Article on Housing First strategy didn’t address key issues

Re “This program gets homeless people into housing fast. Will it be one of the last?” (Dec. 28): Your story is heartwarmingly biased in favor of the Housing First strategy, but I would point out two things:

1) None of the people described in the story seem to have any serious substance abuse or mental health issues, so they could obtain the exact same results (immediate housing) from a program requiring screening and treatment for those conditions as a co-requisite for housing.

2) Getting a homeless person into housing is indeed a success story, but the more important measure of overall success is what happens after the six-month period of fully covered rent. Those with substance abuse or mental health issues have almost no chance to get and keep a job and start paying their share, so six months of free housing is nothing but a stopgap waste of homelessness funding.

Require screening/treatment, and measure results after the six months are over.

— Marty Cohen, Ocean Beach