Case Study : ' Warm Winter '

Homelessness has been a prevalent and contentious topic since its public emergence in the 1980’s. In fact, according to the most recent estimates, on any given night in the United States, there are roughly 645,000 people residing in homeless shelters or unsheltered street locations (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011). And based on a local study done by the Mental Health Unit at the Houston Police Department in 2011, Houston has the largest homeless population in Texas and the eighth largest in the United States. While many great efforts have been put forth to aid the homeless population in Houston, “the public health epidemiology task of quantifying and tracking child and family homelessness over time has been complicated…by increasing rates of…shortages [in] affordable housing” (Grant et al., 2013), and restrictions on temporary encampments (Loftus-Ferren, 2013). In order to successfully reduce, prevent and combat homelessness, more policies must be put in place to create sustainable, affordable housing for homeless families and to modify current laws that harm homeless individuals.

Homelessness in the United States can be ended, not just maintained. Allot of cities now have plans to eradicate homelessness. Homelessness and housing instability are large issues that afflict a diverse demographic such as: Families, youth, veterans, and chronically homeless single male adults. Ending homelessness may require specialized solutions that are specific to individual needs. Factors like these make defeating homelessness a difficult task. Although solutions exist for some of the demographics, such as housing for chronically homeless adults, scaling up best practices remains a challenge. For other subpopulations, such as transitional aged youth, evidence-based interventions need to be developed. In this paper we argue that ending homelessness is a Grand Challenge that is big, important, and compelling—one that the profession of social work should be adopt. Meeting this challenge will require a focused, organized response from social work researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Ending homelessness will require innovation and interdisciplinary or cross-sector collaboration. Key words: Housing First, Permanent Supportive Housing, rapid re-housing, prevention, poverty. The notion that homelessness in the United States can be ended, rather than managed (Mangano, 2002; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012), represents a fundamental shift in expectations from the 1980s and ’90s. Since the early 2000s, researchers, policymakers, advocates,

was developed by the Skid Row Housing Trust with the intention of fighting homelessness with a holistic model to break the cycle of homeless. This particular organization inhabits the complexes with qualified individuals to connect residents with on-site case management, medical care, mental health services, substance use treatment, advocacy and community building (Skid Row Housing Trust, n.d.). The ground floor of the complex is occupied by the Department of Health Services’ Housing for Health division headquarters whose programs aims to house 10,000 of the county’s sickest, most vulnerable homeless in the following decade (Holland,

According to Volunteers of America, over 670,000 Americans are homeless, 48 million people go hungry every night, and 46.2 million Americans live in poverty. In 2013, Volunteers of America helped hover 83,000 homeless individuals. This organization works to prevent and end homelessness through a range of support services including eviction prevention, emergency services, transitional housing and permanent affordable housing. By doing so they engage homeless individuals, including youth and families with children, and stay with them for as long as it takes to return them to self-sufficiency. This organization reach out to homeless individuals through street outreach and mobile outreach services and engage with homeless individuals, youth and families with children. Moreover, they provide assistance that ranges from paying a first month’s rent to offering permanent supportive housing so that people with disabilities can become stable and productive members of their communities.

Homelessness has always been a problem for the United States. Since its birth as a nation, there have consistently been individuals who find themselves without a place to live, looking for shelter with family, friends, or simply anywhere they can find it. These individuals have been targeted as candidates for social aid, but this was primarily provided by churches and other care organizations. However, in the past thirty years the homeless population has increased almost exponentially in numbers. While the cause of this is undetermined, it is quite certain that while the

First, government provides housing assistance to low-income families. Low-income families just need pay 30% of their total income for rent. Second, mainstream programs provide a safety net for homelessness. This net makes mainstream programs like housing assistance, welfare, and substance support could provide what homelessness need quickly. Third, Communities created a data system to record information about homelessness. These information could be analyzed to help people know the cause of people become homeless, how long people become homeless, what exactly homeless people need, and the effect of mainstream’s support. Government already saw some positive influence of these programs. The number of family homelessness decreased 43 percent in Hennepin Country. New York creased 11 percent of homeless families was placed by a permanent housing. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2010)

One of the simplest pieces of knowledge we acquire in elementary school (for future growth and development) are the three basic needs a living organism requires for living: food, water, and shelter. However, not everyone has access to all of these essentials. Homeless people are faced with awful conditions and suffer more due to poor weather conditions, diseases, and lack of safety. There hasn’t been much progress on this issue, and if this continues, the number of homeless people will only increase. In a few states the topic is being named as a “statewide emergency”, but unfortunately this problem is national. Instead of focusing on state programs, local programs and non-profit organizations to fix the housing issue, we must all contribute to ending this epidemic. The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) released an article stating, “In January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States” (Snapshot of Homelessness). We must develop a solution to end long term homelessness immediately. The best way of solving this issue is to provide stable long-term housing, which is a term used to describe the home’s environment and financial status.

