The Problem of Rural Homelessness and the Current Policy Challenge - Research Paper Example

Statement of the Problem Located in the Mid-Atlantic and North-eastern regions of the United States, Pennsylvania is one of the most extensive and populous states in the United States. According to the 2010 U.S population census bureau, nearly 27 percent or 3.5 million people of Pennsylvania’s 12.8 Million residents lived in the States 48 rural counties. The Statistics further suggest that over the last five years (2005- 2010), the population of Rural Pennsylvania grew by slightly over 2% with a majority of members being over 65 years old. (United States Census Bureau 2010). Homelessness is increasingly becoming a serious concern in many rural areas across the United States particularly in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Although the issue has often gone unnoticed, the problem of homelessness virtually exists throughout the state of Pennsylvania. This is particularly because homelessness is often viewed as a problem of urban areas and therefore less attention has been focused on the increasing problem of homelessness. A majority of those considered to be homeless is comprised of families and individuals residing in places not meant for human habitation such as sidewalks, cars, abandoned buildings, parks and streets (Unsheltered homeless). Fig.1. A picture showing a homeless family in the rural northern Pennsylvania According to the countrywide alliance for the homelessness, the origin of rural homelessness nationwide are due to poverty, restraining housing codes and land use rule and shifting actual estate advertises. Cause also include people running away from cruel relations, refugee or communal employees who exhaust their income and have nowhere to go, extended material cruelty. To changeable quantity, each country society in Pennsylvania is overwhelmed with some or all of these communal problems. For example, within the last 30years, country areas have had usual deficiency and joblessness rates, fewer revenue accommodation units and restricted public transport system. New housing targets more income families and moderate to low income families are ruling reasonably priced housing to be an awesome subject. In other rural areas of the country, the need of financial increase has destined fewer jobs, particularly for less skillful personnel. Consequently, these workers are enforced to take low paying job, which means that accommodation in these societies becomes an even more alarming subject. For the future to come, housing accessibility and affordability will continue to be subjects in many rural communities and will continue to influence various and nature of living rough people in rural Pennsylvania. To solve these matters, increase outreach, education and harmonization of services. Dealing with homelessness is critical to accept the existence. According to the U.S. department of agriculture, there is an approach between country’s people that homelessness is a city crisis, or when lives in rural areas, it influences only transients. Homelessness in the rural areas results to domestic violence or matter cruelty, the communal dishonor attached to these circumstances or conditions can be devastating. The first step in laying the foundation for an effective service delivery system is through education. The agencies forming a society shelter network, an appraisal is required to resolve how the present communal services release scheme is meeting real want. While most countryside services givers distinguish that there is a homeless people needing services, few manage urgent situation protection. On the foundation of per capital income, almost three times as many public are turned away in rural areas than in urban areas since they lack the capital. The limited resources for service agencies are zilch in rural areas in Pennsylvania. Extra financial support provides an immediate solution, despite of the source. Aided income acts as a key function in the field of housing and services alternative for older adults and elders therefore, it is vital to appreciate how the representation vary from enduring helpful accommodation. Equally, models offers a selection of helpful services targeted to the wants of older adults, but help living wage facilities normally offer a wider range of more concentrated services assistance and are proficient and synchronized at the state rank. The facilities of helpful living have 24 hour staffing. It provides assistance with medication management, personal care, and housekeeping that provide most meals. In general, an elder may shift from helpful accommodation to aided income if it is essential for further support. There distinctiveness common by the facilities concerning homelessness which are; supportive housing, renter holds leases in their own identity and have completed sovereignty which considers incoming and parting their entity. Although low returns and operational families in the countryside regions are recognizable than the urban equivalents to own their homes, many rural people live in poor quality. Project Goals and Objectives Little research has been previously carried on the issue of rural homelessness and this is particularly attributed to the fact that homelessness is a social problem that is often considered a difficult to study. For example, unlike urban areas, homeless persons in rural areas do not usually receive the much needed assistance and are generally invisible as compared to those in urban or suburban settings. As a result rural homeless