The Pros And Cons Of Service Providers And The Homeless

“One diverse population that has continued to increase over the quarter of a century is composed of people who are homeless” (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006, p.155). Homelessness has become a growing problem in society because more and more people are finding themselves to be homeless and not knowing where to turn. Many people do not

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,

Homelessness seems to constantly trigger debates among our society. It has since caused a complex social problem between U.S. citizens and multiple cities worldwide. Cities across the nation have passed a law that criminalizes the act of feeding the homeless, has restricted simple acts of compassion, and have required the purchase of permits to utilize public areas. According to Robbie Couch,” The outlet reports that, incredibly, at least 33 municipal bans on publicly handing out food have been enacted across the U.S. between January 2013 and April 2014, reflecting a sharp increase in communities with such restrictions…. This past February, Columbia S.C., began requiring groups of 25 people or more to purchase permits allowing them to utilize the city’s parks.” I know many will probably agree and say something along the lines of “By restricting the feeding of the homeless, it would motivate more homeless individual to get off the streets”. Houston Mayor Annise Parker stated, “Making it easier for someone to stay on the street is not humane”. Feeding bans are allowing an increase in chronic hunger, allowing stereotypes that are ill-treating those who are experiencing homelessness and allowing homeless individual’s mental, physical, and emotional health to weaken as time progresses.

There are approximately 11,448 people, composed of men, women, and children, who fall in the homeless category in the state of North Carolina. Of that 11,448, 1,303 are families with small children. 2,014 of those people live in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, which makes up 20% of the total homeless population. 1 out of 5 homeless children live within 8 miles of uptown Charlotte (urbanministrycenter.org). Although there are many programs and services that are offered to homeless people, there are all sorts of stipulations that come with these services. Chronic Homelessness is one of the biggest issues in this country and as a state, North Carolina is doing all that it can to put an end to this tragedy.

The issue of chronic homelessness is not just a political or academic debate but has become evident from men and women living without homes in the streets of America. Homeless men and women

Homelessness is seen as a controversial subject that statistics show is on the increase. This makes homelessness a problem in society that cannot be ignored. Firstly, let us examine some of the causes of homelessness and views about the homeless and from the homeless. Also, let us examine some initiatives that may help or solve the problem of homelessness.

Many homeless people have various problems which include money, domestic violence or mental illness and it is not easy for them to change their lifestyle and find a job. Do you know how many homeless people are living in Toronto? According to the homeless hub, they estimated put the number of homeless in the city at about 5,219 in 2013 (“Popluation”, 2013). Homeless need help getting off the streets but are not able to do it by themselves. People should not just give the homeless poor treatment and keep on walking by like nothing is wrong. In order to reduce the homeless problem, we should help them efficiently to solve this problem which can allow the government to help them in many ways.

Homelessness is a desperate situation in which an individual or family may find themselves without a permanent home. The relationship between the homeless, local authorities, commercial businesses, and neighborhood residents is an important one. Its challenges affect those who wish to help, those in need, and those affected by the causation of the two. The trials of the homeless often include navigating the streets as well as navigating program bureaucracy in an effort to obtain services leaving, often negative, perceptions on residents and businesses. Many assumptions are made about the homeless and the curious wonder why many seem to remain without basic needs, skirting societal norms of obtaining gainful employment and maintaining a residence, despite the availability of community aid. These assumptions affect how the homeless are perceived and the manner in which they are regarded.

Homelessness is a problem for many communities throughout the country, but I see it on a regular basis in the Raleigh, North Carolina communities. The symptoms of homelessness are currently a health crisis visible on the streets of our communities. I am drawn to this issue in particular because of the large number of homeless, men, women and children living in unbelievable conditions. According to Weiss, Dwonch-Schoen, Howard-Barr and Panella (2010), “The well-being of a community is only as good as the well-being of the individuals who reside in the community”. People are suffering from a multitude of health issues, living in squalor and America seems to have completely forgotten about these

To help the homeless we need to know the root causes of homelessness. Some ideas put forth that cause homelessness include, epidemic of drugs, deinstitutionalized mentally illness, increased costs of low-quality housing and not enough affordable housing. Although all of these mentioned may have some effect on homelessness more needs to be implemented to drastically reduce homelessness and its recidivism (Quigley & Raphael, 2001). When compared to other countries the United States (US) has a lower public housing support rates. Example, some European countries such as Austria and the Netherlands contribute as much as 20% towards the total housing ((Haber & Toro,

The most workable solution to ending homelessness must have more involvement and more input from the homeless; an individual invested in his or her own treatment is more likely to succeed in exiting homelessness, remaining housed, and becoming a productive member of a community. The Individual Needs approach uses the best practices from other models to help a greater number of people while continuing to utilize government, community, and humanitarian homeless services now in place. This approach emphasizes personal responsibility, independence, and self-reliance. There will always be individuals with disabilities who will need a Housing First approach if they become chronically homeless; this meets their individual needs. A Continuum of Care approach will continue to fit the individual needs of those who are homeless due to abuse, or homeless families. These groups make up about 40 percent of the homeless population (Henry 4).

The plight of homelessness is increasing expeditiously everyday. Despite the work of professional groups working together for the common goal of ridding America of this embarrassment. The economy and the housing market spiraling downward aids in this continuous social issue. Actually, homelessness is just the surface of all the different issue that lie beneath.

According to Treatment Advocacy Center (2016), approximately one-third of the homeless population have some degree of mental disorder, untreated mental illnesses, and physical health issues. Many of these homeless population spend their life living on the streets. Such as living in train stations and any place that provides a shelter, which worsens their condition. This is due to the lack of adequate hospitals to care for the community. In addition, the closing of state mental institutions does not provide the homeless community with a location to benefit them. The topic of the increase in the homeless community continues to become a highly talkative topic. By looking at the social issues among the topic of health within the homeless community,

This journal article discusses the lengthy waitlists at homeless shelters and what could possibly be done to help these individuals who face these waiting lists. According to the article, almost one third of the individuals whom are undergoing homelessness here in the United States stay in desolate locations on any given night. The accessibility of beds in shelters is not sufficient enough to meet this population’s needs. The lack of shelter beds has directed organizations to implement a range of strategies to assign shelter services. With some of the shelters having these long waiting lists, it has elevated questions about the implications of these waiting lists for the people who have immediate shelter needs. The research that was conducted

3.4 What help is available for people who are or are about to be homeless 2