The Long Road to Eliminating Homelessness
Part I:
America is known as the land of the free and the home of the brave, a beacon of hope to many. One of the reasons so many people immigrate to the United States is the promise of the “American dream”, the chance to live a better life. However, it is not as easy as it seems to live a successful life in the U.S. today. Homelessness has become an increasingly apparent issue in our country as more and more people are forced to live on the streets. It is estimated that around 3.5 million Americans are likely to experience homelessness in any given year.[1] A variety of factors lead to homelessness such as poverty and high housing prices. A surprisingly large portion of the population is subject to homelessness. In fact, in 2005, 13.3% of the U.S. population, or 38,231,521 million people, lived in poverty. Both the poverty rate and the number of poor people have increased in recent years, up from 12.5% or 1.1 million in 2003.[2]
Especially in times such as these with a weak economy, it is understandable that poverty rates would be up. With companies laying off employees, many people are left with no source of income. Even with a job, many working people cannot support themselves on low income. In fact, a survey of 24 U.S. cities found that 13% of persons in homeless situations are employed.[2] A recent U.S. Conference of Mayors report stated that, in every state, more than the minimum-wage is required to afford a one or two-bedroom apartment at 30% of his or her income, which is the federal definition of affordable housing.[2] These conditions mean that homelessness is now a more prevalent problem than ever.
Even more troubling is the fact that now more families and children under 18 are being affected by homelessness. When parents can no longer afford to support their family, children are forced to adjust to a life living on the streets or in shelters too. According to data released by the Urban Institute in 2000, children make up about 39 percent of the homeless population nationally.[1] The fact that so many children are affected by homelessness is especially troubling because this does not set them up for a successful life. Children who are homeless are more likely to drop out of school and therefore end up unemployed in the future. Furthermore, homeless youth are at a higher risk for anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide.[3]
In addition to the increase of homeless youth, more elderly people are now becoming homeless now. Ellen O’Brien, a senior strategic policy advisor at the Public Policy Institute of AARP, stresses that due to the focus on homeless youth, “The fact that 3.7 million older adults do not have sufficient cash income to meet their basic expenses too often escapes attention”.[4] While homelessness is one of the most pressing issues facing our nation, there are various programs dedicated to helping those in need.
Part II:
Because homelessness is so prevalent in our nation, the government has implanted many programs aimed at helping those who live in poverty or on the streets. Homeless shelters and soup kitchens are common in inner cities highly concentrated with homeless people. The government funds many shelter organizations that take an involved stance in reversing homelessness. When homeless people seek help at a shelter, most are encouraged to take an active approach in becoming self-sufficient. These programs are especially important in lowering homeless rates because they can help rehabilitate unemployed homeless people. Soup kitchens offer free meals to those in need and are essential in aiding the homeless or people living in poverty. I worked at the Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond and served lunch. Around twenty people came in to eat a meal which, according to the coordinator, was a slow day. Food banks are also an effective way that the government is helping the issue of homelessness. Food banks such as the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano receive food donations both from people and companies. They then sell these food items to soup kitchens at significantly reduced price. Since it is a non-profit organization, the food bank only makes enough profit to cover the costs of running their business.
The government also protects unemployed people through Unemployment Insurance. Unemployment insurance works by providing states with strong incentives to supply their own insurance programs to citizens. This insurance “is funded by a combination of revenues collected through the national tax on employers, state taxes on employers and a portion of workers' payroll taxes. All contributions to state unemployment funds must be deposited into a national unemployment trust fund maintained by the Treasury Department. Each state can withdraw money from the fund at any time to pay unemployment benefits.”[5] Another method the government is testing is the “Housing First” method. This strategy targets the chronically homeless and gives them their own apartment and access to social workers as a way to get them out of the street. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a chronically homeless person is one with a "disabling condition" that can be physical or mental, or someone with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, and who has been homeless for at least a year or three times within the past three years.[6] While this method is effective in helping the chronically homeless, they are actually a minority of the entire homeless population.
One of the main ways the government is attempting to cut down on homeless levels is through welfare checks. The welfare system in the United States is designed to provide needy families with enough income to survive until they can find a steady source of income. The current program, called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), is a block grant program from the government. However, welfare does not always provide relief from poverty because “current TANF benefits and Food Stamps combined are below the poverty level in every state; in fact, the current maximum TANF benefit for a single mother of two children is 29% of the federal poverty level”.[7] It is clear that while many of the programs that the government have implemented to aid the homeless are essential, many are in need of reform to correctly address the issue.
