Chapter 14 Discussions

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Chapter 14: Housing and Homelessness Policy

Introduction

Social workers work with:

Individuals.

Families and children.

Need to navigate housing systems.

Economically well-off and struggling areas.

Factors affect housing or homelessness experience.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Individuals: Social workers work in homeless shelters, transitional housing, or public social services directly with individuals experiencing homelessness and affected by housing policy every day.

Families and children: Social workers work with families and children in schools, survivors of intimate partner violence, in child protective services, substance use treatment, and health care.

Need to navigate housing systems: They will need to navigate housing systems on behalf of communities and individuals experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, or who have been harmed by housing systems, landlords, or housing policies.

Economically well-off and struggling areas: This is true of social workers who work in economically well-off areas such as suburbs and well as those who work in economically struggling areas and rural communities.

Factors affect housing or homelessness experience: An individual or family’s experience of housing or homelessness is affected by characteristics such as race, gender, family composition, and sexual orientation.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Homelessness (1 of 6)

Lack of nighttime residence.

Dangerous or life-threatening conditions.

Inadequate housing in New York City tenements.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.1 Describe the history and social construction of homelessness in the United States.

Lack of nighttime residence: Homelessness is defined as a state of housing for individuals and families who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence.

Dangerous or life-threatening conditions: Unaccompanied youth and families with children and youth, and individuals and families who are fleeing, or are attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Inadequate housing in New York City tenements: The New York City tenements, a room or rooms within a house or block of apartments in which people often lived in crowded and unsanitary conditions, held 290,000 people per square mile.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Homelessness (2 of 6)

The Progressive Era: Homelessness and the “married vagabond”

Systemic issues of tenements.

Women as tenement administrators.

Moral defects: Married Vagabonds.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.1 Describe the history and social construction of homelessness in the United States.

Systemic issues of tenements: Marion I. Moore called out tenement house landlords and local Board of Health for their roles in contributing to the unsanitary and often unsafe conditions of tenements.

Women as tenement administrators: Dr. E.R.L. Gould of the University of Chicago suggested that giving women more responsibility in the administration of tenements would lead to better outcomes.

Moral defects: Mary Richmond focused on the moral defects of the individuals whom she called “married vagabonds.” Vagabond was a derogatory term, an image of people experiencing homelessness, who wander from place to place irresponsibly.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Homelessness (3 of 6)

The Progressive Era: Homelessness and the “married vagabond”

Charity Organization Societies’ judgment.

Workers ignored larger societal issues.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.1 Describe the history and social construction of homelessness in the United States.

Charity Organization Societies’ judgment: They assumed that those who experienced homelessness or were in danger of becoming homeless had done something to cause that situation.

Workers ignored larger societal issues: The attempts by charities and governments to address these concerns were generally inadequate to remedy systemic problems and focused primarily on individuals.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Homelessness (4 of 6)

Great Depression: Homelessness and societal factors

Homelessness as an individual failing.

Unsheltered homelessness.

Systemic responses were inadequate.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.1 Describe the history and social construction of homelessness in the United States.

Homelessness as an individual failing: The economic upheaval of the Great Depression made it harder to view homelessness as an individual failing, given that the 1933 census counted 1.5 million persons experiencing homelessness.

Unsheltered homelessness: People experiencing homelessness who are sleeping outside, in places not meant for human habitation, such as parks, the street, and wooded areas.

Systemic responses were inadequate: Even given the clear systemic failures that caused homelessness and housing instability during this time, the responses of many charities and governments were inadequate to the task.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Homelessness (5 of 6)

Great Depression: Homelessness and societal factors

Women’s and minorities’ ability to recover.

Homelessness persisted: Less visible.

Discrimination of African Americans.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.1 Describe the history and social construction of homelessness in the United States.

Women’s and minorities’ ability to recover: First affected by Depression and having least ability to recover, given fewer employment opportunities, they were ineligible for many New Deal programs, and had fewer financial resources available to them.

Homelessness persisted: New Deal and World War II manufacturing helped bring the Great Depression to a close but allowed most Americans to think of homelessness as someone else’s problem throughout the next 20 years.

Discrimination of African Americans: Since the end of the Civil War, African Americans from the South who migrated North in search of jobs often faced limited housing options due to housing segregation and discrimination.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Homelessness (6 of 6)

Deinstitutionalization: The modern era of homelessness begins

Community Mental Health Act of 1963.

