Sunday, December 21, at 5pm, we will gather at Millennium Plaza in Yakima for our 21st Annual Homeless Person’s Memorial Day. Please join us to remember friends, family and community members lost to homelessness—lives that mattered and remind us of the urgent work ahead. Each name represents a story of resilience and struggle, and a community responsibility to ensure no one dies without the dignity of a home.
National studies show that life expectancy for people experiencing homelessness is 17–20 years shorter than the general population. Lack of access to consistent medical care means treatable conditions—like diabetes, hypertension, and infections—often become life-threatening. Mental health needs go unmet, and substance use disorders worsen without integrated support. Housing is health care. Permanent Supportive Housing programs reduce ER visits by up to 40% and hospitalizations by 30%, saving lives and lowering costs. Living without stable housing is not just a social crisis, it is a public health emergency. Without housing and supports, individuals are exposed to extreme weather, violence, and unsafe environments, increasing the risk of injury and premature death.
Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, along with many of our partners, have built a system of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), grounded in Evidence Based Practices. These programs save lives and reduce taxpayer costs. New federal priorities threaten these programs, by drastically reducing PSH programs as much as 70%. This will destabilize the foundation of our housing system for our most vulnerable populations, like pulling the biggest block from a Jenga tower. Protecting and expanding PSH is essential to saving lives and reducing the human and financial cost of homelessness.
Housing saves lives. Policy decisions matter. HUD’s recent policy shift away from Permanent Supportive Housing threatens the gains we have made in the last two decades. If PSH is deprioritized and cut, more people will return to the streets, and the health toll will rise. Every day without a home increases the risk of illness, trauma, and death. Stable housing is the foundation for health.
Please join us in raising awareness and assuring these lives are not forgotten as we gather in solidarity and community.
Rhonda Hauff, President and CEO
Yakima Neighborhood Health Services
This column was also published in the Yakima Herald Republic. Read the column online here