The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships For Mental Health Journalism
2008-2009

Kim Horner
Staff Writer
Dallas Morning News
Dallas, TX

TOPIC: Examine the struggles of people who are homeless to find treatment for mental illnesses and substance use in Texas.

Battling Homelessness in Dallas Requires More Housing, Mental Health Services, Advocates Say
In cardboard boxes under bridges, in tattered tents in the woods and in vacant downtown buildings live some of the hardest people to help. They are the chronically homeless, those who suffer from mental illnesses and addictions and have been on the streets repeatedly or for years. Few are getting the care they need. Instead, they wander year after year between shelters, psychiatric hospitals, drug and alcohol treatment, and jail.

As Mental Health Support Wanes, Many Doomed to Homelessness
Richard Antwine's last home was the county jail.  The 47-year-old ended up there, again, after another round of homeless shelters, boarding homes and psychiatric hospitals. This time, it was because he failed to report to his parole officer. He said he missed the appointment because he was hospitalized. He has severe depression and was hearing voices telling him to hurt himself. His court-appointed lawyer said he doesn't belong in jail. "Somebody dropped the ball somewhere," she said.

'Frequent Fliers' Run up Dallas County's Homeless Tab
Dallas County taxpayers spend about $50 million a year sheltering, treating and jailing the homeless. Perhaps half of that is for the 600 to 1,000 toughest cases – many of whom visit emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, jails so often they're called "frequent fliers." These very ill people repeatedly cycle through a massive, uncoordinated system of local, state, federal and private institutions at alarming speed and alarming cost. And despite the millions being spent, many of these chronically homeless people remain in shelters and cardboard boxes.

Seattle's 1811 Eastlake Project Puts Housing First, Saves Lives and Money
An attractive blue and gray apartment building with views of the Space Needle saved taxpayers $4 million in one year – simply by giving hardcore homeless alcoholics a place to live. This home for the homeless has attracted visitors from across the country – including Dallas – looking for ways to move the most seriously ill off the streets and cut costs. But it has detractors because it doesn't require residents to stop drinking.

Unwelcome Mat Out for Project to House Chronically Homeless
Developer Larry Hamilton has been working for months to turn the empty Plaza Hotel south of downtown Dallas into homes for the homeless. But it's been much tougher than he imagined.  Hamilton and other developers complain of roadblocks even as they try to carry out the city's goal of opening 700 apartments for the homeless by 2014. The housing, which would come with mental health and addiction services, is considered the most effective way to clear the streets of the hard-core homeless.