Marc Yacht
There are more than 600,000 homeless people in the U.S. on any given night, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says. Most have shelter or some sort of transitional housing. More than a third live in cars, under bridges, in alleys, the woods, or in some other way unsheltered. The homeless have untreated health problems, poor nutrition, and limited access to services without a permanent address.
HUD reports that more than 138,000 homeless people are younger than 18. Thousands of homeless children are on their own. U.S. schools suggest 1.3 million homeless students attended school in the 2012-2013 school year. During that period 69,956 homeless students attended Florida schools. The problem may lay in the definition of homeless by HUD versus public schools’ definition.
Veterans represent 9 percent or 57,000 of the homeless population. Five thousand are women. About 90 percent of all homeless women are victims of severe physical or sexual abuse and the escape from that abuse is a primary reason for their situation.
Severe mental illness affects 20 percent of the homeless. They typically are lost to treatment and wander the streets suffering from paranoia, schizophrenia, and myriad other psychiatric disorders. They may be a danger to themselves and their communities, and their need for services is especially critical.
The official definition of homeless is “an individual who lacks housing, including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” The person may be deemed homeless if he or she lives with a series of friends or family.
The definition of homelessness may differ from agency to agency or within communities. That results in soft and undercounted totals. Increasing the homeless count is the loss of low-income housing. Officials claim at least 7 million affordable apartments are needed to reduce homeless numbers significantly. Millions of families spend more than half of their income on rent.
Since 2008 millions have lost their homes because of lost jobs and the economic downturn. One out of 10 homes with a mortgage has faced foreclosure. The government’s solutions to this crisis are more geared to bank losses than citizen needs.
Many cities are criminalizing homelessness by arresting beggars, park and bridge residents, and loiterers. Many homeless commit petty crimes for the health care, shelter, and food provided by the local jail.
Homeless families are the most likely to bounce back and typically require short-term services such as rental assistance while the family returns to independence. About 15 percent are chronic homeless. They usually represent the face of the transients seen by the general public. Often they are mentally or physically disabled and require the bulk of resources available.
Homeless youths present particular challenges. Many are homeless because of behavioral issues, family arguments, divorce, neglect, sexual abuse, violence, and any number of dysfunctional family issues. Assistance is more structured to adults and has not served the young effectively. Minors cannot receive rent assistance or even rent low-income housing.
Resolution requires more specialized services to minors. Required are resources to construct affordable apartments, houses and the improved delivery of goods, food, and healthcare. Also needed are services to those who are on the brink of homelessness, about to lose their home or face eviction.
Vulnerable individuals must be identified. The resources to prevent homelessness are significantly less than resolving issues for someone already homeless.
Finding many homeless may be the greatest challenge. Youngsters can be served through the foster care system and many can be identified through local private and public school systems.
Accepting the challenge to address homelessness requires cooperation among community agencies including health, law enforcement, schools, and municipal services. Ignoring these people puts the entire community at risk for crime, the spread of communicable disease, and the untreated mentally ill. The agencies currently addressing these issues are typically underfunded and have marginal effect on a very large problem.
Dr. Marc J. Yacht is a retired physician living in Hudson, Fla. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
