Prevention saves money, reduces stress

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, says the old saw.

The grandmother of one of our writers was fanatic about vitamins. This was a favorite proverb of hers.

It’s an old saying that comes to mind as we think about the $825,000 effort currently afoot to combat the Valley’s homelessness problem.

Dave Rose, head of the Valley’s Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, told us for one of today’s stories that if Mat-Su Valley Project Homeless Connect didn’t hit its target of serving 200 people this year, the fault would lie squarely with Valley Charities’ John Rossi.

In three months, Rossi said, he has served hundreds of Valley residents and, in follow-up interviews, has seen how the funds he invests helps people stay in their homes.

Anyone who’s been a renter and worked a low-paying job can sympathize with what he means. When you live hand-to-mouth, even when you’re sure you’re being extremely careful, making ends meet may not be possible.

Then before you know it, you’re behind on rent, can’t catch up, and then you’re living on the streets.

And if you’ve ever moved into a new place you can probably sympathize when we point out that getting back into permanent housing is an expensive proposition. There are deposits to pay, moving expenses, utility deposits. It all adds up.

This is where Rossi’s group comes in. It bridges that gap by providing one-time rent assistance to help keep you in your house.

But they don’t just hand out money and pay a full month’s rent. The homelessness prevention program requires participants to come up with a substantial portion of the money or split the rent with another charity.

That leverages the grant money, but it also makes sure clients have some skin in the game.

The group also will work on coming up with a plan so that the help is a one-time event rather than something a person requires repeatedly. They’ll help a person find work to pay their own bills or day care assistance so he or she can take on a job.

When weighed against the cost of helping somebody recover from long-term homelessness we see investing in prevention as a bargain.

It’s also the less traumatic option. Homelessness breeds depression and uncertainty wears on a person.

And that’s not even mentioning the children. If there’s one thing we know about children it’s that big, abrupt changes and an uncertain future don’t aid their development or learning.

So we tip our hats to the Mat-Su Health Foundation, which gave part of the money, John Rossi at Valley Charities and the half-dozen other agencies that are making this homelessness prevention program work.

Thank you for investing in that ounce of prevention and saving us the pound of cure.