Pelletier talks new approach on WCPO

Joseph House sat down with WCPO’s Craig McKee on Tuesday, January 23, to talk about how a new approach to treatment can help end homelessness.

Joseph House’s mission is treatment and recovery for veterans suffering from addiction. Unfortunately, the funding Joseph House receives is earmarked only for homeless veterans, which leaves a population of veterans in need of treatment, but not classified as “homeless,” underserved.

“Our hands are tied, oftentimes, because of the fact that our clients have to be identified as homeless, as opposed to needing clinical and substance abuse treatment,” said Alicia Harter, associate director at Joseph House.

Pelletier proposes a new approach: treatment first.

“What we want to look at is what really has the longest impact, long term, so prevention is the idea,” Pelletier added. “How do we actually prevent homelessness from happening? What our clients and our veterans are telling us is that they need treatment. They need all the other ecosystem-type resources that will help support them and their families.”

John Clancy, president and CEO of Tristate Veterans Community Alliance (TVCA) – a Joseph House program partner – testified in front of the House Committee on Veteran Affairs on January 18, 2018, about treatment-first thinking and veteran spending.

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