Реферат: Homelessness Essay Research Paper IntroductionHomelessness is not

an occasional situation, but for many it is a long-term situation.

Government and homeless people

During the Reagan Administration, homelessness was viewed as a problem that did

not necessitate federal intervention. In 1983, the first federal task force on homelessness was

created to provide information to local communities on how to obtain surplus federal property. However, The task force did not address homelessness through policy actions. (Blau, 109-132)

In the following years, advocates around the nation demanded that the federal government

acknowledge homelessness as a national problem requiring a national response. As a result, in 1986, the Homeless Persons’ Survival Act was introduced in both houses. The act contained emergency relief measures, preventive measures, and long term solutions to homelessness. However, only small pieces of this proposal, were enacted into law. The first, the Homeless Eligibility Clarification Act of 1986, (Hombs, 67) removed permanent address requirements and other barriers to existing programs such as Supplemental Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Veterans Benefits, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. Also in 1986, the Homeless Housing Act was adopted. (Hombs, 67) This legislation created the Emergency Shelter Grant program and a transitional housing program, which were administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD. (Blau, 16)

In late 1986, legislation containing Title I of the Homeless Persons’ Survival Act,

emergency relief provisions for food, shelter, mobilized health care, and transitional housing,

was introduced as the Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act. (Hombs, 70-89) After an intensive

campaign, the legislation was passed by large bipartisan majorities in both houses

of Congress in 1987. After the death of its sponsor, Stewart B.McKinney, the act was re-named the 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. It was signed into law by the reluctant President,Ronald Reagan, on July 22, 1987. The 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act was the first, and only, major federal legislative response to homelessness. (Blau, 112-114)

The McKinney Act originally consisted of fifteen programs that provided a range of services to the homeless. The services included job training, education, emergency shelter, transitional housing, primary health care, and a limited amount of permanent housing..

The McKinney Act has been amended numerous times, with the 1990 amendments including the Shelter Plus Care program, which provided housing assistance to the homeless with disabilities, mental illness, AIDS, and drug/alcohol addictions, and a program within the Health Care for the Homeless to provide primary health care and outreach to at-risk homeless children.

(Levy, 360-368) Also in 1990, the Community Mental Health Services program was amended and re-named as: the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program. The 1990 amendments more clearly outlined the obligations of states and local educational agencies in assuring public education of homeless children and youth. (Kryder-Coe, 81-85)

Unfortantely, even with the passage of the McKinney Act, and the amendments to it, the causes of homelessness have not been adequately addressed. The 1994 goal of the Interagency Council on the Homeless was “to achieve the goal of ‘a decent home and a suitable living environment’ for every American.” ( Hombs, 131-132) The President called for increasing housing subsidies and repairing the “damage caused by the misguided and harmful housing budget cuts of the 1980s.” (Hombs, 132) However, the President’s Fical Year 96, 97, and 98 budgets maintained the cuts to housing programs made by Congress. President Reagan believed that “the homeless are on the streets by choice and prefer this to the available shelters…and that the jobless are simply not motivated.” (Hombs, 9) Thus, Congress left in place a number of measures which reduced the poor’s access to housing, such as tightened eligibility standards for

public housing, cuts to federal aid to poor children, (Foscarinis, par. 5-8) and cuts in subsidized low-rent housing.

Still, today, our nation’s government has not enacted any permanent solutions to homelessness. Our local, state or federal governments have not addressed the so desperately needed solutions for the fundamental cause of homelessness: 1) providing subsidies to make existing housing affordable, creating additional affordable housing through rehabilitation, and where needed, new construction; 2) ensure that working people earn enough to meet basic needs, have access to jobs and job training, and if not able to work, are provided with assistance adequate to meet baics needs, including housing; 3) ensure access to social services, including health care, child care, mental health care and substance abuse treatment; 4) prohibit laws that discriminate against the homeless. (Robertson/Greenblatt, 339-346)

New policies that address the causes of homelessness, by addressing housing, education, income and treatment problems, must align with prevention policies to stop the rise in homelessness.

Making a difference

When President Clinton was first elected, it appeared that he had a plan to make homelessness the number one HUD priority and to introduce innovative reforms to make a real change to the nation’s homelessness. Eight years later, no legislation has been passed in this area.

What can an individual do to make a difference? One can volunteer. Work in a soup kitchen or a non-profit used goods store once every two weeks. Tutor someone at a jobs skills center. Deliver meals to home bound people. One can offer some innovative services to non-profit service providers and support agencies. Offer to design and/or maintain someone’s webpage. Research and write grant applications or plan a fundraising event. Network an organization’s computer system. Offer to teach a resume writing course or facilitate a staff training. ( Kroloff) All of these are needed services and available in most every community.

What can our local communities do? They can develop: 1) community-based prevention and family preservation centers; 2) family-oriented substance abuse treatment programs; 3) housing placement and long-term follow-up case management for families; 4) information and referral for the newly homeless; 5) street outreach to homeless children and youth; 6) permanent low-income housing for families and the physically/mentally ill. (Kroloff)

What can our nation’s government representatives do? Our government must establish a clear understanding of who the homeless are in our nation. They must take a look at what major system failures are contributing to homelessness in America. They must understand what is causing the problems in our current service systems. They must understand what purpose the McKinney Act is trying to serve. They must take a look at what goals we are trying to achieve through federal legislation, and then they must re-examine how current legislative steps take us to our national goal?

Our government understands that the homeless are people in the crisis of proverty, for any given number of reasons. They understand that the major systems contributing to homelessness are: low income jobs, expensive/bad housing conditions, social service system failures like health and mental health, no committed responsibility for the chronically disabled, domestic violence/prisons/military/foster care system discharges. And they understand the problems with our nation’s current service systems in place: 1) more people coming in everyday, but insufficient opportunity to access mainstream programs; 2) increased costs and lack of new funding;

3) frustration and perception that the system is failing. So what can our government do? They must make the McKinney Act work for us: 1) provide flexible resources to develop local programs; 2) programs that prove success should be allowed to grow into the mainstream system, receiving support outside of McKinney; 3) programs that provide emergency services should form a core of a local emergency services system and be supported and maintained; 4) affordable housing programs should be revamped in recognition of the current housing crisis; 5) Don’t expect McKinney/HUD resources to meet all needs among people not housed. Require other systems to provide support services. (Homelessness in America)

As a nation, our goal must be to end homelessness, prevent its recurrence, and decrease its effects on communities. Our approach must be twofold: identifying and analyzing the causes of homelessness and developing and implementing long-term solutions that remove these causes.

As individuals, we must work with service providers, local communities, public and nonprofit sectors, and homeless people to implement these solutions.

The focus of our government programs must be to: 1) support communities in implementing and maintaining long-term comprehensive responses to homelessness; 2) establish easily accessible community networks of services available to homeless families, adults, and children; 3) channel community and government resources to housing and employment; 4) ensure that every dollar invested is well spent.