Intervention Strategy for Homeless African American Children - Research Paper Example

Intervention Strategy for Homeless African American Children & Families Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction 2 Homelessness in African American Families 3 Homelessness and the Threat to Children 4 The Failure of Governmental Programs to Address the Problem 7 The Rationale for Inter-Religious Social Organizations to Address Poverty 9 Structure and Organization of the Proposed Relief Programs 10 Literature Review – Qualitative Research 13 Literature Review – Quantitative Research 13 Literature Review – Mixed Methodology Research 15 Conclusion 16 References 17 Introduction The problem of homeless African American children and families should be addressed through an inter-religious council which organizes a coherent, long-term strategy of support and rehabilitation for the people who are suffering from poverty. While recognizing the disproportionate burden that African American families bear in homelessness and poverty, this social work should be unhindered by racial issues but appeal to the common humanity and solidarity which is at the basis of all religions. Similarly, communities both national and local should not look to government, taxation, and politics as a solution to this collective problem. Governmental “solutions” are typically inefficient, wasteful, and administered based on principals and motivations that are inconsistent with altruism. As the world’s leading economy, there can be no question that American society is in possession of sufficient resources and wealth to take care of even the poorest members of society. However, the political process distorts and divides the community against itself and nearly guarantees that the poor, marginalized, and outcaste elements of society will be made into scapegoats or symbolically prosecuted for reasons that are associated with institutional racism, legacy stereotypes, and demagoguery. Because of this, only altruistic motivation is likely to sincerely and honestly address the problems associated with African American homelessness, while the inter-religious basis represents the foundation of ethics and morality in the society which are required to develop the selfless and compassionate aspects of mind that lead to charity and service. Secular humanism may be seen as an alternative to inter-religious motivations and thus not excluded from this initiative when it leads to cooperation, solidarity, and the broader donation of resources by individuals to the effort in a pluralistic or multicultural society. Nevertheless, the inter-religious organization proposed herein to solve the problem of African American homelessness includes the historical basis of morality and ethics from which secular humanism evolved, as well as a broader base from which charitable service to all ethnicities in the neighborhood can be undertaken in unity by activists, philanthropists, volunteers, and other concerned citizens. Homelessness in African American Families Evidence exists that African American individuals and families suffer an inordinate burden in society due to the legacy effects of institutional racism, and that this is additionally reflected in disproportionate rates of homelessness. However, research also suggests that this discrepancy is a relatively recent phenomenon. For example, the National Coalition for the Homeless (2009) reports that “in the 1950s and 1960s, the typical person experiencing homelessness was white, male, and in his 50s”. (Kusmer, 2002 in NCH, 2009) Currently, the Coalition reports that 40% of the homeless on average nationally are of African American origin, compared to the fact that “Blacks” represent only 11% of the general population. (NCH, 2009) The U.S. Conference of Mayors (2006) found that 42% of the homeless, on average nationally, were African Americans. (NCH, 2009) St. Mark’s, a Homeless assistance shelter and food program in Los Angeles, reported that African Americans represented 50% of the population of the urban homeless in Los Angeles compared to a population of 9% of the total. (St. Mark’s, 2011) Wage disparity distributed along racial divides is a significant reason for the disproportionate number of African American families and individuals living in homelessness. For example, St. Mark’s reports that it takes an average salary of $32 per hour just to afford the median level, 2 bedroom apartment in L.A. on a rental basis. Yet, in Los Angeles, African-American families earn an average of $45, 381 annually in comparison to “White” or Caucasian families whose median annual income is $82, 260. (St. Mark’s, 2011) If institutional racism includes the continuation of lower standards of education for African American people based on neighborhood location, lower standards of expectation for African American children in the classroom, and silent or subliminal barriers to job entry for African American individuals in the marketplace, then these factors can combine with increased police attacks on “Black” communities, increased rates of incarceration for “Black” people, and racist bias against “Black” culture in the mainstream to create a foundation that leads to higher levels of homelessness in African American families due to structural reasons inherent in American history, culture, and politics. Homelessness and the Threat to Children The National Coalition for the Homeless reported that “families with children now comprise 41% of the homeless population (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2006), but 42% of the population is African American. The composition of the average homeless family is a single parent household headed by an African-American female (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2004).” (NCH, 2009) When investigating the cause of homelessness in the population, the National Coalition for the Homeless cited the following factors as most important: Foreclosure Poverty Eroding Work Opportunities Decline in Public Assistance Lack of Affordable Housing Lack of Affordable Health Care Domestic Violence Mental Illness