Advocate urges better care for homeless
He makes case to U.S. Senate panel
Published: Wed, May. 09, 2007 12:00AM
Modified Wed, May. 09, 2007 02:44AM
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closeWASHINGTON -- The director of a Durham agency that helps the homeless told a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday that the federal government could do more to help chronically homeless people stay in permanent housing.
Terry Allebaugh, executive director of Housing for New Hope, told senators that the federal government offers substance abuse services and some money for permanent housing but that it could better combine the two.
Allebaugh testified before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee at the invitation of Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican and committee member. Burr has sponsored legislation that would provide $80 million to services for the chronically homeless.
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The Senate committee is considering whether to include the funding in its reauthorization of a national substance abuse program.
If Allebaugh had some of the funding, he said in an interview, he would put together a team of therapists to help individuals keep jobs, stay off drugs, receive health care and access mental health services - all factors in being able to stay in a permanent home.
The federal Housing and Urban Development Agency now offers funding for permanent housing, Allebaugh said, but not for associated services.
North Carolina has an estimated 11,000 people on the street any given night, including 2,000 in the Triangle, Allebaugh said. Nearly a quarter of those are considered chronically homeless.
Barbara Barrett can be reached in Washington at (202)383-0012 or bbarrett@mcclatchydc.com.
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