2100 word paper

A Homeless Utopia:

Homeless Shelter by the Homeless, for the Homeless

Honors Student

May 12, 2018

College

Introduction

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. In 2016, 564,708 people living in the United States were homeless. Of that total, half a million were living on the streets, in their cars, shelters, or in a transitional housing during a one-night survey of the same year. These statistics were provided by SocialSolutions.com, a company that assists Non-Profit organizations with resources and tools that help them measure progress in the world (“2016’s Shocking Homeless Statistics, 2017”). There are four major contributors to why homelessness exists: addiction, work force, affordable housing, and economy/poverty.

Causal Relationships

The relationship between addiction and homelessness is complex and controversial. Many people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs never become homeless, but people who are poor and addicted are clearly at increased risk of homelessness (“Homelessness in America”, 2018). The following statistics were provided by the Michael’s House Organization, nationally recognized for providing integrated treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. According to Michael’s House, about 38% of the homeless abuse alcohol, alcohol abuse is more common among the older group within the homeless population, about 26% of the homeless abuse drugs other than alcohol, and drug abuse is more common among younger homeless people than older (“Connection between Homelessness and Addiction”, 2017)

Businesses are screening out unemployed applicants under the perception that anyone what has been laid off must have been let go for performance issues. With job openings being rare (and often requiring advanced degrees for even general labor jobs) and many people being available to fill them, employers will understandably be choosier than during better times (Shay, 2017). With these two negatives for the work force, it really limits a homeless person not only in the skills they can learn, but also puts them at a disadvantage for getting the correct education for the future.

Affordable housing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, issue that causes homelessness. Today, there is much focus on creating permanent, supportive housing for people who chronically experience homelessness due to disability or health issues, but building affordable housing takes too long in most cities because of political foot-dragging, municipal agency delays, and the painstaking process of raising money from multiple sources. Because of this, affordable housing is not being built at a pace fast enough to end homelessness (“Homelessness in America”, 2018). This makes getting to the end of the epidemic harder and harder to achieve.

Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. According to the United States Census Bureau, the national poverty rate in 2016 was 12.7%. Two factors help account for increasing poverty: eroding employment opportunities for large segments of the workforce and the declining value and availability of public assistance (“Homelessness in America”, 2018). This is from The National Coalition for the Homeless, a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission.

Photo depicts homeless man in unnamed city. Photo provided by Pixabay.com

The Proposal

To combat the homeless epidemic that has occurred in the United States, there are a couple of ways that America can change. The proposed solution to this issue is building a homeless community run by the homeless, for the homeless. For something like this to become a reality, it would require the United States government to support this idea, as well as supply funds and building supplies for the construction and upkeep of these newly built “Homeless Community Centers”. The reason the U.S. government can make this change is because they are the highest single body of individuals who can enforce laws and bring change to the entire U.S. population. While the government may think that there is a huge risk or stake involved, it is quite the opposite. There is proof that supporting the homeless can save a city money. In a study performed at the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Dennis Culhane showed that New York, after providing affordable housing, saved the city over $16,000 per homeless person, per year. In the same study, it was also found that Denver, Colorado saved $15,000 and Portland, Oregon saved $25,000. The savings were due to a reduction in city-financed emergency medical care and criminal justice proceedings (Budge, 2013).

To start to create a homeless community, there are first 3 steps that are needed. The first is to secure financing for the construction of the shelter. The second step is carrying out the construction of the actual shelter, including location, employment, and housing. The third step is creating a self-sustained workforce and future training/support for the eventual departure from the shelter. The hope of this proposal is to not only provide shelter for hundreds of inner city homeless people but to also give them the tools need to succeed and the ability to create a strong work ethic and develop life skills. This solution should only be a temporary fix to a permanent solution; however, with this proposal, the general population can benefit from having more people added to the work force. Unfortunately, with the way the United States government is run, there can be no set time table for when this can be implemented or when it will be completed. To get ahead on the homeless issue, it would be wise to start this process as soon as possible. This way, with proper organization and follow through, in the future years this issue can be subsided. A good way to make sure that this solution is a permanent fix is to enable volunteers/staff to offer classes, on the job training, and set up guidance counselors that will help the homeless individuals come up with a 5-year plan. This plan will be a way to make sure the homeless people are provided with the right materials to fit their plan and staff can hold them accountable to that plan and make sure that they fulfill their plan.

