Homelessness

ACTION CONSIDERATIONS

Institutions, organizations, and decision-makers primarily responsible for resolving the problem.

The McKinney Act, signed into law on July 22, 1987, was a ÐŽ§broad humanitarian response to the homeless crisisЎЁ (Kyle, 2005, p. 39). Reauthorizations of the McKinney Act and entirely new programs were developed to address unmet needs of subgroups of the homeless (Kyle 34-39). Additional legislation was required to address specific causes of homelessness, such as mental illness and substance abuse and addiction. The goals of the McKinney Act were:

1. To establish an Interagency Council on the Homeless;

2. To use public resources and programs in a more coordinated manner to meet the critically urgent needs of the homeless of the Nation; and

3. To provide funds for programs to assist the homeless, with special emphasis on elderly persons, handicapped persons, families with children, Native Americans, and veterans (101STAT.485 as cited in Kyle, 2005).

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the main government agency responsible for the issue of homelessness. A total of 39 programs and $2.2 billion in resources, including HUD's mainstream housing programs have been developed to address homelessness.

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness was created to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and form a national partnership to reduce and end homelessness in the nation. The Council created a national partnership that extends from the federal government to the state and local governments, advocates, providers, consumers and faith-based organizations.

There are currently 24 cities and 3 states in the United States that have 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness. The Council provides technical assistance to states and localities in the development of initiatives. On the government website: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/firststep/index.html, a tutorial is introduced to assist case managers and outreach workers to help homeless clients assess federal benefit programs. In addition, partnerships have been developed to carry out the strategy to end homelessness.

Partnerships include: National Governors Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, United Way, Chamber of Commerce, International Downtown Association, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The Council meets on a regular basis with its partnerships to report on research, performance, and results (Interagency Council on Homelessness [USICH], 2006).

Major sources of support for achieving the desired goals and objectives

On December 20, 2005, the Bush Administration announced $1.33 Billion in grants to assist thousands of homeless individuals and families. HUD's Homeless Assistance programs continue to be the major source of support for achieving the goal to end chronic homelessness. Following are the highlights of pending disbursements of monies:

„h Nearly $600 million is being awarded to projects that provide permanent housing solutions for homeless persons.

„h More than 3,000 local projects that serve mothers and their children will receive $739 million.

„h 658 programs that primarily serve victims of domestic violence will receive nearly $125 million.

„h $53.6 million is being awarded to 226 projects that primarily target homeless veterans among those they serve.

„h Nearly 1,600 of the projects funded today are dedicated to providing housing and support services to severely mentally ill clients. These persons are at high risk of experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.

„h Nearly $419 million will support 1,604 local programs that primarily help homeless individuals with substance abuse problems.

„h $206 million will support faith-based organizations to house and serve homeless persons and families (ÐŽ§States News Service,ЎЁ 2005, p.18).

The Interagency Council supports projects such as Housing First, Assertive Community Treatment Teams, and Project Homeless Connect that are proving effective at ending chronic homelessness; Local cost-benefit studies that reveal the costs of homelessness to the community and the cost savings that arise from effective solutions; Strategies to prevent homelessness for individuals and families before it occurs; and, Access to mainstream resources for the benefit of homeless persons and families (Interagency Council on Homelessness [USICH], 2006).

The media is an influential source in providing awareness to the issue of homelessness. Through main-stream media, the publicÐŽ¦s perception is formed by images of the homeless. In the week of January 15, 2006, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles stood before the news media and declared, ''This is the capital of homelessness in America.'' The mayor was reacting to a census report released that surveyed 88,345 homeless people in the city and surrounding communities. No other county in the country comes close; the five boroughs of New York have 48,155 homeless people, according to figures from its own census last year reported to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (Archibold, 13, 2006).

However, the film-making industry has also influenced the public about the homeless. Films such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills or The Fisher King and television series like Seinfeld offer unflattering images of the homeless. Newspapers have been influential too. In the late 1980s, major newspapers printed about one story per day on the homeless (Lee, Link & Toro, 1991). Extensive local newspaper coverage continued into the 1990s. Local daily newspapers reported between 1985 and 1992, for example, on over 500 protest actions by homeless advocates in 17 different cities (Cress & Snow, 2000). Television news also shapes perceptions of homelessness. Network news coverage has risen and fallen with presidential administrations (Media Research Center, 2001). During the Bush presidency (1989 through 1992) for example, there were 212 national news stories, an average of 52 per year. Yet, there were only 132 stories, 16 per year, during the eight Clinton administration years (1993 to 2000). Bozell (2001), a media expert, reports that the decision makers in the mass media have rediscovered the problem

(Forte, 2002)

Major