Deinstitutionalization fails.

Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act.

Federal support for low-income housing.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.1 Describe the history and social construction of homelessness in the United States.

Community Mental Health Act of 1963: Attempted to deinstitutionalize or move people with chronic mental health conditions from a lifetime in state-run institutions to community-based mental health clinics.

Deinstitutionalization fails: This deinstitutionalization movement failed not necessarily because the idea was wrong, but because of its poor implementation.

Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act: Signed by President Kennedy right before his death, it was designed to provide a network of services to support individuals with psychiatric disorders in community settings.

Federal support for low-income housing: Increased urban homelessness combined with decreased federal assistance for cities in the 1980s resulted in an increase in need and a decrease in capacity.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Housing (1 of 4)

Housing segregation and federal policy

Housing segregation and homophily.

Segregation is linked to structural racism.

African Americans and integration.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.2 Describe the history and social construction of housing in the United States.

Housing segregation and homophily: Housing segregation means people likely to live near people of their own racial or ethnic background. Homophily is the desire to live near others who we identify with.

Segregation is linked to structural racism: De jure and de facto segregations are intimately linked with structural racism, existing as a consequence and cause. De jure segregation means legally authorized segregation or segregation created by laws. De facto segregation means legislation does not overtly segregate people by race, but nevertheless segregation exists. Structural racism is the system within which institutions and policies in our nation disadvantage non-whites.

African Americans and integration: Integration is defined as a situation in which people live together with those who are different from them. If segregation was caused by government policies, it is not just the government’s option but the government’s responsibility to address it. African Americans were unconstitutionally denied the means and the right to integration in middle-class neighborhoods, and because this denial was state-sponsored, the nation is obligated to remedy it.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Housing (2 of 4)

Housing segregation and federal policy

Racist and specific policies co-exist.

Discrimination in housing: Civil Rights Act.

Effects of laws were short lived.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.2 Describe the history and social construction of housing in the United States.

Racist and specific policies co-exist: Fifth Amendment prohibits unfair treatment of citizens. Thirteenth Amendment prohibits slavery and its byproducts. Fourteenth Amendment contains the privileges or immunities, the due process, and the equal protection clauses.

Discrimination in housing: In 1866, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act which made it illegal to act in ways that replicated the characteristics of slavery, which included racial discrimination in the ban.

Effects of laws were short lived: It took the 1968 Jones v Mayer decision and the Fair Housing Act to give the government the authority to address discrimination in private markets and to provide the government with a way to enforce that law.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Housing (3 of 4)

The legacy of redlining—segregation and the Fair Housing Act

Deliberate segregation in housing policy.

Underwriting Manual: Mortgage insurance.

Mortgage difficulties of African Americans.

Legacy of racist policies continue today.

Enforcement of new law was positive.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.2 Describe the history and social construction of housing in the United States.

Deliberate segregation in housing policy: Redlining is defined as the process of refusing a loan or insurance to someone because they live in an area deemed to be a poor financial risk which results in significant segregation.

Underwriting Manual: FHA’s Underwriting Manual helped determine whether mortgages in any given area were eligible for federal insurance, essentially determining the availability and cost of mortgages in any given area.

Mortgage difficulties of African-Americans: FHA insurance by the manual rules forced African-Americans to pay substantially higher down payments and higher interest if they sought to purchase homes. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights declared that the housing industry, aided and abetted by Government, must bear the primary responsibility for the legacy of segregated housing.

Legacy of racist policies continue today: One potential policy solution is a set of reparations, or compensatory payments, to the communities most affected by redlining, slavery, and other racist policies.

Enforcement of new law was positive: Congress passed the Fair Housing Act as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to attempt to address housing segregation. FHA amendments passed in 1988 expanded the protections of FHA to include people with disabilities and families with children and increased the ability of HUD to enforce the law.

History and Social Construction of U.S. Housing (4 of 4)

Home ownership: Is it the American Dream?

Home owning has economic benefits.

Home ownership is unequally available.

Assets held in comparison to debt.

Racial disparity in net worth.

Health care and home ownership risks.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.2 Describe the history and social construction of housing in the United States.

Home owning has economic benefits: Ability to accumulate wealth and access credit by building home equity, reduce housing costs through the mortgage interest deduction, and gain long-term savings over the cost of renting.

