What’s next for Madison’s Housing First strategy?

For months, the empty lot at 1202 S. Park St. was set to be developed into a 58-unit permanent supportive housing facility intended to help people transition from homelessness. But with local stakeholders raising concerns about nearly every aspect of the project and a deadline to start construction approaching, the developer — Chicago-based Heartland Housing — announced in early May that the proposed Housing First project was officially dead in the water.

City officials are framing the decision not as a major setback in the city’s plan to alleviate the housing shortage, but as an opportunity to evaluate what has and hasn’t worked at the company’s two existing properties in Madison — Rethke Terrace on the east side and Tree Lane Apartments on the west side. Both properties have been plagued by drug dealing, loud parties and violent incidents, drawing hundreds of police calls for service and widespread skepticism about a third project operating under the same model...

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Ken Notes: OK now I am begging -- look for a new model for homeless solutions. Micro units with shared amenities comes to mind. Create ownership, local governance, and pride in the development. Add education, apprenticeship, and skills development to the site. We have been "housing" the homeless and low income persons for decades with no positive results. Time for a new plan!!!