Homelessness, an issue that is often swept under the rug by many including the national media, was front and center on NPR’s Talk of the Nation last Thursday as the question: “Can we end homelessness?” was addressed. In this discussion, many key issues were raised regarding root causes of homelessness, strategies and best practices for serving the homeless population and common (mis)perceptions regarding the homeless population.
The program’s guests spent much time addressing, among other topics, the problem of securing affordable housing, particularly in urban cities. Even for those individuals with a job and/or disposable income, it is often difficult to locate housing that is both affordable and conveniently located. As such, the guests spoke of the advantages of establishing Housing First programs, which provide the homeless, specifically the chronically homeless, with a place of their own immediately. Once the person is settled in housing, customized services are developed to best serve the needs of that person (numerous studies have even spoken to the cost effectiveness of such programs, see Denver’s 2006 Study results).
Housing First programs are integral components of 10-year plans to end homelessness. All three of the guests were directly involved in the planning and implementation of 10-year programs to end homelessness in their respective cities. Buffalo, too, has a 10-year plan known as PRISM and the Homeless Alliance of WNY was intimately involved in its creation. To learn more about PRISM, read here.
One other noteworthy point addressed in this NPR segment relates to the perceptions of homelessness and how homelessness/homeless folks are often thought of and discussed. All of the guests pointed out the need to recognize that homelessness is NOT a choice and there is a pressing need to move away from the blame the victim mantra, which holds homeless folks as solely responsible for their plight, a view that so often dominates the public discourse. Rather, it is important to acknowledge that structural causes contribute greatly in creating the circumstances that allow for the existence of homelessness.
One guest, Jennifer Friedenbach makes this abundantly clear when discussing the conscious and continuous dismantling of governmental support networks that were put in place during and immediately after the Great Depression, a support system that had successfully mitigated the extent of homelessness. With this in mind, we close with Fridenbach’s opening statement. Citing the work of a noted scholar, she emphasizes that the only difference between homeless folks and poor individuals who have housing is that the latter group has access to networks, resources and services that the homeless do not. In society’s attempt to often pathologize the homeless, it is important to keep this in mind.
To listen to this segment, visit the link below:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16739648
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