The first reason building a homeless community shelter will work is because there are already hundreds of small, homeless shelters open in all parts of the United States. There are multiple issues with today’s homeless shelters. Some of these issues include discrimination against LGBTQ people, not allowing pets, fear of contracting diseases, an invasive and disrespectful check-in process, dangers of theft, religious differences, and the number one issue, lack of beds (Shay, Jan. 2017) However, with my proposed change, these shelters will not only be constructed and have jobs available strictly for the homeless, but it will be very similar to a nursing home or even, comparatively speaking, a college campus.

The second reason building a homeless community shelter will work is because there have been similar attempts that almost worked in the past. One example is taken from a book written by Scott Seider, an assistant professor of Education at Boston University School of Education, titled, “Shelter: Where Harvard meets the Homeless”. In his book, he talks about the only student ran homeless shelter in America, located inside the basement of a church in Harvard Square. The students who work there are volunteers and do everything for the shelter. They clean the facility, serve and cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, talk with the guests, provide information about and referral to various agencies, and, most importantly, make all the decisions. In this book, Seider uses data collected, consisting of interviews, attendance at shelter functions, and his own experience as a volunteer (Seider, 2010). The reason that this has worked before is because through this program, the homeless community in the Harvard area had shelter and full staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This shelter was not without its own problems though; shelter rules were inconsistenly applied, the students lacked professional skills, and structural issues such as the need for affordable housing continued. With proper structure and training, this could be very similar to the proposed idea.

Photo provided by Pixabay.com

The third reason building a homeless community shelter will work is because there will be jobs, training, and resources available, as well as the ability to gain job experience and life skills. The homeless community will have the ability to acquire jobs in field they are interested in, like cooking if they want to be a chef or construction if they want to be a construction worker or carpenter. The ability to get job training and experience is an opportunity that most homeless people do not have on a daily basis. Research consistently shows that people experiencing homelessness want to work; in fact, many homeless people are employed but often make under the poverty line. Researchers with the Department of Labor’s seven-year Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program “found that with the appropriate blend of assessment, case management, employment, training, housing and support services, a homeless individual can secure and retain jobs and that contributes to housing stability” (“Overcoming Employment Barriers”, 2013). With the proper preparations and tools available, homeless people should be able to get and retain employment, leading to house stability.

Counter-Arguments

Some people argue that homeless people, as a community, are bad due to do illegal drug and alcohol use prior to becoming homeless. In a study performed in the United Kingdom, 80% of respondents revealed that they had started using illegal drugs after they had become homeless, not before. According to Didenko and Pankratz (2007), two professionals that work with the homeless community, “There is nothing new about the idea that people on the street self-medicate to relieve life’s stresses. After all, the non-homeless population also uses more alcohol and other drugs when they have trouble coping in their world. Nor is it surprising to learn that alcohol consumption is key to acceptance in the homeless subculture, and thereby supports the causation theory” (Didenko, E. & Pankratz, N., 2007). What these two professionals are stating is that after observation, the assumption that every homeless person used drugs or alcohol prior to becoming homeless is false. This could be a reason for someone to become homeless, but there is not enough evidence to back up the claim.

Another argument people assume is that all homeless people already had a chance at affordable housing, why should they get another chance? However, affordable housing has positive effects on everybody, not just the homeless. In a study done in Seattle, it was shown that homeless alcoholics placed into permanent affordable housing showed a 33% decline in alcohol abuse. After finding affordable housing, the population became less dependent on drinking daily. In the same study, it was documented that children who live in permanent housing do significantly better at academics. With these two examples, it was demonstrated that both homeless alcoholics and homeless children both are positively affected by affordable housing (Budge, 2013).

The last argument people could make is that the government should not be involved in helping the homeless community, it should be up to fellow citizens and private organizations. While not entirely false, it should fall on everybody (the Government, the citizens, the homeless, and everything in between) to rise and help our fellow man in a time of need. In an example provided by Mary Ruwart, a leading expert in libertarian communication, “The government spends about 70% of tax dollars to get 30% of tax dollars to the poor. The private sector does the opposite, spending about 30% or less to get 70% of aid to the poor” (Ruwart, 2013). Private sectors tend to give a higher percentage of their donated money directly to the homeless, as the government gives a much lesser value. An issue with this is the government atones for more of the overall market, as there is more money donated to government run charities over the private organizations. If they were combined, or worked dependently on each other, the homeless community could only benefit more.

Ending

In conclusion, we have discussed what homelessness is, the problems homeless people face, the effect it has on the general population, and how to solve it. Homeless individuals lack housing, including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Homelessness is a national problem that can be fixed if the population banded together and stood up. While I do understand that it is physically impossible to completely eradicate homelessness, with building a homeless run community as proposed, we can create a high-functioning group of individuals that can help make a difference in this country. I will leave you with the following question; “What can we do?”

References