Home ownership is unequally available: Because home ownership has historically been seen as a way to grow wealth, many people invest their life savings into their homes or go into significant debt to purchase homes. When events like the Great Recession of 2007--2009 moved many families into foreclosure and bankruptcy, this also led to increased homelessness and loss of accumulated wealth.

Assets held in comparison to debt: Wealth not only applies to those who are well-off, but also refers to any assets held by individuals and families, including homes and equity in a home, in comparison to any debt they carry.

Racial disparity in net worth: Overall net worth of American families has not returned to pre-recession levels, but the disparity in wealth between white families and Black and Hispanic families has grown significantly. Pew Research Center found that white families had a median wealth of 13 times that of Black families, and 10 times that of Hispanic families.

Health care and home ownership risks: Cost and inequities related to health care are also connected with risks in home ownership. At the peak of Recession, half of all households reported that medical expenses had led to their foreclosures.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (1 of 11)

Size of U.S. homelessness: Point-in-Time.

Public image of homelessness.

Rates of homelessness are going down.

Types of homelessness:

Transitional or short-term.

Episodic homelessness.

Chronic or long-term.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Size of U.S. homelessness: In 2018, according to the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count, approximately 553,000 persons were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.

Public image of homelessness: While the public image of homelessness is often of adults who are on their own, this number included 180,000 people who were part of families with children.

Rates of homelessness are going down: Rates are trending downward nationally among many groups, but particularly unsheltered homelessness continues to be a crisis in cities.

Transitional homelessness: People experiencing short-term homelessness make up approximately 80% of shelter users, and associated challenges include unemployment, relationship status, housing availability, or substance use.

Episodic homelessness: Approximately 10% of shelter users cycle in and out of homelessness and may stay in shelters five times in three years.

Chronic homelessness: Long-term homelessness accounts for a small portion of the overall homeless population, but this population has especially high needs.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (2 of 11)

Defining homelessness

Eligibility for assistance varies.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance.

Thread that ties homelessness categories.

Complicated landscape of homeless youth and children.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Eligibility for assistance varies: Those eligible for assistance through one program might not be eligible through another. Definitions vary as “precariously housed” or “housing unstable” instead of homeless.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance: Amended by The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009, this definition provides four possible categories:

Thread that ties homelessness categories: It is “that the person has no home of his or her own, any available shelter is tenuous or unsafe, sleeping arrangements are precarious, and they have little to no safety or privacy.”

Complicated landscape of homeless youth and children: Homeless youth are defined differently by the federal government, through the HUD, the Department of Education, and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (3 of 11)

McKinney-Vento and HEARTH

Homeless Assistance Act of 1987.

Continuum of Care program.

HEARTH Act of 2009.

Appropriations for activities in 2017.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Homeless Assistance Act of 1987: The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act began to address the challenges of the modern era of homelessness and create opportunities for government and non-profit responses at the local, state, and federal levels.

Continuum of Care program: Programs operated under CoCs include emergency shelter, transitional living programs, and permanent supportive housing for disabled and highly vulnerable populations.

HEARTH Act of 2009: Reauthorizing and redesigning McKinney-Vento, it funds both prevention activities and efforts designed to find permanent housing solutions for recently homeless individuals and families as quickly as possible.

Appropriations for activities in 2017: Included $2.383 billion in funding for street outreach, homelessness prevention and diversion, emergency shelter, rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and coordinated entry.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (4 of 11)

Counting the homeless

Challenges in counting.

Primary methods used for counting.

Point-in-Time Count.

Homeless Management Information System.

Annual Homeless Assessment Report.

Process can benefit from social work.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Challenges in counting: One of the challenges in this count is that many people who are experiencing homelessness are difficult to find or do not wish to be found.

Point-in-Time (PIT) Count: Every year during the last week in January, every CoC across the nation is required by HUD to conduct a Point-in-Time (PIT) Count as a condition of their federal funding. This count includes an annual sheltered count of people who are currently residing in homeless programs and the total number of available beds in their community. At least every other year, an unsheltered or street count is conducted of people experiencing homelessness who are sleeping outside, in places not meant for human habitation.

Homeless Management Information System: This second method used to collect data is a locally administered database that each CoC must implement as a requirement of HUD funding for homeless assistance projects.

Annual Homeless Assessment Report: HMIS data are collected and presented in HUD’s AHAR, which focuses on identifying and understanding the scale of homelessness.

Process can benefit from social work: Counting is crucial to provide agencies and communities with resources needed to work with people experiencing homelessness. Knowing how many people are affected can help influence policy makers to allocate resources to help them.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (5 of 11)

Predatory lending

Designed for borrowers with risky credit.