persons are often in a particularly vulnerable position and therefore the collected data in this research will help reveal some of the factors that contribute to the problem of homelessness in rural counties of Pennsylvania. The following are some of the key objectives of this project proposal. i. To analyze the demographics of individuals receiving homeless assistance The first objective and goal of this project proposal is to analyze the demographics of individuals receiving homeless assistance in the rural Pennsylvania as well as the duration of their status as homeless persons. Generally this is expected to be achieved by carrying out an accurate analysis and interpretation of the data regarding some basic programs for homeless assistance such as bridge housing, rental assistance, emergency shelter among others will be analyzed to provide reliable estimation of the incidence of homelessness in Pennsylvania. ii. To analyze the change in the characteristics and number of home assistance received over the previous 5 years It is highly anticipated that there has been an increase in the number of persons receiving Homeless assistance programs such as emergency shelter offering crowd shelter, collection shelter supplies as well as the such as blankets and personality shelter in the hotels and motels through a ticket structure. Consequently the analysis of such data will provide important insights into the factors that may have potentially contributed to the rising cases of homelessness in rural Pennsylvania. iii. To determine the incidence and magnitude of homelessness among rural veterans The primary aim of this research proposal will be to collect data regarding homeless persons in Pennsylvania and present a reliable and unduplicated estimate of the incidence of the problem both currently and in the near future. Consequently such information can then importantly be used to guide funding and other programs geared towards mitigating the issue of homelessness in rural Pennsylvania. iv. Documenting the nature of government assistance available for Rural homeless Homelessness was anticipated to have been dealt with in optimistic way long time ago despite given the funds of the richest countries in the world. Unfortunately, instead of research on the foundation of homelessness, numerous metropolises, with the agreement with the national government, have selected to remove the problem under the rug by criminalizing the actions of living rough personnel. Moreover, homelessness shows to be an indication of other public harms. Methodology To collect extensive data and develop a proper understanding of how homelessness affects the rural residents in most parts of Pennsylvania, the researchers will seek and retrieve the data regarding the demographics of homelessness from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare particularly for the Fiscal years of 2008 through 2012. However to make the data analysis easier, we will only use the last data of the fiscal year to represent the entire calendar year. For example, the 2008-2009 fiscal year will just be shown as 2009. Generally, the data regarding some basic programs for homeless assistance such as bridge housing, rental assistance, emergency shelter among others will be analyzed to provide reliable estimation of the incidence of homelessness in Pennsylvania. Although the data may not necessarily include reliable estimates of the demographics of rural homelessness in Pennsylvania, it will provide the researchers with the information on the number of individuals who received homeless assistance in all the 47 counties in Pennsylvania. Consequently, from this information, it will be possible to develop a clear profile of the number of people who received homeless assistance, their location, the type of assistance received and the associated costs incurred by both the State and Federal governments. Homelessness regards people in call for assistance or looking for shelter, where it is frequently viewed as an urban matter since it is easier to see people seeking shelter in urban areas. Additionally, homelessness is also a rural matter. To expand a perceptive of homelessness as it involves rural inhabitants, rural Pennsylvania investigated data from the Pennsylvania sector of public wellbeing for three economic years. As the data excluded dependable number of rural destitute, it included information on the number of people who received homeless aid. As of these results, it was possible to extend clearer summary showing who received homeless aid and these people were located, the sort of aid received, and the associated expenses. These programs are based on need; hence regulars must be in deficiency or near deficiency. The poverty velocity for a family of three was $13,888 during 1999. County personnel or contracted organization assisted the county government with 6% provision of assistance. The analysis included any person who received help in the rural areas. Data on the number of regulars and the total expenditure for each agenda was analyzed from a rural and urban viewpoint. Homelessness is a statewide crisis that is familiar to any particular area of rural or urban Pennsylvania. According to the data from the center for rural Pennsylvania’s analysis, it has homeless residents which are growing. Aid was given to regulars situated in all area of the country. Thus, individuals who appealed for help were situated in fast growing areas as well as regions that were dormant in monetary. Project Schedule A 12 month framework will be adopted for the proposed