By: Christine Moutrey

Community Service and Leadership Seminar

Homelessness dates back to when society first began..

*In England they set up Bridwells where people could receive shelter up to seven days.

Set Up By King Henry the VII

Federal Definition

an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;

and an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is–

*a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);

*an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or

*a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

*The Chronically homeless are those who may be physically or mentally disabled, addicted to drugs or alcohol, have little or no income or have poor health.

*The acutely homeless are temporarily out of work, have insufficient income, have been evicted from housing, are experiencing a financial setback from medical or other expenses, are transient, or experiencing domestic violence.

Why are people homeless? There are a million reasons.

-Some lost jobs and thought it would be a good idea to camp out to save money.

-Some are injured or disabled and have not been able to find work.

-Others are substance abusers and can’t straighten up long enough to break the cycle and find employment.

-There are heartbreaking stories of women who were abandoned by abusive husbands.

-People with epilepsy, who had no insurance, couldn’t get medication to control seizures, and resorted to alcohol to control their conditions.

-And there are people who simply like the freedom of not having to work, living off handouts, and keeping a steady supply of beer.

When rough (homeless) sleepers were asked what the trigger was for them first becoming homeless, the most common reasons given were:

*relationship breakdown=39%*heavy drinking=21%*losing job=18%*having no money to pay for housing=13%

Sleeping outdoorsSleeping in a vehicleSleeping in a public placeSleeping in a derelict structureFriends or familyJunglesHotels

As many as 3.5 million people experience homelessness in a given year (1% of the entire U.S. population or 10% of its poor), and about 842,000 people on any given day

40% are families with children(fastest Growing Segment)

41% are single males. 14% are single females.

5% are minors unaccompanied by adults

49% are African American (compared to 11% of general population). 35% are Caucasian (compared to 75% of general population). 13% are Hispanic (compared to 10% of general population).

2% are Native American (compared to 1% of general population). 1% are Asian-American (compared to 3% of general population).

December 2005 homeless estimates from major U.S. cities (single day estimate)Boston - 5,819 (total area population 569,165)~1.0%

Chicago - 6,715 (total area population 2,862,244)~0.2% Denver - 5,000 (total population 580,000)~0.8%

Detroit - 14,827 (total area population 900,198)~1.6% ***Los Angeles - 91,000 (total area population 3,300,000)~2.7%

New York - 48,155 (total area population 8,104,179)~0.5% San Francisco - 6,248 (total area population 744,230)~0.8%

Seattle - 8,000 (total population 560,000)~1.4% Washington DC - 5,518 (total area population 553,523)~0.9%

Skid Row-

Los Angeles, California

To the east of the Historic Core lies the Wholesale District and Skid Row. This area is characterized by a mix of warehouses (mostly fish and produce), light retail (mostly toys) and an extensive cluster of missions, shelters, drop-ins and Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels, the largest service-dependent ghetto in the. nation

•http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1761873&page=1

National Coalition for the Homeless

Mission- End Homelessness

-National Coalition for Homeless engages in public education, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing. Focuses on working in the following 4 areas: 1.)housing justice2.) economic justice3.) health care justice4.) civil rights

-Finances: NCH receives its support from individual contributions, the Combined Federal Campaign, foundation grants, special events, and telemarketing

-Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) -Continuum of Care -Health Care For the Homeless -McKinney-Vento Technical Assistance (TA) -Transitional Living Program (TLP) -FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM

-Child and Adult Care Food Program -Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness -Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Safe Harbor/ Compassion Center

-”In 1991 a need to serve the homeless population that was not served elsewhere was recognized. Safe Harbor began operating on the 2nd floor of The Salvation Army at 212 N Roosevelt Street during the winter months. Residents would pull out cots at 10:00PM every night and put them away at 7:00 AM.”-(Compassioncenter/history.com)

- Private non-profit organization

THE NEW CENTER WILL HAVE-Increased capacity for men, the ability to again house women, and a separate area of rooms and dining hall for families with children

- Accommodations for 112 people

-Onsite Day Center- GED, life skills, job placement and other services offered at The Compassion Center will move into the new Safe Harbor.

Debt

Illness

Abuse

Could it happen to you??

Busking-performing tricks, playing music, drawing on the sidewalk, or offering some other form of entertainment in exchange for donations

• according to the National Coalition for the Homeless

• some cities in the U.S. have laws such as • "anti-lodging" (preventing camping

outdoors)• "anti-panhandling" (preventing begging)• "loitering and vagrancy laws" which allow

for arbitrary enforcement by law enforcement officials

Second Chance Act-

This bill would reauthorize and revise an existing program within the Department of Justice, providing money to states for reentry programs, create a federal interagency task force to study and coordinate policy, commission a number of research projects including a study of barriers in federal policy to successful reentry, and authorize grants from the Justice Department directly to nonprofits for reentry program.

SELHA-The Services to End Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA)

authorize funding for a flexible array of services in permanent supportive housing, focused on helping people move toward recovery and self-sufficiency. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services would administer the program. Services would include mental health and substance abuse assistance, health education and referral, self-sufficiency and case management.

Strategies For Helping the Homeless

1.) Creating Data Systems. Almost all of the plans (91 percent) outline strategies to create Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS).

2.) Homelessness Prevention.

(e.g., one-time rental or utility assistance, help negotiating an eviction with a landlord, etc.), and 91 percent of the plans outline systems prevention activities, such as discharge planning from correctional facilities, foster care systems, or mental health facilities.An overwhelming majority of the plans (79 percent) address emergency prevention

Strategies For Helping the Homeless

3.) Outreach. Outreach efforts to engage people living on the streets.

outlined in 79 percent of the plans.

Strategies For Helping the Homeless

Strategies For Helping the Homeless

• 4.) Shortening Time of Homelessness. • Shortening the time that people spend homeless

by providing permanent housing to homeless people. In total, the plans call for creating approximately 196,000 units (or subsidies), of which 80,000 units are permanent supportive housing.

• included in 67 percent of the plans; 57 percent call for rapid re-housing.

Strategies For Helping the Homeless

• 5.)Links to Services.

Once individuals or families are in housing. Outline strategies to link them with mainstream services so they can earn enough money to pay rent and avoid homelessness.

• Included In 81 percent of the plans

Why should I care about the homeless??

Works Cited

• www.wikipedia.com

• www.hud.gov/homeless/index.cfm

• www.nationalhomeless.org

• www.endhomelessness.org

• www.homelesscoalition.org

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/grants-catalog-homelessness.html#005