Lenders charge higher interest rates.

Targets vulnerable populations.

Advocates have fought with success.

Discriminatory practices persist.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Designed for borrowers with risky credit: Predatory loans are a type of subprime loans, which are designed for borrowers with risky credit who may be unable to obtain loans from mainstream lenders.

Lenders charge higher interest rates: Because of the increased risk, lenders charge higher interest rates than those which are available in the prime mortgage market.

Targets vulnerable populations: Financial difficulties, including foreclosure and bankruptcy, that follow from these loans disproportionately affect marginalized groups.

Advocates have fought with success: Advocates have long fought predatory lending and have had legislative successes at the local and national level.

Discriminatory practices persist: Despite legislation such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, and the Fair Housing Act.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (6 of 11)

Public Housing

African Americans are majority of tenants.

Segregation of public housing in the United States.

Identified as an African American problem.

Lane, Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World. © SAGE Publications, 2020.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

African Americans are majority of tenants: African American and Hispanic public housing residents are four times more likely than white public housing residents to live in high poverty neighborhoods.

Segregation of public housing in the United States: Public housing in the United States has roots in the military, including housing for white military families, which was expanded to civilians working near naval shipyards and munitions plants during World War I. Housing was a struggle for both African American and non-affluent white families during the Great Depression through World War II. Segregated public housing was built by demolishing existing integrated housing and rebuilding whites-only or blacks-only projects.

Identified as an African American problem: Newly elected Senator Hubert Humphrey, one of the first senators to employ an African American staff member, argued for the passage of the 1949 Housing Act.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (7 of 11)

Subsidized housing, including Section 8

Privately owned subsidized housing.

Section 8 and Housing Choice Voucher.

Depends on willingness of landlords.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Privately owned subsidized housing: This type of housing involves long-term subsidy contracts between a private owner and a government agency such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Section 8 and Housing Choice Voucher: These allow families to rent from landlords who do not have a long-term contract with the government and in theory, provides individuals and families with some ability to choose where they want to live.

Depends on willingness of landlords: Local government initiatives have sought to curtail discrimination against people using housing vouchers to pay for their rent by outlawing what has become known as “source of income discrimination” in housing.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (8 of 11)

Current policy areas: Supportive housing

Risk of homelessness or dependent living.

Stable housing with support services.

Designed for specific populations.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Risk of homelessness or dependent living: Supportive housing policies offer opportunities to people who are at risk of homelessness or otherwise have difficulty living independently.

Stable housing with support services: Policies generally result in housing options that combine stable housing with support services such as help with household work, therapy, addiction services, or medication management.

Designed for specific populations: Section 202 offers housing to families in which at least one person is over age 62, the family meets criteria for very low income, and allows independent living with support services. Section 811 provides for very low- and extremely-low-income people with disabilities, generally those who have an income of 30% or below their area’s median income.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (9 of 11)

Violence against people experiencing homelessness

National Coalition for the Homeless’ data.

True number of attacks is higher.

Life expectancy less by 20--30 years.

Advocates are fighting against laws.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

National Coalition for the Homeless’ data: 1,758 violent crimes documented between 1999 and 2017, and resulting in 476 deaths, are believed to have been motivated by the perpetrators’ biases and ability to target homeless people.

True number of attacks is higher: Undoubtedly, the reports may not indicate those individuals experiencing homelessness who will not report victimization out of fear of engaging with law enforcement.

Life expectancy less by 20--30 years: Violent and bias crime adds to the trend that those who experience homelessness have a life expectancy 20-30 years less than the general population.

Advocates are fighting against laws: Laws that cover hate crimes such as civil rights laws do not generally include crimes against individuals experiencing homelessness in the definition of hate crimes.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (10 of 11)

Youth homelessness

Youth experiencing homelessness.

Number based on sexual orientation.

Homeless youth have vulnerabilities.

Group is resilient on the whole.

Resources available not matching needs.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Youth experiencing homelessness: Members of families, children aged out of foster care programs, those released from juvenile justice programs, and youth who have left or been forced to leave family homes or abusive relationships.

Number based on sexual orientation: A disproportionate number of homeless youth, somewhere between 20% and 40%, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning or other sexual or gender identities (LGBTQ+).