Homeless families compose a fraction of the homeless population as they “represent roughly a third of the homeless population in the United States (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2010), and approximately 1.5 million children—1 in 50 youngsters—are homeless each year in the United States” (p. 389). These homeless families often struggle to find permanent residency as a collective unit. There are several types of housing situations available for homeless families such as temporary housing, transitional housing settings, and shelters, yet the housing situation for homeless families often causes stress for families as stability and a secure home is always in question. “The lack of stable, consistent housing is the central, defining characteristic of families experiencing homelessness, distinguishing them and their experience(s) from those with stable housing who experience other correlated conditions (e.g., poverty)” (Kilmer, Cook, Crusto, Strater, and Haber, 2012, p. 394). Homeless families often seek different types of housing usually by first reaching out to temporary shelters in emergency situations like domestic violence that often lead to homelessness, which provide services for children and families. There are many challenges families encounter in the process of seeking permanent housing.

According to Donovan, S and Shinseki, E.K. of the American Journal of Public Health, the suggestion to combat this issue is to reenforce intervention strategies of certain government organizations that work and to funnel federal resources to those strategies (Donovan, 2013). One of the main factors for why people are homeless is due to the mental and physical illness and substance abuse. Effective intervention strategies must be achieved in order to combat homelessness and to ensure veterans are receiving aid they deserve. An example of improving intervention would be to increase investment in effective, evidence-based programs utilizing such as the Housing First model created by the VA which helps assist veterans with access to health care, employment and other supportive services that promote long-term housing stability, reduce recidivism and improve quality of

In January 2014, approximately 49,933 American veterans were homeless on a given night. This number represents approximately 11% of the entire homeless adult population in the United States. Of those homeless veterans, 64% were reported to be sleeping in an emergency shelter or transitional housing and 36% were living on the streets or other places not meant for human habitation. Today, the federal government has many programs targeted to end veteran’s homelessness; however, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently has only one program offering a permanent supportive housing solution for homeless veterans – the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH). With this program HUD provides eligible homeless veterans with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), while the VA provides clinical case management and supportive services through its health care system. The purpose of this evaluation synthesis is to assess the HUD-VASH program’s effectiveness in targeting limited resources to the needs of homeless veterans today, as well as to provide specific policy recommendations so as to improve the overall taxpayer value of this program.

People drive or walk past a homeless person almost every day without thinking twice about the plight of that person or they may even unconsciously turn their heads the other way in disgust. Homelessness simply put, means without a home - therefore homelessness is an equal opportunity state that can happen to anyone. Even though we have seen some economic prosperity over the years, statistics show that the number of homeless remains very high. With this in mind, communities need to come together at the state, city, and individual level to come up with solutions to mitigate the spreading of this problem.

A Quantitative approach using longitudinal data processing was used to expedite service management and results of accountability for Philadelphia County’s ten-year plan to end homelessness. This process collects sample observations from large populations over a period of time. This electronic process organizes case planning and measures indicator initiative. This allows each community to calculate and evaluate the effectiveness of each program and system-level performance that is rendered to the homeless. Another method used was the HMIS (Homeless Management Information Center), this method which is utilized by HUD gives a full understanding and nature of homelessness in the community. This method helps in creating a resource plan as well as operational program models. This method is often used by social service agencies in Philadelphia and also gives the estimates for homeless in the United States.

The accuracy is primarily due to Routhier’s extensive use of graphs and statistics, which provide visual depictions of the issues being discussed. The accuracy of this article is further seen through its use of citations, listed at the bottom of the page where each citation is used, for each statistic and graph presented in the article, making the evidence used in the article credible. One source Routhier used comes from the Metropolitan Council on Housing, which was used when discussing the lack of affordable housing available in New York City. The article she used states, “Many neighborhoods that used to be affordable to people of modest means have seen rents skyrocket, and the only reason why most long-time tenants are able to stay in the communities where they set roots is because of our rent-regulation laws” (Metropolitan Council on Housing). This directly connects with Routhier’s argument regarding unaffordable housing. The direct connections display both the credibility and accuracy of the source. While the article’s primary focus is the homeless population in New York City as of the year 2017, it covers a vast number of variables involved. Such variables include individuals, families, those living in shelters, and those who are not living in shelters. Each variable is covered through both Routhier’s written account and visuals, which analyze

The current strengths of Providence House Resource Support are its ability to meet the unique needs of the homeless community. This is well recognized, particularly where transitional housing and supportive services have been an obvious need for some time. However, it is important to credit Providence House for their ability to fill gaps in the institutionalized system of service provision. This is a direct product of its fundamentally unique way of thinking about its own organization, goals, and the clients that they serve.

Every year approximately 2.3 to 3.5 million people go homeless in the United States of America. Twelve million adults in the US were homeless in the year 2001, or are still currently without a permanent home (“Homelessness in the U.S.”). How does this happen in “the land of opportunity?” We think of ourselves as one of the greatest nations in the world, yet citizens are living a life of poverty, often without food, clothing, and shelter. When most people think of fighting homelessness, they think of providing medical assistance, showers, and counseling services for those who suffer mental illness, trauma, and substance abuse. Although these necessities are imperative in helping a significant