How To Improve Homelessness

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Homelessness is not new to our nation, and it has greatly increased over the past ten years. (Baum, 1-4) For growing numbers of people, work provides little, if any, protection against homelessness. Low national un-employment levels do not mean that all working people are well-off. (Baum, 21-24)

What is homelessness? According to the definition stated by Stewart B. McKinney,

for purposes of the 1987 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, “a homeless person (homelessness) is one who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence, or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel, or any public or private place not designed as sleeping accommodations for human beings.” (Baum, 8) A rather deceptive definition when one considers the fact that homelessness is not a natural state, but one created and maintained by political agendas. Our government is not doing all that it can to combat our nation’s homelessness.

In 1987, the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act was put into law. (Burger, 68-83) However, our government has moved away from the need to address the causes of homelessness. Instead our government has focused on the individual responsibility of those who become homeless, blaming their misfortune as their own fault. (Baum, 5-9) It is this belief that has helped to increase the homelessness of our nation, and it is this belief that will continue to do so if our government does not take a closer and more realistic look at the causes behind homelessness in our nation. Unless our government commits to ending homelessness through public education, policy advocacy, and technical assistance, homelessness will become a national disaster for the United States. Right now our government is not doing all it can towards putting into place the necessary solutions to combat homelessness. Who are/where the homeless people are many of the homeless have completed high school. Some have completed college. Some are AIDS victims, many are the elderly, many are children, some are disabled vets, some are illegal immigrants, and many of the homeless hold down full-time jobs. (Berger) They are found not only in cities, but in small towns, rural areas, and affluent suburbs. (Christian). Some even make up the “hidden homeless” (Christian), or people who are one crisis away from losing their homes for a variety of reasons, such as sudden medial emergency or unforeseen h...

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...verdue. New legislation should provide incentives for states to address homeless problems, which they have never really done in the past. To solve the national homelessness, we, as a people, must work with our community, state and federal government representatives to share ideas, information, and resources. We must work together to actively recruit service providers, decision makers, private sector partners, and people who are or formerly were homeless to collaborate on policy and solutions.

Works Cited

Burger, Steve. “The Truth About Homelessness.” 13 Oct 2014.

http://www.iugm.org/families.html

Baum, Alice and Donald Burnes. A Nation in Denial: The Truth About Homelessness. Boulder: Westview, 2011.

Christiansen, Elaine. “The SRI Gallup Study of Recovery from Homelessness.”

13 Oct 2014 http://www.iugm.org/gallup.html/

Franklin, D. “Homelessness is a Housing Problem.” Health Feb 92: 15.

Hess, Robert. “Helping People Off the Streets.” USA Today Magazine Jan 2013: 18.

Karinshak, Carole. “Teaching Homeless Adults.” Adult Learning Sep 2011: 28.

Shinn, Marybeth. “Housing is Best Cure for Homelessness.” New York Amsterdam News 12 Nov 2012: 6.

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