Homeless Problem Essay

1024 Words3 Pages

Homelessness is a major social problem affecting children, families, babies, veterans and the elderly. The National Alliance to end Homelessness (2016) report that, in January 2015, there were 564,708 people who were homeless on any given night in this country. Of this number, 206,286 were people in families, and 358,422 were individuals. Accordingly, 15% of the homeless population are considered "chronically homeless individuals."
Social Problem
The McKinley Act of 1987 defines homelessness as when a person lacks a permanent, regular, fixed, and adequate nighttime residence (or) • Live in a shelter or transitional housing residence for homeless persons (or) • Live in a temporary residence for persons waiting for institutionalization (or) • Are sleeping in a place not intended for human beings (or) • Will be evicted within one week from their home (or) • Will be discharged within one week from institutions where they have lived for more than 30 days in a row, and they have not found a place to live, and they have no money or other resources to find a place to live. (Stop the …show more content…

Supportive services are offered to maximize housing stability and prevent the return to homelessness as opposed to addressing predetermined treatment goals prior to permanent housing entry. Housing First emerged as an alternate approach to the direct approach in which people experiencing homelessness were required to first participate in and graduate from short-term residential and treatment programs before obtaining permanent housing. In the linear approach, permanent housing was offered only after a person successfully completed this program. however, within this unique program, supportive services are part of the equation but are not a prerequisite, Housing is the beginning of stability and not tied to a reward for completing these. (Stefancic, & Tsemberis,

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