Addiction Disorders (NCH, 2009) For example, if African American communities were targeted with sub-prime mortgage loans with variable interest rates designed to surge upward after the first few years of the loan, and single African American mothers or poor “Black” families signed up for these loans seeking a better future or part of the American Dream only to lose their job and home to foreclosure due to the downturn in the economy, then they can either be statistically suffering this downturn in the same manner that other ethnicities must bear it, i.e. equally, or disproportionately bearing the effects of the recession due to a wider racial disparity. If the latter is true, and homeless statistics as cited previously suggest is the case, then there exists evidence that structural racism is still prevalent in American society and must be addressed accordingly. Similarly, if poverty and its effects are born unequally by “Black” communities and this is reflected in wages, job opportunities, education, housing standards, quality of living, mental health, etc. in comparison to “White” families, Caucasians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and other ethnicities, then serious efforts must be undertaken by American society to address these inequalities less institutional racism continue to rob generations of minorities of the right to participate equally in the economy and broader cultural life. If American political policies are directed to “bailing out” the wealthiest elements of society in the bankers, bondholders, and “Wall Street” investment corporations that caused the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and worldwide global collapse of the financial system in 2008-2009, yet simultaneously refuses to address the poverty situation that sees African American families and other minorities domestically suffering in homelessness, then there is further suggestion that institutional racism is prevalent in the nation, even if a nominally “Black” President directed the choice of emphasis in policy and the allocation of budgetary resources. No child of any race should be allowed to live homeless, especially in the wealthiest nation with the most developed economy. The United States has given nominal support to human rights accords promoted by the United Nations which include the recognition of the rights of children to a home, adequate nutrition, and a quality education, yet these allegiances often seem hollow in comparison to the reality of the streets. According to Cole (2011), “In response to homelessness among school-age youngsters, Congress enacted the education portion of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act in 1987 (P.L. 100-77), and subsequently, reauthorized the act twice—in 1990 (P.L. 101-645) and 1994 (P.L. 103-382).2 The McKinney Act, the first comprehensive emergency aid program for homeless individuals in the United States, included requirements for the provision of a free, appropriate public education to homeless students of school age.” (Cole, 2011) This law does little to assist children in homeless situations other than prohibit formal discrimination against them in institutions, and operates as a token accord rather than any type of real assistance to those in need. Cole (2011) also suggests that homeless children and their families may prefer to have their situations remain unknown to authorities under the threat of stigmatization, or due to the fact that the authoritative and institutional response will inevitably risk the separation of children by “protective services” into foster homes. (Cole, 2011) African American communities are inevitably the targets of systematic retribution and attacks by official institutions and “White” power even in the 21st Century, where “peace officers” and “child protection services” often act against the personal and familial interests of the people that they are tasked with serving. Despite being publicly funded social services, the employees of government assistance programs often treat African American communities and individuals as the enemy, and this perception is yet another aspect of institutional racism. The Failure of Governmental Programs to Address the Problem Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008 – Statistical Tables, March 2009 (Revised 4/8/09), Table 18 The chart above shows one of the main reasons that African Americans may be hesitant to trust government services, police forces, or other community officials that are claiming to help them, and also is one of the strongest pieces of evidence in support of the continuance of institutional racism. As Hattery (2007) wrote in “African American Males and the Incarceration Problem - Not Just Confined to Prison,” “In terms of probability, 90 out of every 1,000 men in the United States will be incarcerated in their lifetimes. When we break down the data by race, only 44 out of every 1,000 (4%) white men will be incarcerated, but 285 out of every 1,000 (28.5%) African American men will be incarcerated in their lifetimes (Harrison & Beck, 2005). Put another way, nearly 1 in 3 African American men will be incarcerated during their lifetimes.” (Hattery, 2007) The effect of the police attack on “Black” communities and African American families can be justified by their personal behavior patterns, genetic propensities, the socio-economic effects that cause crime, or institutional racism. As noted by the examples of Wall St. previously, “white collar” crime is rarely prosecuted in the United States, even if billions of dollars of investor funds are embezzled by fraudulent management and corporate organization schemes, but “petty” crime patterns in the poorest of the poor inevitably results in the harshest of sentences. That this appears “normal” in America, and is a cornerstone of the justice system historically as well in as in contemporary society is yet another example of institutional racism that is ignored because it appears “just” and in accordance with mainstream values and social norms. Even the “uneducated” are able to deduce systemic bias when one in three black