...In Allegheny County, homelessness has been an ongoing issue in need of attention. Each year the Continuum of Care (CoC) program assists in providing point-in-time (PIT) data to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regarding the demographics of the homeless population throughout the country. People become homeless for a number of reasons. Primarily homelessness is due to a lack of funds. Homelessness can also be attributed to severe mental illness and chronic substance abuse. In the United States, 20-25% of the population is affected by some form of severe mental illness. People affected with mental illness are more likely to become homeless than the general population. Mental Illness can disrupt a person’s ability to carry out essential daily tasks of living, such as self care and household management. Mental illness can inhibit...
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...Bergen County is the most populous country in the state of New Jersey with a population of 939,151 (“Bergen County, New Jersey”). The county differs greatly from New Orleans both racially and economically. About two-thirds of its residents are white and the median household income is $85,806. Asians are the second most represented ethnicity in the county (“Bergen County, New Jersey”). It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area and the largest municipality in the county—Hackensack—has a population of 43,010 (“Population Summary – Census 2010”). Overall, Bergen County’s homeless population decreased 78% from 2007 to 2016. In 2016, the county ended veteran homelessness (Giovanny Pinto, 2016) and in March 2017, the county became the first community in the...
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...Homelessness is a major problem in our society today. No one can get around homelessness; it is a problem that needs a lot of attention. I have seen the stereotype that others believe that those who do not have a home or a job are not regular people. The reason I choose homelessness is because I know of someone with a child that lost her job and is about to be evicted from her apartment. The purpose of this paper is to examine different groups of homeless people and different neighborhood characteristics. We examined the complexities of physical and social environment surrounding people living on the street and in shelters. A better way to understand these environment is to use census data as indicators of social, economic, and housing conditions...
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...Homelessness in America Overview Homelessness in America is a particularly complex problem, vulnerable to changing political realities, demographic shifts, and seismic cultural events such as the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Researchers and policy advocates have debated nearly every facet of the phenomenon, from the number of homeless to the causal factors to solutions for homelessness (Hodges, 2010). Each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children. According to national studies, even more Americans are at risk of homelessness. The impact of homelessness on families and children is devastating. Millions of low-income American households pay more than 50 percent of their income on rent when estimates say the figure should be no more than 30 percent (Surveys/Studies/Stats, 2012). There are several situations that may lead to homelessness but some of the more common reasons are: a missed paycheck, a health emergency, or an unpaid bill. These will create a crisis, pushing people out of their homes and in to homelessness. Despite diverse causes, almost all forms of homelessness are tied to poverty (Karger & Stoesz, 2010). Although there are policies to govern the issue of homelessness, there is room for reform and amendments in the legislation. Definition The level of significance we ascribe to homelessness very much depends on how the term is defined. In conducting the first census of the homeless in 1933, sociologist...
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...Prevalence of Homelessness Among United States Veterans Martha Clark Adventist University of Health Sciences Abstract The purpose of this paper is to critique the article “Homelessness among a national representative sample of US veterans: prevalence, service utilization, and correlates,” which is a case study on the topic of homeless veterans in the United States. This article finds that low income, younger age, and poor mental and physical health had significant impact on whether a veteran would spend time homeless. The conclusions found in this article will be examined and compared with other related articles and data. This article shows that there is a correlation between veterans of foreign wars and periods of homelessness....
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...Ending Homelessness among Veterans through Housing Programs Services Mary R. Flores Southeastern University Introduction Homeless veterans have consistently existed in the United States. However, just after the Afghanistan and Iraq war, the issue has become more noticeable in the news. The National Health Care for Homeless Council defines homelessness as the absence of a normal and adequate night-time place of residence. According to the ‘National Alliance to End Homelessness’ program, 49,933 of veterans and their families are currently living without having their basic needs met (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). To know whether veterans participating in the Housing First program with the Housing and Urban Department-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) receive housing services more rapidly and keep up long term housing stability, it must be compared to the Veterans in Treatment As Usual (TAU) approach to HUD-VASH. Connection to housing service programs is critical to veteran’s successful re-integration to society after deployment. This is exemplified by the success of Housing First (HF) and the different outcome of veterans who use similar program such as Treatment As Usual (TAU). The HUD-VASH program first started in 1992 as a teamwork effort between the Veterans Affair (VA) and the HUD. HUD provides housing to homeless veterans through a resident-based program named ‘Section 8 vouchers’, while the VA provides supportive services. ‘Section...
