Introduction
Homelessness remains a complicated social problem in the United States as it manifests across the society within a vast spectrum of people regardless of their ethnicity, gender, and financial backgrounds. The main goal of this policy memo is to give a brief idea of the backdrop, reasons, and the extent and character homelessness captures. Such a fact implies that the legislators need to know such elements to fashion targeted strategies like evidenced-based programs that maximize the use of permanent supportive housing so as to solve this problem.
Context of the Problem
Homelessness is caused not only by physical conditions but also involves structural factors and individual aspects. From a perspective of the formation of housing, the following factors, including lack of affordable housing, economic inequality, unemployment, and weak, contribute to the day-to-day unreliability of the house. The rising expenses of housing in the cities specifically cannot be matched by the oncoming income growth as it gets further out of control and is eventually unbearable for low-income earners and their families (Batko & Culhane, 2023). Also, other factors that include discrimination, displacement through gentrification and less access to healthcare provision and social services make this problem more complex. These structured matters mesh with personal circumstances such as mental illness, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, and poverty, which often result in an individual’s attempts to get better and stable housing.
Causes of Homelessness
The root of homelessness springs from a fact that is both found on the macro- and the micro-levels. As people with a lack of adequate housing and economic inequality struggle for housing stability, structural reasons are being picked by the vulnerable population. Lack of adequate healthcare and social services as well not accessible way to afford, poor mental health disorders, and substance abuse get more gravely worse (Palimaru et al., 2023)
Circumstances and separate personnel conditions (such as mental disorders, drug addiction, trauma, and domestic issues) that are associated with homelessness make this problem even more badly. Many people who are in the same predicament cannot prevent it by reason of the lack of the means of emotional support, and that worsens the situation because most of these people find it hard to escape the problem of homelessness (Funk et al., 2022). Apart from policies that discriminate and block an individual from a good social life, the disease of homelessness tends to revolve around the same groups that get marginalized. Thus, the cycle goes on and on.
Size and Scope of the Problem
One of the challenges is that the issue scales up with the everyday number of individuals displaced. The United States has a large magnitude of homelessness, with over 500,000 Americans being homeless on a single-night basis. While the population of homeless people for one night is a piece of the puzzle, many of them do not fall into the statistical data for the month but constantly move in and out of homelessness during the year (Batko & Culhane, 2023). Homelessness reverberates many across the population and can be seen in line with individuals with disabilities, veterans, youth, families, and elderly adults. The homeless population of children and youth has been a very considerable group, as indicated by the statistics that are provided. About 30 % of the homeless population has been found to be within this age category. This young generation experiences certain life circumstances, such as educational disruption, poor health, and social challenges. Moreover, the homelessness crisis also puts a strain on the public system, which is made up of shelters, healthcare facilities, social services, and district resources. It keeps the burden on their communities.
How to implement a new policy to change the problem.
In order to introduce a new policy that will tackle homelessness and extend permanent supportive housing (PSH), the trio between social workers, policymakers, and other housing experts should be done. A detailed Implementation plan, driven by researched data, should provide descriptions of how the number of PSH available and the funding thereof is going to be increased. Through legislative advocacy, the drive can involve local, state, and national politicians in the cause of the program and manage the necessary resources for the campaign with the hope of passing supportive housing initiatives. Hosting public information campaigns, as social workers do, can remedy the surrounding population’s misconceptions about homelessness and provoke feelings of unity in the community (Funk et al., 2022). Different stakeholder participation, for instance, with developers of housing and providers of healthcare, ensures that the development of holistic initiatives is systematic. Regular monitoring and reviewing should be conducted by social workers to ensure that changes are seen and later to help to alter the system if needed in order to meet the demands of individuals’ and families homelessness. Through collective efforts, public authorities can successfully fight against homelessness and similarly can expand those homes that can ensure that they are stable.
Conclusion
Homelessness has become a perennial dilemma that society is dealing with, and its ramifications are so immense. They can be easily felt on the level of individuals, households, and entire communities. The influence of the contextual factors is to be addressed, together with the causes and the scope of the problem, which is necessary for formulating effective methods. The integrated housing support services model, as well as providing supportive housing, can be an example of practices aiming at decreasing homelessness and the absence of adequate living conditions (housing stability and social equity).
References
Batko, S., & Culhane, D. (2023). Homelessness in the United States. The Routledge Handbook of Homelessness.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=inq2EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT423&dq=homelessness+in+the+united+states&ots=pbgKL8vFzG&sig=ay256dJ4Ou7lsPzlmNxWbdygTBw
Funk, A. M., Greene, R. N., Dill, K., & Valvassori, P. (2022). The impact of homelessness on mortality of individuals living in the United States: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 33(1), 457-477.https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/847227/summary
Palimaru, A. I., McBain, R., McDonald, K., Batra, P., & Hunter, S. B. (2023). The relationship between quality of housing and quality of life: evidence from permanent supportive housing. Housing and Society, 50(1), 13-34.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08882746.2021.1928853
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