Reasons For Homelessness And Ways For Their Solutions - Essay Example

Reasons For Homelessness And Ways For Their Solutions I. Introduction In the business metrics, it highlights the essence of giving emphasis on the hard-core homeless. In America, there are conditions and category of people who lack fixed housing and these are people who cannot afford a regular, safe, and adequate shelter. This paper includes discussions about homelessness including the institutions that provides shelter for individuals. Homelessness is a widespread issue, but it is not an unsolvable problem. Across the nation, there are hundreds of communities planning to end homelessness and there are communities conducting programs and making progress in ending homelessness. Chronic homelessness achieved a national prominence and mayors of the cities are planning to adopt a developing plan to end chronic homelessness. The discussion aims to end chronic homelessness through the application of successful approaches. Communities construct strategies and locate necessary resources in fulfilling the plans. The communities are benefited from the experiences of homeless providers who are willing and able to participate in implementing new approaches. There are site visits and it shows that approaches appear to maximize progress. The discussion aims to identify successful community approaches in reducing homelessness through stable housing for the people who routinely live on streets. II. Attributes of Chronic Homeless Homeless are overwhelmingly males and majority of them have illnesses like mental illness, disease, disability, drug or alcohol abuse. The life on the street becoming costly and in New York alone, the city is spending $40,000 annually in jail time, shelter costs, and emergency Analytical Essay P 2 room visits, and hospital stay. It corresponds to the city such as in Dallas they are spending $ 50,000 and in San Diego $ 150,000. Plans of the City Mayors There are businesses metrics wherein they established a baseline that will illustrate how big is the market and these are based on the street count by seeing how many people are sleeping rough at night time. The chronically homeless in Atlanta reached for almost 2,000, in New York 4,400 and 1,200 in Detroit. The plan is associated by the accountabilities coming from setting benchmarks for improvement and by giving rewards to those who meet the numbers. The cities are working to end chronic homelessness through their housing programs that correspond to the preference of the homeless (Murphy, 2006). Housing Programs Typically, the homeless is not favorable with the 12 step program or bed in a shelter because they want a room for their own. It all resulted to housing programs by getting the people into a room or apartment through the private sectors or building permanent supported housing and providing social services to tenant. In the housing program, they already placed 400 chronically homeless and mentally ill New Yorkers in rental and it registers 88 percent success and not returning to streets for five years. The cost for the housing program reached $22,000 per person annually. Private housing in Phoenix registers 92 percent success rate and having real address supports the medical compliance and reduced the costs down the line that is significant to for-profit company like Value Options. In San Francisco, their street homelessness has seen Analytical Essay P 3 40 percent drop through the supports provided by the companies like Gap, Charles Schwab, J.P. Morgan Chase, and PG&E. Through the business plan there are things being resolved and it is supported by associating metrics of business to homelessness that ultimately relates a language of hope (Murphy, 2006). Supportive Housing Community has learned much about homelessness and how to end it. The characteristics of the system and the homeless people interact and it shows that small percentage of homeless people spend long period of time living in shelters and on streets, or cycling between hospitals, jails, prisons, emergency rooms, and mental health. The group of people has come to known as chronically homeless and they are considered very expensive to public systems. In ending chronic homeless requires permanent housing with supportive services and through the implementation of policies in preventing high risk people from becoming chronically homeless. The housing model shows success for the people who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Supportive housing combines affordable rental housing with a support service like in health care and employment. The supportive housing provides access to apartment with a wide range of supportive services and it focus primarily on maintaining the housing and improving the lives of homeless people. The cities are planning these housing programs to prevent chronic homeless people in utilizing significant health care resources and illnesses and are exacerbated by staying on the streets and in shelters wherein they become ill and do not receive any early treatment. Ending chronic homelessness are considered cost effective, it shows that the costs and resources Analytical Essay P 4 utilized by chronic homeless people are higher compared to the provision of permanent supportive housing. The public costs declined significantly and there are documented cost reductions. The costs of homeless people are enough to pay supportive housing and supportive housing results in better physical health and better progress toward recovery and self sufficiency. Supporters to end Chronic Homelessness There are several foundations like Rockefeller and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations are contributing amounts to end the long term homelessness. The Bush administration has been steering a growing share of housing to extend help to the people and pledged to end chronic homelessness. The Collaborative Initiative ob Chronic Homelessness has distributed significant amount from three agencies such as Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and veterans Administration. There are also social service organizations in rural and suburban areas giving emphasis on urban problems and they also aim to end homelessness. There are housing advocates that give concern for the welfare of others and push to end chronic homelessness. The costs associated with homeless people are more expensive that providing them with housing and support services (Jensen, 2005). Housing advocates have lobbying for increased spending on supportive housing and the cities were encouraged to develop their own plans in ending homelessness. The system requires focusing on broad range of populations and approaches and must not rely on one approach. There are homeless groups that are overreacting on the attention given to chronically homeless. It reveals that half of the homelessness supports were awarded to helping homeless families and to end chronic homelessness, all the homelessness must end. Analytical Essay P 5 Reference Murphy, Cait, Fortune (07385587), the Toughest Customers, 07385587, 4/3/2006, Vol. 153, Issue 6 Jensen, Brennen, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Seeking a Home Remedy, 1040676X, 8/18/2005, Vol. 17, Issue 21 Chronic Homelessness. Retrieved December 28, 2007, from the Internet Explorer website: http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/chronic.cfm Supportive Housing. Retrieved December 28, 2007, from the Internet Explorer website: http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/149/housingfirst.html Read More