project. After submission and the approval of the project proposal for the grant, the next phase of the project will be collecting preliminary data in order to provide important insights necessary for the final completion of the project. In this regard, the first 3months after the approval of this project will be used by the researchers to review some of the previous reports and publications regarding the issue of rural homelessness in Pennsylvania and in the United States as a whole. Next, the researchers will begin the process of retrieving all the data regarding the demographics of homelessness from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare particularly for the Fiscal years of 2008 through 2012. The collected data will then be analyzed to help develop a proper understanding of how homelessness affects the rural residents in most parts of Pennsylvania. Lastly, the findings of the project will be compiled, reviewed then published. Tentative project Timeline Activities     2013 2014 March Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March                       Research proposal                     Preliminary research                                           Collecting data from secondary sources                     Analysis of the collected data                                           Writing the findings of the project                     Draft review                     Publication of the final report findings                     Anticipated Outcomes and Deliverables Generally, the results are expected to show the incidence homelessness as an issue all through rural Pennsylvania. Moreover, the results showed that rural areas afford fewer services than most urban areas. Mainly the support in the rural areas is inadequate to executive services like housing; few communities in the rural areas have emergency shelters. The concern of rural homelessness was evaluated through the recorded data from the Pennsylvania department of public welfare’s homeless assistance program (HAP). The data featured the number of regulars and the services they received for financial years. For example, bridge housing, offered housing and case management service to homeless persons and families, for equal to one year. Their aim of recurring clients was to assist the most independent and self-reliant life circumstances feasible. Rental assistance offers assistance in form of expenses for rent, utility, mortgage for residences, and preview owner in order to prevent homelessness when expulsion is coming up. Additionally, homeless persons also obtain case management and counseling on financial plan and running of domestic economics. Case management offers aid to homeless and guiding families to toil towards stable housing and independent. Inventive supportive shelter services; offers elasticity to design a helpful housing service for homeless and near disadvantaged persons. Pennfree Bridge in Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, these programs offers accommodation and case supervision services to living rough regulars. Policy Considerations Over the last few decades, the American general public, media, policy makers and scholars have increasingly become more concerned about the issue of rural homelessness as a serious social problem in most states such as Pennsylvania. As a result rural homelessness is now on the American policy agenda. In Pennsylvania, a number of programs and services are currently being supported by both the federal and state governments to help the rural homeless individuals have considerably expanded. During the periods of Reagan administration, McKinney Act programs that were designed to help homeless persons were generally underfunded. The Bush administration however attempted to introduce new policies that aimed at provided a continuum of care services required by homeless individuals such as emergency shelter, transition shelter and other specialized services such as counseling and drug treatment plans. Before 1996, a program known as the federal State aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) and the other programs such as Special Needs Programs and Emergency assistance offered the states such as Pennsylvania an opportunity to request federal contributions towards the support of homeless persons both in the rural and urban areas. According to the current Federal and Pennsylvanian policies, any response to the causes and consequences of rural homelessness must take into account concept of indivisibility of human rights, gender equality and non discrimination of communities. The current policy challenge is how to completely end the problem of rural homelessness. To achieve this, the federal government has been pushing to make houses affordable. Budget and Budget Justification Budget Summary Expenditure categories Requested funds In kind funds Total Personnel SALARIES AND WAGES i. Principal investigator $8,000/= $1800 $9,800 ii. Staff salaries 24,000/= $2500 $26,500 FRINGE BENEFITS 15% Principal investigator Staff Non Personnel Travel $4000 4000 Other: Longing and meals $2,500 2,500 References Miller, C. (2009). Nursing for wellness in older adults. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Pugh, R., Cheers, B. (2010). Rural social work: An international perspective. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. Shumsky, N. (2012). Homelessness: A documentary and reference guide. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood. United States Census Bureau. (2010). Population and Population Centers by State 2000. Read More