While Verena Radulovic’s “‘They Saved My Life’” (June 2015) tells a positive story about one woman moving out of homelessness, it doesn’t engage the issue of homelessness from a Christian perspective. Many faith-based programs working with people who are homeless are doing excellent work. For years, I directed a rehabilitative shelter program in New York. Many of us on staff found the Housing First model inadequate. The program seemed driven by statistical outcomes. People could carry on illegal activities in their homes, go to jail, or have their lives shortened by substance abuse and still be registered as positive outcomes. As Ralph Da Costa Nunez (president of the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness) points out, to address homelessness effectively, issues of employment, treatment, and affordable housing must also be fully considered.
Ron Mitchell
New Rochelle, New York
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