Summer Economics/ CS 2006

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about three million people in the U.S. experience homelessness each year (1). In order to fight this problem and finally bring an end to it, a number of steps must be taken.
First, we need to prevent homelessness before it happens. It seems as though the number of homeless individuals never goes down since as soon as people leave the homeless system, others enter and replace them. Mainstream programs need to place more emphasis on preventing people from losing their homes; only they have resources necessary to address housing, income, and service needs of the homeless and the potentially homeless. Such programs include Medicaid, Job Training for Disadvantaged Adults, Social Services, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (1). Unfortunately, mainstream systems are in excessively high demand and are under-funded in comparison to their expected duties. The government must give more grants to them in order to prevent people from falling into homelessness. In addition, people at “immediate risk of homelessness” should be allowed access to the same services as actual homeless individuals. These people include those living in doubled up arrangements or motels, and people exiting metal health facilities, prisons, or addiction treatment programs. If this were allowed, these people would be eligible for services through HUD Kinney-Vento, an act designed to assist the homeless. As a result, they would have a smaller chance of actually becoming homeless (2).
Another important step in ending homelessness is moving homeless individuals into permanent housing as soon as possible. In order to do this, most homeless require assistance. Programs helping people get back into housing need to do more than just assist them in finding and securing permanent homes. They also need to allow them continued access to services such as credit counseling for at least a year after they get a home and should conduct follow-up visits to check up on them and prevent problems that could lead to eviction and cause them to become homeless once again. Obtaining permanent housing is a crucial step for those trying to get their lives back on track and improve their futures. Increased funding should be used to build more permanent housing, either from HUD McKinney-Vento funds, or through taxes (3).
Next, although in an ideal situation homeless individuals would be placed almost immediately into permanent housing, this is not a possibility. As a result, more funding is needed for Transitional and Supportive Housing. Transitional housing provides homeless with a temporary place to stay until they can find permanent housing. These shelters are especially necessary in areas where vacant permanent houses are scarce. Transition housing also gives shelter to people who are unable to make the “transition” to permanent homes quite yet as a result of problems such as mental illnesses or substance abuse. Furthermore, residents of transitional housing have access to services provided by the shelter with the intention of eventually getting them into permanent housing. These services include job training, education, and employment counseling. More federal grants need to be given to transitional housing to fund the services, as they are extremely important in training homeless individuals in skills they need to find and maintain employment (4)
Now, while many homeless individuals can benefit greatly from transitional shelters, others require more assistance. Supportive housing can help to provide this. Currently, it is estimated that there are 150,000 chronically homeless individuals in the U.S. These are people who live in the shelter system, and are unlikely to ever earn a significant amount of money because of disabilities they possess. Yet, studies show that permanent supportive housing, housing with the appropriate services, can help them immensely in getting their lives back together and improving their futures (5). Therefore, we must create enough supportive housing for this group. This is extremely important, as about fifty percent of homeless adults have alcohol problems, thirty three percent have drug addictions, and between twenty and twenty five percent have major mental illnesses (3). These people need help that supportive housing can provide. To end the homelessness of the chronically homeless population, about 150,000 units of permanent supportive housing has to be built. However, in order for the creation of this additional housing to occur, organizations would need to acquire an increased number of service providers and funds. As with regular permanent housing, money for additional permanent supportive housing could come from HUD McKinney-Vento funds, or from taxes. Now, taxpayers may complain about having to pay increased taxes to finance the construction of permanent supportive housing. However, if they look at the amount of money they could save in the future on such things as homeless services and Medicaid if these people become stabilized, they will realize that this plan could be beneficial to them as well.
Next, in order to discover the services most needed by the homeless population and find the best solutions, extensive research and data collection must be conducted. Information such as who is homeless, why and how they became homeless, and what mainstream assistance they receive must be gathered on a "city- or state-wide basis" (1). This allows "trends" to be discovered and can help to identify the main factors that lead to homelessness. It also tells service providers if they need to update certain services such as rent assistance and child-care programs to meet current needs. Furthermore, the data collected helps answer important questions such as "What assistance is most effective in facilitating the re-housing of homeless people?" and "What mainstream services do families need after they are housed so they don't become homeless again?" (1). Research and data collection is essential in the fight to end homelessness.
One of the major problems preventing people from owning homes is the current scarcity of affordable houses accompanied by low wages. The supply of homes is unable to keep up with the demand and unfortunately, the shortage is increasing. Moreover, the number of households in need of housing support has increased as the cost of homes has also increased and wages have decreased. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, "there is no community in the nation in which a person working a minimum wage job can afford to rent a one-bedroom unit" (1). Yes, America is currently experiencing a strong economy. However, people with lower incomes are not benefiting nearly as much as those of higher incomes. Furthermore, what they do gain from America's economic growth is unable to keep up with the rising housing costs (4). Therefore, the government should increase the amount of affordable housing available to low-income individuals, as well as the grants given to housing programs.
To help the homeless get their lives back on track and get back into homes, the communities throughout the U.S. must work together. In some cities, it is against the law to reside or loiter on public property and people are prohibited from begging. Basically, it is illegal to be homeless. However, this does nothing to solve the problem. By arresting homeless individuals, all police are doing is giving them a criminal record (or adding to them) and thus making it even more difficult for them to secure jobs. Without employment, the people will never be able to afford housing and get out of the homeless system. Instead of arresting homeless people, police should help them by directing them or taking them to shelters where they can also receive food and services.
Finally, more funding needs to be granted to organizations providing services to homeless and low-income populations. As mentioned earlier, these services are essential in helping them to get their lives back together and improving their futures. Such services include job training so they can earn a living, substance abuse programs, and courses in money management. According to studies, only fifty percent of people who need substance abuse treatment receive it. These services are extremely important, and are crucial if an end to homelessness is ever hoped to be achieved. Therefore, the government must provide adequate funding for them so that they can help the homeless population as best as they can.
Individuals can help by donating money to organizations helping the homeless such as Beyond Shelter or Help USA. As I mentioned earlier, services essential to homeless individuals such as job training and rent assistance are highly under funded and any donations to them would be welcome. Extra money for the construction of affordable low-income housing is also needed. According to research, the types of assistance homeless adults felt they needed most were help in finding affordable housing, securing jobs, and paying for housing. Yet, most of the assistance they received were clothing, transportation, and help with public benefits. In fact, only about seven percent of homeless adults had help in finding homes (1). Now, donating items such as clothes and new toothbrushes to homeless shelters is still helpful to them and needed. However, what homeless service organizations need most and are not getting enough of is funding. Therefore, if you really want to help out in the fight against homelessness, donate money to increase the amount of services and affordable housing available to homeless individuals.

Beyond Shelter website: http://www.beyondshelter.org/home.html
Help USA website: http://www.helpusa.org/site/PageServer

Sources:
1) http://www.endhomelessness.org
2) http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/rulesandregs/laws/
3) http://www.hud.gov/homeless
4) http://www.nlihc.org
5) http://www.nationalhomeless.org/housing