youths will be sent to jail in their lifetime and policy decisions ignore the needs of poverty-stricken communities in order to bail out the banking interests of Wall Street. Institutional racism, systemic perpetuation of inequality between racial communities in access to communal resources, and oligarchic bias within the political system all contribute to the belief in African American communities that governmental agencies are more interested in the subjection of “Blacks” to humiliation and subjugation than to honestly helping them on the basis of altruistic principles. When combined with the demagogic nature of contemporary politics which sees the minority African American citizen as an easy target to “demonize” in the criminal justice system and the homeless person as a target to arrest rather to assist, it is clear that the political parties and appeal to government will not be an adequate solution to the problem of homelessness in African American families. Therefore, the solution needs to come from a different social basis outside of government, in effect to provide the services that government should provide but cannot due to systemic corruption, oligarchic bias, and institutional racism. The Rationale for Inter-Religious Social Organizations to Address Poverty The rationale for the inter-religious organization of charity to support the homeless regardless of race, and through this all-encompassing push to provide support for all marginalized, excluded, lost, hopeless, and rejected members of society is simple, because this is the very function that religion should provide in society according to its own stated values. Religion forms the basis for the evolution of ethics and morality in culture and individual thought. While the modern State is nominally secular and pluralistic in nature, it has historically failed to provide for the equal access of community resources by all, hence the existence and perpetuation of poverty. Whereas religion recognizes the existence of poverty and the fact that the poor must be provided with charitable assistance, the State chafes and plays divisional politics in order to shirk this responsibility when called to task. Because the reliance on one religious group to provide services for all would neither be equal nor representative of the multi-cultural nature of society, a greater inter-religious group with the aim of ending homelessness in society should be organized and advanced on a national level. This group should seek to provide public assistance to the homeless in all localities where assistance is required, through a combination of facilities, programs, and policies all based on the universal solidarity of humanity and the need for collective service to all mankind. The inter-religious basis of this organization is important, because it shows the common basis of love, compassion, morality, and ethics across the cultural divisions of history and culture. In organizing on a private, collective, and non-profit basis, an inter-religious organization can attempt to provide a social “safety net” that assists with job training, education, home building, community services, personal assistance, financing, and other programs designed to address the causes of homelessness in the greater population while simultaneously combating the legacy and heritage of institutional racism. Structure and Organization of the Proposed Relief Programs The organization as proposed should use the inter-religious community base for fund raising, administration, and the provision of services that are designed to combat the root causes of poverty, homelessness, and racism in conjunction with but independent from the government assistance programs that have been designated to address these issues. The structure of the organization should include a board of directors and council of governance that is made up of the wider membership and donor base of the group. The first area of priority is to provide services for the shelter and housing of any individuals or families that may be found in a position of “temporary or forced homelessness”. The charity group should secure properties in urban locations that allow it to run and manage homeless shelters and food service or meal programs for the homeless on a local basis. Where the need is severe, for example in large urban areas, the charity should attempt to secure multiple properties for the purpose to meet the greater need of homeless individuals and families. From the initial basis of providing emergency shelter to individuals and families, which should be funded collectively from donors and philanthropic foundations, the charity should also provide the services of job training, educational support, vocational school referencing, library services, family counseling, home building, and financial services that assist families or individuals to own their own home. The complexity of each organization can be made more efficient by operating a larger number of local centers in each region rather than one central facility. In summarizing how the charity would operate: Any homeless person or family would be able to secure emergency shelter at one of the charity’s locations. From the basis of the shelter, the person or family members would be able to access counseling services which would assist the individuals involved in building a personal plan to develop their own lives into a sustainable and satisfying course of life. The counseling services should recognize, according to the person’s own individual values and goals, the immediate, intermediate, and long term objectives that best assist the individual in realizing their self-identified life goals. Those who need healthcare or substance abuse counseling would be able to receive treatment by recommendation into a hospital or drug detoxification program. Those who need educational services or vocational training would be assisted in enrolling in a program that best serves their personal needs. Those who need a job or career path with training would be assisted in finding work on a short term, temporary, or long-term, career basis