What is one of the growing problems in our
society? Homelessness. In our society, we
try to sweep issues that Americans are ashamed of or that we don’t want to
deal, with under the rug. Homelessness
is one of our taboo subjects that Americans choose not to face. Society feels that if we ignore this less
fortunate class of people, they will just disappear. Homeless people are not illusions. They are not apparitions or
non-entities. They are human beings just
like the rest of Americans. The only
difference is that we haven’t fallen on as hard of times as they have, nor do
we suffer with some of the issues that they do, which have led them to this
disgraceful fate.
The history of homelessness originated
back during the colonial America maybe around the 1600’s. (Fisher) The cause,
it is believed, is the King Philp’ War of 1675-1676 between the French and
Indians. (1) Many people were driven out
of their homes and forced to the coastal areas and into the forest. These people were labeled “Steady Beggars” or
“vagrants” and were often just wondered around aimlessly. (1) A law was soon
passed that these people could no long wonder around, so they were made into
servants or indentured servants. As the
war carried on they were forced out across New England and New York. During the time of the American Revolution,
homelessness increased and in 1857, when the depression struck, it was at an
all-time high. (1) The economy was
incredibly terrible and there was no work.
Charities tried to step in, but, because of the rising influx of people,
it was impossible to keep up. For many
families they never recovered, and homelessness was passed on for generations.
The social effects of homelessness range
from economics to crime. Healthcare
costs for homeless people is higher than for the rest of the public. This is due to longer hospital stays than
usual. They are at risk for more serious
illnesses such as psychological disorders, HIV/AIDS and addictions that hold
them in medical facilities about four times longer than average. (Loftus)
Mental health issues and incarceration costs are at an incline due to extensive
treatment due to psychological treatment and medications. “Combining affordable housing with
appropriate services including help in finding work has consistently succeeded
in helping people get off the streets and rebuild their lives.” (Daly 1996 p.
150). Incarcerated homeless who have
committed crimes, cost tax payers in excess of $15,000.00 per year on average.
(Loftus) This takes a toll on local businesses.
If the crime rate is up, people are less likely to shop where there is
an abundance of homeless people for fear of being robbed. If customers don’t shop, then the merchants
aren’t making a profit which causes the economy to tumble.
The
issue with the homeless is that they don’t have permanent lodging, so they set
up house anywhere. Just like the rest of
us, some have families and want them to be safe. So where is the safest place to be? In a well-lit area usually around
people. If they set up in an alley or
someplace where it is dark, there are safety risks. A person may show up without a family with
nothing to lose, rob these people or hurt them or their families in other
ways. One of the few options for them is
to set up in front of or alongside of businesses. It is a help for the homeless, but, not for
merchants, their staff or patrons of the business. “It's even to the
point where my staff does not want to take the trash out at night after we
close because they feel unsafe with all of them sitting around everywhere,”
Zach Cobian, owner of Rita’s Ice, wrote in an e-mail to the City Council.
Within the last 3 years, monumental
changes have been made to assist the homeless community. The method that we are most familiar with
would be defined as the traditional model.
That is the long process a person would be subjected to involving
locating a facility, filling out paperwork, waiting for a long period of time,
sometimes all day, to be called by a screener who would take information from
the person and in some instances, send the person to another waiting area just
for them to be passed around again just to be told that they would be contacted
when something becomes available. The
organization, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, said no
more. They implemented a plan called
Housing First Model. The plan is to offer permanent and affordable housing for
the individuals and/or their families.
The difference in this plan is to remove the person from their current situation
as soon as possible. This is initiated
by providing short term shelter leading to permanent supportive housing. The individual is literally guided into each
stage and followed until the person and or family can support themselves and
maintain a stable household. Programs
such as this, allow many families to pursuit personal goals and this is the
difference between forging forward or having to return to their previous
lives.
The USICH and Public Housing Authorities
have worked together to devise an innovative program to educate and aid with
the homeless community. They have
created facilities that are like one stop shopping for services, tools that are
designed to recognize those who are at risk and provide available resources
such as vouchers or rapid rehousing, collaboration with street outreach
programs to identify the at risk individuals to assist them with the correct
level of help and making waivers readily available for special programming so
the that the families don’t have to wait unnecessarily. (Dreyer) In some areas,
project-based vouchers
or PBVs have been found to be beneficial to those with little or no
income. These vouchers allow for housing
to cover for those in financial need.
Right in our own backyard
of Houston Texas, it has been ranked with the second highest population of
homeless veterans. In 2015 that
changed. They have reached what is
called a functional zero level, regarding veterans. This feat was accomplished through city and
federal aids along with the Mayor and approximately 30 agencies working with
the city to rehouse 3,650 homeless veterans over a three-year period. The Coordinated Access System of Houston aids
in many areas. They improvised a 5 steps
program. First, the assessors are based
at call centers or
at
outreach centers to identify at risk individuals. Secondly, this information is used to
determine the need of the individual and the appropriate place of
referral. Thirdly, based on that assessment,
the determination of the appropriate type of housing is chosen. The fourth step is determining the types of
interventions and programs needed and fifth is the connection with a housing
navigator to walk the family through the housing process. From the beginning to the end of this process
is usually within a 30-day period. (Baker)
Continuum of Care is a group that has been
instrumental in aiding with medical and mental health for the homeless and
those receiving assistance after being placed in housing. There are some people that were displaced or
homeless because of medical bills so high that they could not afford to pay for
both medical treatment and rent or needed mental health treatment and were
either so mental distraught that they didn’t know how to function or did not
know where to turn for assistance and in turn are unable to cope with life, so
they are forced to live on the street or in shelters as they are allowed. COC is an entity that will screen patients
that come in and assess then assist them with medical financial assistance such
as Medicaid applications. From there the participant is paired with a nurse who guides them though the medical
plan. (Baker) The plan may be an in-house facility or a home health agency
providing care at the patient’s residence.
