Allegheny County Department of Human Services disputes controller's estimate of homelessness funding
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- How much money is Allegheny County spending to confront homelessness? And is it working? The county department charged with addressing the problem is disputing Controller Corey O'Connor's estimates of more than $100 million.
But O'Connor is determined to find out how much and whether it's being spent effectively to deal with homelessness.
The Department of Human Services is pushing back on Controller O'Connor's spending claims, but he says he's determined to see if the money is being spent effectively and whether there are better strategies to deal with homelessness.
Accouncing his plan to audit homeless funding, Controller O'Connor expressed frustration with the continuing homeless crisis and called for accountability and transparency in determining whether the money could be better spent to get people off the street.
"When we spend hundreds of millions of dollars, we need to see results," O'Connor said.
On Thursday, Department of Human Services Director Erin Dalton said she's on board but disputed O'Connor's estimates of the money spent.
"I'm happy to work with the Office of the Controller. We're glad people are looking at this. We care about this. You care about this. If there is a better way to use these dollars, we are very open to suggestions but want to make sure the public is clear on the amounts," Dalton said.
Rather than estimates north of $100 million a year, Dalton said DHS has been administering about $36 million in state and federal funds annually to address homelessness in the county. O'Connor believes that number is higher due to programs like rental assistance which keep people from becoming homeless -- and today said the audits will determine the total figure and its effectiveness.
"Let's move forward. Let's get the facts. Let's get people in a room once we do this audit on how we can all work together and fix this problem," O'Connor.
But while welcoming the audits, Dalton defended her department's progress in providing long-term shelter and making beds available to people during Code Blue or harsh winter nights. And she says DHS is focused on its ultimate goal: making permanent housing available to get people solidly off the street.
"If nobody leaves shelter, then you'll never have enough shelter. What people really want is housing, that's what we're working on," Dalton said.
But O'Connor says that's the point of these audits, to see whether the money is being spent effectively and whether there are new strategies to get people off the street.
