What Will It Take to End Homelessness in Boston & Beyond? Insights From Policy, Research & Advocacy
On Wednesday April 17, Tom Byrne, Laila Bernstein and Joe Finn joined the Initiative of Cities to speak about how homelessness impacts Boston and other cities throughout the U.S. Each speaker suggested several plans to resolve chronic homelessness through initiatives such as Permanent Supportive Housing and subsidized housing.
Tom Byrne, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Boston University, started analyzing the age cohort effect of single adult males across various time periods. Those born between 1955 and 1965 had an increase risk of homelessness. According to Byrne, homelessness amongst the 65+ age cohort had increased threefold in Boston this year. Furthermore, he utilized the Zillow Rent Index to understand homelessness in a broader context. He explained the relationship between median rent as a share of median income in cities. There was a positive relationship between these two variables. When median rent was greater than 32% of median income, the rate of homelessness in the local community increased.