For my program, I will use Pauly et al. (2013) and Foscarinis’s (2018) articles, which have highlighted strategies that have worked before. The main program focuses on homelessness in America, and the strategies available are varied, but there are some that have worked in the past and, therefore, can work for my program.
Pauly et al. (2013) approach homeless from the risk environment point of view. They argue that homelessness and drug use overlap; hence, substance use harms exacerbate homelessness. In their defense of this link, they argue that putting housing first has proved not sufficient in the past because sobriety and willingness to accept treatment may not be enhanced by housing them. Instead, reducing harm serves as a bottom-up social movement that intermingles with a realistic policy framework that leads up to the creation of safer environments. Therefore, harm reduction is described as a philosophy and a strategy that has ensured the harms of substance abuse to encourage a mindset of seeking a safe environment, like secure housing.
On the other hand, Foscarinis (2018) compares the strategies to address homelessness to the Reagan years, i.e., the author uses the Reagan years as a source of a benchmark on how to address homelessness in the United States during the Trump era when social issues were on the rise. According to Foscarinis (2018), the law is a powerful tool that has worked in the past. However, systemic law may not work on its own but needs to be complemented by community organizing and public education as strategies that would build the political support needed to push this agenda through.
Homelessness is a topic of interest because it seems to accelerate today due to rising housing costs. Given my intent to influence social welfare by reducing homelessness, I will focus on the chosen articles to identify the strategies I could use for my own program. Through Pauly et al. (2013) and Foscarinis’s (2018) articles, the goal of my program is to enhance the effectiveness of social services in inner-city communities to reduce homelessness based on strategies that have worked in the past in the same community. For instance, I will consider Pauly et al. (2013) article to pick the harm reduction strategy as a way of addressing homelessness. Again, Foscarinis’s (2018) law strategy, like seeking local leaders to influence a law that allows access to resources, will be useful for my program to influence more people to join the traction. This means that I will be upholding the community organizing and public education strategies Foscarinis (2018) mentions in his article. Subsequently, I consider these strategies effective because more details have been provided on how to go about them. For instance, Pauly et al. (2013) mention dealing with harm reduction as contributing to public health, which may gradually reduce consumption to encourage the pursuit of secure environments. By seeking safe environments, social services will take the initiative to influence the development of policies for social inclusion, adequate housing supply, on-demand harm reduction services, and systematic infrastructure, as Pauly et al. explain. Again, I believe in the intensity of the law, which will influence the social inclusion policies mentioned above.
Despite the differences in times, the problem, people, and location are similar, and I suppose my strategy will still work. The power of influencing the social system in the present is stronger today, and should any differences arise, there will be a contingency plan, like interdisciplinary collaboration, to develop mediating strategies.
References
Foscarinis, M. (2018). Strategies to address homelessness in the Trump era: Lessons from the Reagan years. Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, 27(1), 161-182. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26496793
Pauly, B. B., Reist, D., Belle-Isle, L., & Schactman, C. (2013). Housing and harm reduction: what is the role of harm reduction in addressing homelessness? International Journal of Drug Policy, 24(4), 284-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.03.008
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