For the people who do not quality, for whatever reason, there are grants
and other private funds mandated to assist with medical bills. In this program, the patients who are in a
facility, the stay is about 45 days.
During this time, the staff on the Medical Respite team can work on placement
for the individual so that at the end of the stay they have a reliable, stable
home and a plan for medical and mental health.
As like any program, the participant has a deadline for the set goal. The team will follow the individual for 6
months. They will make sure that the
participant has transitioned well enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle and
that treatment goals are met. Once the
goals are maintained, then the individual is discharged from the program. Organizations such as the State Department of
Health request funding to provide the individual with funds to assist with
setting up their homes as they transition into new housing. (Loftus)
The comparison between Camus’ absurdity
and my topic, homelessness, is so spot on.
We, as a nation, look down upon those less fortunate. Americans do not like to see any situation
out of order. They want to see all
situations tidy in a box, neatly wrapped and hand delivered. What I mean by that is, if it’s messy, it’s
avoided. Camus tried to explain his take
on absurdity by saying absurdity is the direct ratio to the distance between
the 2 terms of comparison; aspiration and reality. People tried then, as they do now, to run
from absurdity. They would say it
doesn’t make sense; just avoid it. Sounds
a lot like how people feel about homelessness.
This to is a messy situation.
It’s not a neat and clean cutely wrapped box. It is dark, dirty and confusing. In one
phrase… a problem. What do we do? How
do we solve it? Oh we can’t put a title
on it, so let’s just sweep it under the rug and pretend that it doesn’t
exist. I think the same battle that he
had with trying to prove to the world that absurdism existed, he would have the
same battle with homelessness. He would
tell everyone that homelessness is a reality that is our problem and should not
be overlooked. These are human beings
and not abstract objects or non-entities to be taken lightly. As I mentioned
before, a lot of these people have families.
Camus adored his daughter and didn’t want to hurt her. Remembering back on his life, he stayed in
his marriage mostly out of obligation and love for his child. I do believe that if he had the opportunity
to create a viable shelter for the homeless, he would. The solutions that I
wrote about previously, would have probably been his brain child and it may not
have taken him as long as it has taken the world to figure it out.
As a community, we should try to implement
a system to where those that need help can get help not by begging but by
earning it. No one wants to feel needy,
but many are. Through the collaboration
of communities, local and federal government working together to put programs
in place and volunteers to keep it flowing, these people can keep their dignity
and function in society without being ostracized. The homeless are men, women and children are
just like the rest of us. We are just a
little more fortunate than they are and many of us don’t appreciate it. In some instances, we are one pay check from
being homeless ourselves.
BAKER, LISA A., ET AL.
“MANY PATHS, ONE
DESTINATION--New Directions and
Opportunities for Ending Homelessness: Part One of a Two-Part Series.” Journal of Housing & Community Development, vol.
73, no. 2, Mar. 2016, pp. 6–15.
Daly, Gerald. 1990.
Health Implications of Homelessness: Reports from Three Countries. Journal of
Sociology & Social Welfare 17(1): 111–125.
Dreyer, Bernard P. “A Shelter Is Not a Home:
The Crisis of Family Homelessness in the
United States.” Pediatrics, vol. 142, no. 5, Nov.
2018, pp. 1–4
Fisher, Robert. The
History of the Homeless in America, Nov. 2011
Gottfried, Ted. Homelessness: Whose Problem Is
It? Lerner
Publishing Group, 1999.
Kusmer, Kenneth. DOWN AND OUT ON THE ROAD: The homeless in the
American History.
New York:
Oxford University Press, 2002.
Ladd. H.F. (2015)
Education and Poverty: Confronting Evidence.
Journal
of the Policy Analysis 31(21), 203-227
Loftus-Farren, Zoe. “Tent Cities: An Interim Solution to
Homelessness and Affordable
Housing Shortages in
The United
States.” California Law Review, vol. 99,
No 4, Aug. 2011,
pp. 1037-1081.
What Veterans Need:
Caring for Those Who Served."
Psychology Today, vol. 50, no.4, ug. 2017, p.14
Shay, Kylyssa. (2010)
Common Myths and Misconceptions
About the Homeless. Pp.10-16
Shinn, Marybeth, Beth C.
Weitman, et al, Predictors of
Homelessness
among Family in New York City. American Journal of Public health, Vol 88, number11
(November1998), pp1651-1657
No comments:
Post a Comment