Homeless youth have vulnerabilities: Those who are with families may be afraid that their homeless status will cause them to be removed from their families. Those who are alone may be ineligible for services or financial support or fearful they will be returned to unsafe family or institutional settings. Youth on the streets are likely to engage in high-risk survival behaviors such as survival sex.

Group is resilient on the whole: Homeless youth are often resourceful in finding ways to make ends meet, stay in school, and work, despite the challenges they face.

Resources available not matching needs: Federal programs such as Basic Center Program encourage reunification or alternative placements, long-term housing, aging out of foster care, pregnancy, and parenting.

Current Housing and Homelessness Policy (11 of 11)

Local policy: Rent control

Price controls to keep cost of rent down.

First policies were rent freezes.

Policies allowed for slight increases.

Opposition to laws.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.3 Critique how various policies address challenges for people who are homeless or struggle with housing discrimination.

Price controls to keep cost of rent down: Rent control is a system where the government uses price controls to keep the cost of rent down for some rental units.

First policies were rent freezes: Most rent control laws expired in the late 1940s, as a result of high inflation and tenants’ rights organizing, and additional U.S. cities adopted rent control policies in the 1960s and 1970s.

Policies allowed for slight increases: State laws preempt rent control thereby prohibiting localities from passing or enforcing rent control laws, such as limiting rent increases to 7% a year, in addition to inflation.

Opposition to laws: Some opposed to this law argued that rent control has historically advantaged higher income families and created housing shortages while reducing the quality and quantity of rental housing.

Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses and Implications

Treatment First or Housing First?

Homelessness and mental illness linked.

Enabling coordination between providers.

Supported housing is effective strategy.

Treatment first: Traditional approach.

Housing First: Fundamental need.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.4 Apply a Housing First framework to supporting homelessness.

Homelessness and mental illness linked: Approximately one-quarter of people experiencing homelessness have severe mental illnesses and mental illness is a significant factor in homelessness for both single adults and families.

Enabling coordination between providers: Encouraging coordination between homeless service providers and mental health providers is one mechanism that has proven successful in serving people experiencing homelessness and mental illness.

Supported housing is effective strategy: Combines housing services with treatment for mental and physical health problems, education and employment, and significant peer and professional support.

Treatment first: In this model of focus on treating any underlying addiction or illness first, individuals needed to comply with treatment rules, prove abstinence, and give up a significant amount of privacy. In return, they access housing and supporting services but breaking the rules was likely to get them expelled from such programs and return them to the streets.

Housing First: A human right, housing is maintained even if a person has a relapse or incarceration, and individuals have as much choice as possible in the treatment of their mental health and substance use disorders.

Opportunities for Advocacy (1 of 2)

Criminal Justice Reform

Incarceration is linked to homelessness.

Homelessness is a risk factor.

Urban camping reinforces criminalization.

Affects particularly vulnerable groups.

Criminal justice may restrict access.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.5 Plan advocacy actions to address homelessness using criminal justice reform and the racial disparity tool.

Incarceration is linked to homelessness: Those who are released from jail or prison have significant rates of homelessness due to challenges with employment, access to housing, and interruptions of pre-incarceration living situations.

Homelessness is a risk factor: Many communities have criminalized the daily activities of homelessness, including panhandling, loitering, sleeping outdoors, and even possessing a grocery cart.

Urban camping reinforces criminalization: Some cities have passed regulations on urban camping, or sleeping outside in a nondesignated area, that reinforce this criminalization.

Affects particularly vulnerable groups: Criminal justice system disproportionately affects members of marginalized populations, hence incarceration and homelessness significantly affects vulnerable groups.

Criminal justice may restrict access: Criminal justice involvement, particularly with drug-related offenses or sexual offenses, may also keep people from accessing public or subsidized housing programs.

Opportunities for Advocacy (2 of 2)

Racial Disparity Tool

Facilitates analysis at community level.

Critical first step in changing bias.

Information can be shared with policymakers.

Satisfies Learning Objective 14.5 Plan advocacy actions to address homelessness using criminal justice reform and the racial disparity tool.

Facilitates analysis at community level: HUD recently published a tool that facilitates analysis at the local community level of racial disparities among people experiencing homelessness.

Critical first step in changing bias: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notes that, “such an analysis is a critical first step in identifying and changing racial and ethnic bias in our systems and services.”

Information can be shared with policymakers: States can develop plans to address the issues regarding race and poverty that cause vulnerability to homelessness and develop policies to address those vulnerabilities.