with local industries and businesses in partnership. Those who need shelter would be transitioned from the homeless facility to low-cost rental housing or apartments that were within the budget of their employment and salary. Those who wished to buy a home would be assisted in finding a location that was affordable and financing that was non-predatory and within the budget of their salary. The charity should follow the example of “Habitat for Humanity” in purchasing land and building homes for people directly on a low cost, volunteer basis, and then providing these homes to people who required them with assistance in long-term financing. In this manner, the charity would build from the common morality and ethics of religious unity to provide personal assistance to the people in society who need assistance with organizing their life path and assisting these individuals in accomplishing their own self-defined personal goals so that they could better become productive, happy, and contributing members of society. By providing assistance with education, scholarships, vocational training, and learning material to individuals, they can better become prepared to address their own long-term needs, through scholarships and tuition support. Similarly, by making apartments, houses, condos, and other facilities available for rent in short-term situations, the homeless can be supported within their own financial means to become self-sustaining members of the community. Finally, by providing non-predatory financing and assistance to the poor in buying and owning real estate properties in the community, in subsidizing the development costs by volunteer labor and donations, as well as supporting the individuals in job and education so that they can recover to purchase their own home and raise a family on their own terms, the charity provides a viable path of self-development and social welfare that is not currently being provided by the State. Literature Review – Qualitative Research In “Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development” (1998) Vonnie C. McLoyd found that, “Recent research consistently reports that persistent poverty has more detrimental effects on IQ, school achievement, and socioemotional functioning than transitory poverty, with children experiencing both types of poverty generally doing less well than never-poor children... The link between socioeconomic disadvantage and childrens socioemotional functioning appears to be mediated partly by harsh, inconsistent parenting and elevated exposure to acute and chronic stressors.” (McLoyd, 1998) In “Children in low-income, urban settings: Interventions to promote mental health and well-being” (1998) Maureen M. Black and Ambika Krishnakumar found that “Urbanization provides unique political, cultural, economic, and educational opportunities for children and families. However, it may also have a negative impact on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents, particularly when they are exposed to settings with high rates of crime, violence, delinquency, substance use, abuse, and poverty.” (Black & Krishnakumar, 1998) Literature Review – Quantitative Research “Practical Lessons: The I998 National Symposium on Homelessness”(1999) is one of the most comprehensive reports available from the U.S. Government on the services used by homeless people and can be used as a guide for the organization of homeless shelters. Relevant findings include: “Studies of two separate national samples of homeless veterans (Leda & Rosenheck, 1995; Rosenheck et al., 1997) and a sample of several thousand homeless people from 18 cities who are participating in the ACCESS demonstration program (unpublished data from R Rosenheck & J Lam) have shown that homeless blacks are less likely to have severe mental illnesses than whites, and have more social supports and stronger employment histories. These strikingly consistent findings suggest that while disabling mental illness and social isolation are major factors in the genesis of homelessness among whites, blacks are also affected by the historical legacy of discrimination (e.g., in their lack of accumulated assets) and current urban dynamics which push them over the edge into homelessness.” (Fosburg & Dennis, 1999, p. 2-15) “The rapidly increasing gap between the incomes of rich and poor in America has jeopardized the stability of large numbers of families. With limited education, job skills, child support and child care, their only options for survival are low wage jobs or public assistance, neither of which provide sufficient resources to keep a family stably housed. Often employed at minimum wage jobs, these families tend to pay an inordinate percentage of their income on housing, thus increasing the pool of families at risk for losing their homes (Buckner & Bassuk, in press).” (Fosburg & Dennis, 1999, p. 2-10) Another major study on homelessness was prepared by the City of New York, entitled “NEW YORK CITY FAMILY HOMELESSNESS - SPECIAL MASTER PANEL – FAMILY HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION REPORT” (2003) and edited by John D. Feerick, Daniel Kronenfeld, and Gail B. Nayowith. The main recommendations of this committee for addressing the problem of homelessness include: “Affordable Housing Early Identification Cross-Agency Coordination Community Services Legal Representation” (Freerick et al., 2003) This study also includes a wealth of information on the homelessness problem as experienced by shelter and social services workers in New York City over a period of 30 to 40 years of dealing with the problem in one of the worst affected areas in the United States. In “Diverse Teaching Strategies for Homeless Children” (2001), Evelyn Reed-Victor, and Ames H. Stronge, J (2001) list the characteristics of homeless families as: “More than three-fourths of homeless families in one study were single-parent families headed by women (Bassuk & Rosenberg, 1988).” “The typical homeless family head-of-household is ‘a young, single woman without a high school diploma or substantial work experience’ (Nunez, 1994, p. 14).” “Homeless