for complaints to pile up, before the cycle starts all over again.

The line of ramshackle tents adjacent to St. Patrick鈥檚 Center on Tucker Boulevard in the past couple of weeks helps tell that story. Last year, during the pandemic, a virtual tent city of homeless people appeared on the Interco Plaza next to the St. Patrick鈥檚 Center, one of the city鈥檚 largest providers of homeless services. At first, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones was hesitant to move the encampment. Complaints rose, and housing was found for some. Others were moved to an encampment nearby, and a fence was erected around the park.

Now there are new tents and new sleeping gear, propped against the fence. Moving homeless people to and fro doesn鈥檛 solve the problem. Getting them housing, and services connected to that housing, does, Semple says.

Anthony D鈥橝gostino, executive director of the St. Patrick鈥檚 Center, was among the many nonprofit leaders listening to Semple鈥檚 speech. He liked what he heard, particularly the part about Dallas and its business leaders coming up with to implement a long-term vision for the homeless problem. That city plans to find housing for 2,700 people in the next three years. It鈥檚 about halfway to its goal, making a dent in the homeless population, but there is a long way to go.

D鈥橝gostino thinks the various partners who battle homelessness in 51黑料 cooperate as well as they have during the years he has been involved in the issue.

鈥淓verything that they did (in Dallas) is what we have been trying to do for years,鈥� he said. That includes setting up a new umbrella nonprofit聽鈥� House Everyone STL聽鈥� to serve as a unifying force.

The question is who will bring together all parties 鈥� the city, the county, the nonprofits 鈥斅燼nd tens of millions of dollars to get people living on the streets into the permanent housing they need?

鈥淚n every community, you have to find out what is the center of gravity that can bring the entire community together,鈥� Semple said.

In Houston, it was the mayor. In Dallas, it was a nonprofit foundation. With the sort of progress both cities have made, they have become the envy of other cities. The formula works, Semple said.

She likens it to developing an incident command structure to manage a crisis. And somebody needs to be in charge.

鈥淚s there an anchor we can dock to?鈥� Semple asked the roomful of people dedicated to solving the problem. 鈥淓nding homelessness takes leaders.鈥