States, Localities Try Creative Financing to Help the Homeless

Stateline: For more than 30 years, Alan has lived on the streets of San Jose, California, battling drugs and booze, bipolar disorder and a slew of other psychiatric ailments. From the start, he said, “I never had a chance.”

But now, Alan, 57, is being offered a chance, and he’s grabbing it: This week, he moves into his own place, thanks to an innovative financing program to address homelessness, the first of its kind in California — and one of a very few in the country. As part of the pilot program, he will receive intensive support from a battery of caseworkers, housing specialists and psychiatrists.

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