mothers tend to be unmarried (91 percent), under age 25 (69 percent), and have children under age 6 (80 percent). Approximately 36 percent of homeless mothers are young women who have not graduated from high school (Nunez, 1997).” “The percentage of homeless families with children increased from 27 percent in 1985 to 38 percent in 1996 (James, Lopez, Murdock, Rouse, & Walker, 1997).” Literature Review – Mixed Methodology Research In “Racism and Mental Health: The African American experience” (2000) David R. Williams & Ruth Williams-Morris made three conclusions about racism’s relation to mental health in African American individuals, based on a wide survey of industry research. They found: “First, racism in societal institutions can lead to truncated socioeconomic mobility, differential access to desirable resources, and poor living conditions that can adversely affect mental health. Second, experiences of discrimination can induce physiological and psychological reactions that can lead to adverse changes in mental health status. Third, in race-conscious societies, the acceptance of negative cultural stereotypes can lead to unfavorable self-evaluations that have deleterious effects on psychological well-being.” (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000) Thus, the relationship between racism and mental health cannot be excluded as a cause for the disproportionate amount of homelessness in African American individuals, though the wider issue is institutional racism. Conclusion In 1967, Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton wrote in “Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America,” “Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two, closely related forms: individual whites acting against individual blacks, and acts by the total white community against the black community. We call these individual racism and institutional racism. The first consists of overt acts by individuals, which cause death, injury or the violent destruction of property. This type can be recorded by television cameras; it can frequently be observed in the process of commission. The second type is less overt, far more subtle, less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts. But it is no less destructive of human life. The second type originates in the operation of established and respected forces in the society, and thus receives far less public condemnation than the first type.” (Carmichael & Hamilton, 1967, pp. 2-6) This intra-religious charitable initiative is designed to address the aspects of institutional racism that still have not been eradicated in American society by appealing to the common humanity found in the collective morality and ethics of the world’s variety of religious expressions in a multicultural and pluriethnic society. References Black, Maureen M.; Krishnakumar, Ambika (1998). Children in low-income, urban settings: Interventions to promote mental health and well-being. American Psychologist, Vol 53(6), Jun 1998, 635-646. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.53.6.635. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/53/6/635/ Bureau of Justice Statistics (2009). Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008 – Statistical Tables. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Table 18 March 2009 (Revised 4/8/09). Retrieved from http://allotherpersons.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/factoid-black-male-incarceration-rate-is-6-times-greater-than-rate-for-white-males/ Carmichael, Stokely and Hamilton, Charles V. (1967). Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America. New York: Vintage Books, 1967, pp. 2-6. Carter, James H. (1991). CHRONIC MENTAL ILLNESS: HOMELESSNESS IN BLACK POPULATIONS: PROLOGUE AND PROSPECTS. JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 83, NO. 4., 1991. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/53/6/635/ Fosburg, Linda B. & Dennis, Deborah L. (1999). Practical Lessons: The I998 National Symposium on Homelessness. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, August 1999. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/pic/reports/aspe/6817.pdf Feerick, John D.; Kronenfeld, Daniel; & Nayowith, Gail B. (2003). NEW YORK CITY FAMILY HOMELESSNESS - SPECIAL MASTER PANEL - FAMILY HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION REPORT. The City of New York, November 2003. Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/downloads/pdf/preventionreport.pdf Hattery, Angela J. & Smith, Earl (2000). African American Males and the Incarceration Problem: Not Just Confined to Prison. In African American Families, SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007. Retrieved from http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book228034/toc McLoyd, Vonnie C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American Psychologist, Vol 53(2), Feb 1998, 185-204. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.53.2.185. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/53/2/185/ NCH (2009). Minorities and Homelessness. National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/minorities.html NCH (2009). Who is Homeless? National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/who.html NCH (2009). Why Are People Homeless? National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html Reed-Victor, Evelyn and Stronge, James H. (2001). Chapter 2. Diverse Teaching Strategies for Homeless Children. In ‘More Strategies for Educating Everybodys Children,’ Edited by Robert W. Cole, 2001. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/100229/chapters/Diverse-Teaching-Strategies-for-Homeless-Children.aspx St. Mark’s (2011). Homelessness in Los Angeles. St. Mark’s Homeless Shelter, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.uminusc.com/Hunger_and_Homelessness_ACP_Powerpoint-updated.pptx Williams, David R. & Williams-Morris, Ruth (2000). Racism and Mental Health: The African American experience. Ethnicity & Health, Volume 5, Issue 3-4, pages 243-268, 2000. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713667453 Read More