Part III:
Homelessness is possibly the most widespread issue that our nation faces on the home front today. With such a large percentage of the population affected by homelessness, it is crucial that this issue is addressed in the most effective way possible. The main problem with most government implemented programs is that they are inefficient. While it is clear that all programs aimed at helping the homeless help a portion of the population, they are worthless to other parts of the population and even detrimental to some. The key is to identify which programs are the most successful and expand on those while cutting programs that are unnecessary or inefficient. For example, the “Housing First” strategy is very effective for certain groups but it does not appeal to a large enough group to be worth it. While many people may benefit from this program, as a whole it is inefficient. In fact, a survey published by USA Today in October 2008 says that in New York City, 2,747 families applied for shelter in September 2007, an increase from the 2,087 who applied the previous September.6
However, it is not always easy to identify which programs are successful. Due to inaccurate methods of measuring homelessness, data tends to be slightly erroneous. For example, one method of measuring homelessness is through eviction notices, but analyses in New York showed that only one in five welfare families facing eviction actually became homeless.[8] Therefore it is also necessary for the government to reform their methods for measuring homelessness to be more accurate. If the programs are evaluated with flawed statistics, then it is impossible to know which programs are truly successful and which are ineffective.
In order to better aid the homeless, it is important that the government expands programs that have already shown success. TANF was implemented after the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program was cut following the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The previous program supplied better aid to those in need and homeless levels have increased since its departure.7 To fully remedy the problem of homelessness, the government should be cutting only unnecessary programs and keeping those that provide effective aid.
One of the most helpful things the government could do to improve this issue is to not only expand successful programs, but fix any flaws with them. In an interview, a homeless man named Jesus Rodriguez explained that he does not like shelters because “they and their friends say they have been robbed, attacked, or gotten sick. But they said they would much prefer to live in their own apartment and hope to get subsidized housing soon.” [9] If the government focuses on fixing problems with successful programs, they become even more successful and the homeless levels can be drastically reduced.
Perhaps the most effective method the government could make use of to lower homeless rates is to address the problem at its source. Poverty is the main cause of homelessness so it is important to focus on creating and expanding programs that prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place. Since minimum wage is not enough income to support a family7, raising minimum wage nationally could provide a beneficial effect to the point where other programs would later become unnecessary and could be cut. Furthermore, programs designed to help low income families pay for housing or an overall reform to housing costs could drastically cut down on poverty levels and therefore homelessness.
From working in food banks and soup kitchens, I saw firsthand the power that volunteering has. By volunteering and supporting programs that help those in need, it is possible to make a difference. Organizations such as the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano or Bay Area Rescue Mission are dedicated to helping homeless people or those living in poverty and by supporting them I feel that I also made a stand against homelessness as a whole. I was always aware that there were a vast amount of homeless people in our country but, living in a sheltered neighborhood like Lafayette, the force of this issue never really hit me. By traveling into poorer neighborhoods and working with fellow volunteers to help the homeless I realized just how close these people were to me. The whole experience of volunteering changes the endless statistics and percentages into real people. From seeing the hardened families coming into the soup kitchen just to get a hot meal, the issue of homelessness became something a lot more tangible to me. While the government can choose which programs to implement and which to cut, it is the volunteers that support these programs that make the real difference.
[1] Romeo, Jim. "Homelessness in America Is a Growing Problem." Gale Databases Opposing Viewpoints In Context. 2009. Web.
[2] "Homelessness Is Caused by Poverty and a Lack of Affordable Housing." Poverty and Homelessness. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.
[3] "Youth Homelessness Is a Serious Problem." Youth Homelessness Series Brief No. 1 (May 2006). Rpt. in Poverty and Homelessness. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.
[4] O'Brien, Ellen, Ke Bin Wu, and David Baer. "Poverty Among the Elderly Is Widespread in America." Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2011. Web.
[5] . "Unemployment Insurance." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 15 Nov. 2010. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. http://www.2facts.com/article/i1500630
[6] "Chronic Homelessness." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 14 Nov. 2008. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. http://www.2facts.com/article/i1300630
[7] "Homelessness Is Caused by Poverty and a Lack of Affordable Housing." Poverty and Homelessness. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 12 Apr. 2011
[8] Burt, Martha R., Carol L. Pearson, and Ann Elizabeth. Montgomery. Homelessness: Prevention Strategies and Effectiveness. New York: Nova Science, 2007. Print.
[9] David Abel. (2011, January 31). “Harsh life under the Zakim Bridge :Wary group shuns homeless shelters”. Boston Globe,p. A.1
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