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...Homelessness should be a major concern in the United States; more than five hundred-thousand people are homeless in the United States, a quarter of them are children. Does substance abuse correlate to homelessness? There are many studies that would say that the drug or alcohol abuse constitutes a higher proportion of homelessness than the mentally and physically ill. This study provides qualitative analysis between drug users and whether it correlates to homelessness. This analysis also considers the public secrecy in disclosure of their drug addiction. By using literature reviews, I have a better understanding of the previous research that was done and what I could do differently that would be even more effective. I would first examine recent case histories of people...
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...Criminalization of Homelessness in America SOC 331: Social Justice and Ethics April 6, 2015 Criminalization of Homelessness in America Every country faces homelessness in one form or another. Homelessness in America has been an ongoing problem over many decade. Homelessness is not racist or biased as anyone can find themselves without the financial means to provide adequate shelter and food. While there are many definitions for homelessness the most common is “a person who "lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence” (www.pbs.org). Those who are susceptible to homelessness consist of but not limited to children, teenagers, adult men and woman, veterans, mentally unstable and elderly people. Homelessness is not just the problem that the homeless person faces but the problem that we all as citizens of the United States face ethically, morally with the proper forms of justice. Throughout this paper we are asked to evaluate different perspective and responses in regards to the American problem of homelessness. In doing so virtue ethics, distributive, commutative and retributive justices will be used in evaluating the responses. ‘Virtue ethics is an ethical theory that evaluates the morality of the person doing a given act, rather than the act itself. Virtue ethics thus emphasizes that the various virtues and whether a person reflects those virtues in his or her actions are crucial to moral evaluation” (Mosser, 2010). The text book Social and Criminal Justice...
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...YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN CALIFORNIA Name: Class: Date: Executive summary The United States will endure being an advanced country if the numbers of people holding cardboard on the street do not lessen. 1 out of 7 people in U.S suffer from hunger and are forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars. Every year, the homeless population grows in the United States. Persons become homeless for many reasons. Because they are destitute, they have been struggling in every way that human likely can have. To get back on their feet, they need help in every way. The homeless population is increasing drastically in society. People who are more fortunate than others should put social status aside and take an action to help homeless people to get back on their feet. Homelessness is a state where an individual or a family does not have a home to live. Along with that, the person is deprived of the legal, and the social dimensions are making him emotionally weak and in the state of isolation. Since the year 1980s, there had been a great shock to the Americans due to the rising homelessness. It led to a burst in the studies and the increasing stories related to the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of July 1987. In this act, there was an interference allowed off the federal government into this policy of homelessness, which had created many issues. For many years after that, this issue of homelessness remained on the top of the line in the political issues face...
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...questions, you are not immune to homelessness. These questions are not meant to create alarm, but rather to spread awareness that people experiencing homelessness are people just like us. They desire financial stability and a secure home, but have confronted difficult circumstances without sufficient resources to overcome the situation and remain housed. Unfortunately, that is the reality of homelessness today. Typically, families become homeless as a result of some unforeseen financial crisis - a medical emergency, a car accident, a death in the family - that prevents them from being able to hold on to housing. Most homeless families are able to bounce back from homelessness quickly, with relatively little public assistance. Usually, homeless families require rent assistance, housing placement services, job assistance, and other short-term, one-time services before being able to return to independence and stability. In the case study, "Mayor Schell's Zero Homeless Family Pledge", Norton discusses the challenges facing a policy manager in a large city (Seattle) government agency who is expected to implement a bold new policy to reduce homelessness that may exceed the local government's capacity to address the issue. In the case, the mayor of Seattle pledges in June that there will be no homeless families with children or homeless women by Christmas. The manager in the case, Alan Painter, shares the mayor's commitment and enthusiasm for reducing homelessness in the city, but has many...
