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State lawmakers hear local leaders on rising homelessness, data gaps and treatment-based solutions
Summary
Mississippi municipal leaders, service providers and state officials told a joint legislative hearing that homelessness is rising in parts of the state, that mental illness and substance use are driving much of the need, and that local programs combining housing with intensive services show better results than housing alone.
A joint legislative hearing on homelessness in Jackson brought municipal leaders, shelter operators, health officials and law-enforcement leaders together to describe trends, local programs and policy options for the state.
Chairman Chad McMahon, co-chairing the session, opened the meeting by saying that “homelessness seems to be on the rise in Mississippi,” and witnesses described rising point-in-time counts, concentrated pockets of need and a repeated link between homelessness, untreated mental illness and substance use disorders.
The hearing included testimony from Cathy (Kathy) Garner, executive director of the AIDS Services Coalition (ASC) in Hattiesburg; Don Lewis, administrator for the City of Tupelo; Hannah Mahary, executive director of Good Samaritan Health Services and chair of the Lee County committee on homelessness; Dietrich Johnson, team lead of The Bridge drop-in center with Hinds Behavioral Health Services; Hinds County Sheriff Jones; Steven Maxwell, director of the Corrections Investigative Division at the Mississippi Department of Corrections; Wendy Bailey, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health; Petalamus White, founder and CEO of the Jackson Resource Center; and John McCormack of the State Auditor’s office. Tenured service providers, municipal staff and several senators and representatives asked questions and pressed for scalable approaches.
Why it matters: witnesses said accurate counts and coordinated…
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