What is presentation about?

• Who is homeless person?• Briefly history of homeless in US• Programs and policy• What Americans are thinking about homeless?

Who is homeless?

What is the definition of homeless?

• (1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and (2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is -

• (A) 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);

• (B) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or

• (C) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Causes

Structural factors• Housing costs from 1999 till

2005 rose by 19% and the consumer price index (CPI-U) rose by only 13%

• Residential construction has been robust. In 2003 there was a supply deficiency of 1.7 million units of housing to meet the demand of 7.7 million extremely low income renting households.

• Only one-fourth of all eligible families receive any federal housing assistance due to program funding constraints

• In 2004, 45.8 million Americans (or 15.7% of the population) were without health insurance

• In 2004, total national health expenditures rose 7.9 percent—over three times the rate of inflation—and since 2000, employment-based health insurance premiums have increased 73%.

• People working low wage jobs are less likely to be provided with health insurance.

Personal factors

• Mental illness, and disability can cause individuals to become paranoid, anxious, making it difficult or impossible to maintain employment, pay bills, etc.

• Many people (especially women and often with children) who flee from domestic violence become homeless.

• Substance abuse can drain financial resources, cause job or housing loss.

• Lack of education• Institutional release

Other factors

• Natural disasters

• Unexpected emergencies

“Raymond”

“Thurman”

"Judy"

“Bill”

“James”

“Ellen”

“Heather”

Brief history of homeless in US

• late 1970s - the deinstitutionalization of patients from state psychiatric hospitals

• mid-1980s - increase in family homelessness• 1990s - welfare reforms increased the number

of families entering homelessness• 2000s – families and veterans were the largest

growing segment of the homeless in America• An estimated 3.5 million people are likely to

experience homelessness in a given year, the Urban Institute reports 2007

Statistics and demographics

Familial composition• 40% are families with

children—the fastest growing segment.

• 41% are single males.• 14% are single females.• 5% are minors

unaccompanied by adults.

Lifetime self-reported alcohol, drug and mental health problems

• 62% Alcohol• 58% Drugs• 57% Mental health• 27% Mental health and

alcohol or drug (dual diagnosed)

Percentage of homeless people with serious mental illnesses

Statistics and demographics Backgrounds• 23% are veterans (compared to

13% of general population).• 25% were physically or sexually

abused as children.• 27% were in foster care or similar

institutions as children.• 21% were homeless at some point

during their childhood.• 54% were incarcerated at some

point in their lives.

Education• 38% have less than a High

School diploma.• 34% have a High School

diploma or equivalent (G.E.D.).

• 28% have more than a High School education.

Percentage of veteran homeless

Statistics and demographics

Employment• 44% report having

worked in the past week.

• 13% have regular jobs.

• 50% receive less than $300 per month as income.

Location• 71% reside in central

cities.• 21% are in suburbs.• 9% are in rural areas.

Statistics and demographics

Racial demographics of head of household

• 41% White, non-Hispanic• 40% Black, non-Hispanic• 11% Hispanic• 8% Native American• 1% Other

Length of current homeless period

• 5% Less than one week• 8% Greater than one week,

less than one month• 15% One to three months• 11% Four to six months• 15% Seven to twelve months• 16% Thirteen to twenty four

months• 10% Twenty-five to sixty

months• 20% Five or more years

Programs and Policy

Programs and Policy

• “A Plan, Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years”,released by the National Alliance to End Homelessness in 2000

• “Medicaid” created in 1965• HUD – Homeless Assistance Grant• TANF -Temporary Assistance for Needy Families• “Section 8”, “public housing”, CDBG, HOME

(mainstream housing and community development programs)

• “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001• “Ending Chronic Homelessness through Employment

and Housing” released by the Department of Labor in 2003

How much does Federal Government spend on homelessness?

Public opinion (Gallup Institute)

• 80% - homeless people are alcoholics, drug addicts, who need medical care

• 67% - people become homeless because have mental illnesses and PTS

• 58% - nowadays there are more homeless than before

• 65% - people with low income more predispose to become homeless

Thanks for attention

Sources:• www.endhomelessness.org• Cunningham, M. and M. Henry. 2006. “Homelessness Counts”. Washington, DC:

National Alliance to End Homelessness • “Handbook on homeless”, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007• Grace Elizabeth Moore "No Angels Here: The Closing of the Pine Street Inn Nurses

Clinic, 1972–2003", Harvard Divinity School, Center for the Study of World Religions• Fagan, Kevin, "Saving foster kids from the streets", San Francisco Chronicle,

Sunday, April 11, 2004.• Massachusetts Commission To End Homelessness, "Commission Recommends

Focus On Permanent Housing Options", press release, January 11, 2008.• American Journal of Community Psychology: "Public knowledge, attitudes, and

beliefs about homeless people: evidence for compassion fatigue." 23 August 1995.• Barry, Ellen, "A Refugee's Triumph Over Desolation", Boston Globe, December 28,

2003.• Baumohl, Jim «Homelessness in America", Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1996.• Coalition for the Homeless (New York), "A History of Modern Homelessness in New

York City“• www.urban.org