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...| 2/25/2012 | | The Concept of Program Reengineering The case study of Mayor Schell’s Zero Homeless Family Strategy discusses the homeless problem in Seattle, Washington (King County) and the strategies used to address the problem. Mayor starts his term off with a dramatic pledge that there would be no homeless families with children or any homeless single women on the streets of Seattle by Christmas of that year (some six months from date of pledge). The pledge itself might easily be viewed as a political move to provide a “quick-fix” solution to a very complex and long-standing problem. While Mayor Schell’s policy choices in this matter had some success, they were met with scrutiny and counter proposals by homeless advocacy groups and city financial managers. This paper provides an analysis of the mayor’s policy choices, analysis of the pre-implementation and design strategies, as well as discussion of steps taken to reengineer the program. It also addresses the importance of conducting proper assessments before implementing new programs. The policy choices related to Mayor Schell’s plan to address homelessness include: targeting homeless families with children and single women for “immediate emergency assistance”; focus on creating affordable housing; expanding shelter and/or emergency housing availability; and providing more funding for homeless prevention. According to the case study, over 700 of the 1,300 homeless people sleeping on the streets were in...
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...Policy by Karen Spuriel Coleman- MBA Abstract Homelessness among youth in the U.S. is disturbingly common, with an estimated annual prevalence of at least 5 percent for those ages 12 to 17. Although homeless youth appear throughout the nation, they are most visible in major cities. Rigorous research on this special population is sparse, making it difficult to capture an accurate and complete picture. Despite its limitations, recent research describes homeless youth as a large and diverse group. Many homeless youth have multiple overlapping problems including medical, substance abuse, and emotional and mental problems. Literature suggests that comprehensive and tailored services are needed that address both the immediate and long-term needs of homeless youth. Where appropriate, services should include assistance with meeting basic needs as perceived by youth as a gateway to other needed services. In addition to serving those already homeless, interventions are needed to prevent homelessness among at-risk youth. Lessons for Practitioners, Policy Makers, and Researchers • As used here, the term “homeless youth” focuses on minors who have experienced literal homelessness on their own—i.e., who have spent at least one night either in a shelter or "on the streets" without adult supervision. On occasion, where warranted by the research being discussed, the term is also used to describe homeless young adults up to age 24. • Homelessness among youth in the U.S. is disturbingly common...
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...I strongly believes that there needs to be more done in the state of North Carolina for the homeless. Teresa M. Holmes HS5401 March 14, 2014 Dr. Edward Muldrow Abstract The homeless population is aging faster that the general population in the U.S. As this vulnerable population continues to age, and having to address the health and housing needs is becoming increasing important. This will address overlooked concerns of homeless older adults, including their poor health status and unique care needs, the factors contribute to homelessness in this population, and the costs of homelessness among older adults, including to the U.S. health care system. The majority of homeless populations are people of color. There has been little study of racial differences among the homeless population, and racial finding have not been reported separately for homeless man and women. There is a study which the (MCKV) The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act of 2001 which provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs), is almost a decade old, yet no evaluations of its academic effectiveness have been reported. Social networks analysis has utilized mathematical models and graphical constructs to examine information exchange and diffusion. Poverty has existed in some form in American society and individual shortcomings and inadequacies in explaining the raise of the homeless over the past several decades. Poverty has existed in the some form in America society since...
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...temp housing; 4) was a reside of an institution who is being released; 5) are being evicted for non-payment of rent or mortgage; 6) unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children and youth; or 7)individual or families who are fleeing violence (Bassuk, DeCandia, Beach, & Berman, 2014). Homelessness has been a social problem for many decades but it was not until the mid 1980s that family and child homelessness surfaced as a significant problem...
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...backdrop of a picture perfect suburb can perhaps hold true. However, when it is juxtaposed with makeshift homes made of tents and a couple of personal belongings, this promise seems nothing but shallow. There are many homeless individuals, and now a growing number of families, living on our streets, and their future is bleak. This is a terrible reflection of a country that has so great to offer so something must be done to try to solve this issue. In Detroit, through services like transition homes and shelters, Detroit Rescue Missions Ministries, though not perfect, is doing an efficient job dealing with homelessness. To understand the impact Detroit Rescue Missions Ministries (DRMM) has had, it is important to understand homelessness and its causes. There are “643,067 people experiencing homelessness on any given night” in this country and 37% are families (End Homelessness). Homelessness is caused by poverty and the inability to afford housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) “calculates that a family with one full-time, minimum-wage worker can't afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country” (Katel). Poverty is another issue, especially in Detroit. Due to the foreclosure crisis and high unemployment rate “first-time homeless citizens are flocking…to near-capacity shelters” (Oosting). CEO of DRMM, Chad Audi, says there has been a wave of people who would never have thought they would be jobless let alone homeless, coming to the shelter. "What we...
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