Homeless Assistance Act

Every New Yorker has the right to a safe and affordable place to live in. New York’s shortage of affordable housing has reached a crisis point. Poor and elderly people throughout New York City are at a greater risk of homelessness and forced low-income residents do not have food or medical care to stay in their homes. A sinful structure of homelessness in New York City is New York’s shortage of affordable housing. Millions of New Yorkers are desperate to find affordable housing and tens of thousands are forced to live either in dirty shelters or on the streets. Recent data indicates that nearly 60,000 people, including more than 23,000 children, stay in the city’s main homeless shelter system (Guelpa). A small amount of poor renter households received a housing subsidy from the local government. Little assistance is being provided which means that most poor families and individuals that seek assistance

In recent years, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have identified rapid re-housing as a critical strategy to meeting the national goal of ending family homelessness by 2020 (USICH 2013). As noted in a recent update of Opening Doors, the federal plan to end homelessness, "[US Department of Health and Human Services], HUD, [the US Department of Veterans Affairs], and USICH have joined forces to promote expansion of rapid re-housing as a part of community coordinated systems" (USICH 2013). Rapid re-housing, an intervention that helps homeless families exit shelters and get back into permanent housing quickly, provides short-term help with housing expenses (e.g., rent arrears, ongoing rent assistance, moving costs) and case management focused on housing stability. Rapid re-housing is a relatively new but, as early evidence shows, promising strategy that communities across the country are

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,

Since the impact of homelessness varies depending on the population and setting people are in, state and local leaders have a greater ability than the federal government to judge what actions need to be taken to help the homeless. Unfortunately, many communities have put more effort into hiding or keeping out people affected by homelessness rather than ending homelessness itself. One example is laws that work against the homeless rather than help them. Not only do these laws discourage the homeless from seeking help but they also discourage agencies and local officials from providing that help. “In recent years, there has been an increase in the enactment of laws and ordinances intended to regulate the activities of the homeless people” (“Dealing

Homelessness is one of the oldest problems that exist, fast forward almost 40 years since it’s been recognized as one and still there has been no avail to finding a real solution. The definition of homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act is defined as an individual: “who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and a person who has a nighttime residence that is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, and c) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a private or public place not designed for, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.”

McKinney Vento Act provides federal funding to states to meet the needs of homeless students. States are given the flexibility to spend the funds appropriately. This includes the fixed amendment where schools can spend money on direct education services including various programs. LAUSD would continue to use these federal funds to hire homeless liaisons as part of their Homeless Education Program. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was passed in California and gives school districts more authority over how the money will be spent in their K-12 schools. (Ed-Data, 2015) LAUSD is eligible for this funding. This formula would ultimately give school districts 20% more money for each of their high needs students. High need

The Mckinney act of 1987 now known as the Mckinney-Vento Homeless Act is a United state-federal legislate law that provide that fund the homeless shelter program. It is the only main federal government geared toward homeless. The Act started in 1986 as the Homeless Persons’ Survival Act. It started as pressure on the federal government to address homelessness as a national problem requiring nation response.The act was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 22 1987. The McKinney-Vento Act originally consisted of fifteen programs providing a range of services to homeless people, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, job training, primary health care, education, and some

Many of the anti-homeless polices that have been previously mentioned focus on improving the quality of life for the community rather than reducing the causes of homelessness and for these reasons it is imperative that these anti-homeless policies be reformed. Reforming these polices can be tricky due to the way they are framed. For example, no one is going to advocate that public urination should be allowed. A more effective argument would be to advocate for increased public spending on public restrooms. This is just one example of how allocating public funds away from criminal justice and towards public services could help improve the issue of

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

The McKinney-Vento Act not only provides immediate shelter and food to the homeless, but it also guarantees a homeless child’s right to an education. McKinney-Vento assures that homeless students who struggle attending school have access to a proper education and gain other necessary services necessary (Katel). The McKinney-Vento Act recognizes the importance of an education by providing homeless students with basic educational rights, transportation and other basic school necessities. Although there are still major complications in educating homeless students, this act

This act has been amended four times since being signed into law in 1987, in 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994. The amendments in 1988 were relatively minor, and added a few additional places where funds from this act could be distributed (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). In 1990, the amendments changed far more of the act than with previous amendments, and many new programs were created, including Shelter Plus Care program (providing assistance to those with disabilities and addictions), and the Community Mental Health Services was amended and given a new name, Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). The amendments in 1992 both expanded and modified Title IV, which included several programs that were overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to include the creation of “safe havens”, which are very low-cost shelters available to people who do not wish to utilize other services, and the Rural Homeless Housing Assistance grant program (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). The most recent amendments to the McKinney-Vento Act took place in 1994, and these amendments focused on Education of the Homeless Children and Youth program, and the

Homeless families with children represent the fastest growing segment of the homeless population; in fact, they constitute about 40 percent of all people who are homeless (Stronge 7). In addition, the most recent estimate of homeless children and youngsters by the United States Department of Education is 744,000 (Stronge 7). These statistics are indeed quite frightening, and they go to show that children constitute a large part of the homeless dilemma. The part of that dilemma that seems most taxing is that of educating such homeless children. How can these kids become active members of society if they are unable to receive a proper public education, the same education that is provided for so many other kids under the Constitution?

DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser is very committed to “ending long-term homelessness in the District of Columbia”. The mayor and her team believe that the administration’s plan for homelessness is ambitious but achievable. The plan aims at cultivating partnerships with non-profit providers, advocates, persons experiencing homelessness, business partners, and the philanthropic community to develop ways and methods to manage and resolve homelessness in the nation’s capital. Another key actor that is involved in resolving DC’s homelessness is the District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness (DCICH). The DCICH is a group of cabinet level leaders, providers of homeless services, advocates, homeless and formerly homeless leaders that come together to inform and guide the District’s strategies and policies for meeting the needs of individuals and families who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. The DCICH main mission is to “to end long-term homelessness in the District of Columbia by 2020”.

Many social problems have been around for ages. It was not until society developed social consciousness that many of these problems became a matter of public policy. The matters of homelessness and domestic abuse are probably the two most prominent social issues within today’s society that have become not only become main stream topics, but also matters of public policy. In John Gresham’s “Somewhere for Everyone”, the author discusses the topic of homelessness from the aspect of someone growing up in small town America during the 60’s and 70’s.

The McKinney‐Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in December 2001, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness (CDE). Make sure that any students identified as homeless enroll in school, and receive the same opportunity to do well in school. Make sure that homeless families be provided with any services they are eligible for. Homeless Liaison assists students at Angela Davis College Prep.