Posted on 09/16/2019 8:39:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The television images of homeless adults, tent cities, discarded drug paraphernalia, and filthy conditions in America’s urban landscapes are shocking. The homeless people in these scenes didn’t grow up saying, “I can’t wait to become an addict and live on the street.” Clearly, several things went wrong over the course of their lives.
For many living on the streets, the path to homelessness started early, with childhood trauma and adverse experiences.
For example, in Santa Clara County, just south of San Francisco, 78 percent of homeless adults grew up in a household with a person with drug or alcohol dependence; 65 percent endured psychological abuse as a child; and 37.5 percent experienced homelessness as children.
Considering that Federal Department of Education statistics show that nearly 1.4 million students attending public school experienced homelessness in the 2016-17 school year, 27 percent more children than in 2010-11, the alarm bells should be ringing everywhere.
This Administration needs to address the rising numbers of “street homeless,” but even greater attention needs to be directed toward helping homeless children because the consequences of their homelessness are profound.
By the time a homeless child is eight years old, one in three has a major mental disorder.
Homeless children have twice the rate of learning disabilities and three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems. This makes them twice as likely to repeat a grade compared to non-homeless children.
Homeless children are sick at twice the rate of other children and have five times the rate of diarrhea and stomach problems – not surprising given that homeless children are twice as likely to go hungry and half experience anxiety, depression, or withdrawal. Consequently, many homeless children have great difficulty learning in school.
Without appropriate interventions, a homeless child beset with overwhelming challenges easily becomes an addicted, mentally ill, and seemingly unemployable homeless adult.
The rising tide of children facing homelessness today will become a tsunami tomorrow unless we get to the source of the problem.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s one-size-fits-all, faulty-evidence-based policy called “Housing First” is at the eye of this hurricane.
Under Housing First, rolled out under the previous administration with the promise to “end homelessness,” aims to provide the homeless with housing for life, without any accountability, incentives, or requirement to change behavior.
Given that the data that shows that 50+ percent of homeless parents are struggling with addiction, and a similar proportion with mental illness, this policy risks exposing their children to additional trauma, and to poor role modeling.
HUD policy discriminates against families by limiting what constitutes a homeless family. Many family–focused non-profits have been forced to close, while others have had to radically change service models to fit HUD’s no-sobriety, no-accountability requirements.
Despite a $1 billion increase in HUD homelessness spending since the 2010-11 school year, homelessness among children is increasing and shows no signs of abating. HUD’s Housing First policy has ignored what is in the best interest of children and isn’t helping adults either, with homelessness at crisis levels.
HUD argues that this crisis is due to a lack of affordable housing and over-regulation, taking the focus off the failures of its decade-long, ‘ending homelessness’ policy.
In his 2020 budget, President Trump focused on reforming ineffective policymaking at federal agencies, proposing to hire evaluation officers to bolster evidence-based policymaking.
President Trump now needs to force HUD to change direction completely and return Housing First to its original purpose as a targeted solution for the severely-addicted and mentally ill homeless.
In addition, he should request that the White House Council of Economic Advisors evaluate HUD’s research claiming that Housing First is evidence-based for all populations, including families, children, and youth.
He should force HUD to adopt the Department of Education’s definition of homelessness, accounting for children staying in motels and sleeping on people’s floors or couches, so that the growing number of homeless women and children are not hidden from public policy or funding.
He should designate the Administration for Children and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services as the agency responsible for homeless families. ACF is much more in tune with the needs of homeless families and children.
And Mr. Trump should create partnerships with churches, the private sector and philanthropy to support the many programs across the country that have demonstrated results in creating self-sufficient individuals and families.
Continuing to support failed homeless policy will guarantee that the homeless crisis metastasizes into a national catastrophe.
Mr. President, please stop the hemorrhaging now.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Lance Izumi is senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute.
Michele Steeb is the former CEO of Saint John’s Program for Real Change, a Sacramento, California-based residential program that supports women and children struggling with homelessness, mental illness and addiction to become self-sustaining. Due to their sobriety accountability and work requirements, Saint John’s has lost millions of dollars in public funding. The Program has successfully served over 30,000 women and children since its inception in 1985.
Squatters in tents are not the President’s problem
So called homless people are the probleo of the states and localities that produced them
It is not the responsibility of federal government to cure the ills of incompetent state and local leadership.
“...but even greater attention needs to be directed toward helping homeless children because the consequences of their homelessness are profound.
By the time a homeless child is eight years old, one in three has a major mental disorder.”
And we can’t take them away from their loser parents from the git-go and put them in foster care, religious charity homes/schools or private adoptions because...?
Democrats!
Are local and state politicians responsible for anything any more?
The homeless problem in the Bay Area has been there since the 80’s.
CA could have fixed it and didn’t.
Its their problem!
Allow orphanages and for God's sake quit paying people to breed.
Sounds harsh but Nature's a bitch.
Maybe the parents should think about getting a job and quit doing drugs and alcohol. Or am I just being cruel.
Considering that so many of the homeless in San Francisco have jobs, your advice of the first part is useless. I agree about drugs/alcohol. In looking at the homeless reports in both large and small cities, the problem is that there are too many people and too few housing choices. "Affordable housing" in the larger cities is in the same class as Obama's "affordable health care" -- an oxymoron.
For many of the cities with homeless problems, the issue is that those cities are attractive nuisances. You need to eliminate the attraction to get the homeless to move on, and perhaps live where they can afford housing on the wages they earn.
Want to talk about health care costs? Listen to hospital administrators who complain about the number of "freebie" patients -- and how they have to boost the fees charged to the rest of us to cover the cost of free-loader care.
Welfare programs et al just further encourage inappropriate choices. (I remember hearing the stories of groups of unemployed and seldom-employed actors in LA pooling their benefits money and living in nice places, renting nice cars.)
As for the children, that's another problem. How come the Democrats never talk about requiring a license to bring a child into the world, complete with credit and background check?
2. MASS DEPORT illegal aliens.
3. Rinse and repeat in other Demonrat rebellion states.
Greatest part of US homelessness solved.
how can any politician fix that?
Yes it’s true. Homelessness is a real problem. However we are spending money on refugee assistance to bring new democrats in from all over the world. Meanwhile the homeless of America are already here so they don’t need refugee assistance. Plus American homeless might vote in their own self interest which means Trump so they must remain homeless.
Same can be said for a significant percentage of the federal government.
It’s a real tragedy. I knew some people who adopted the child of two schizophrenic homeless people. By 14 the child was no question seriously Schizophrenic. Which if you know something about Schizophrenia, teenage Schizophrenia is a pretty terrible sign in regard to prognosis.
By changing mental health laws, and building/reopening mental health facilities.
State and local pols should lead this effort.
I will hold my breath.
But is “homelessness” really the problem? Once again, seems to me, we are letting the Rats win by giving them the Dictionary from the get go. Just the words suggests that all they lack is a home. As if just giving them a home is going to get them out of sight. Most of these people have mental illness and/or drug addiction. I would bet a number have come to the point where they don’t see any reason to play in a game that is rigged against them which would be a “new” kind of homelessness which may be starting to be a real thing as evidenced by the previously referred to “tiny home” fad. IOW just one more example of how close to completely failing America has become.
The states don’t want this because its expensive!
They were very happy to off load the mentally into “main streaming” programs. Cheaper and now they are someone else’s problem and expense!
Seattle cops stated that 100 percent of their homelesss, are drug addicts.
youtube video itled “Seattle is dying”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw&t=347s
There is no solution for unfit or stupid parents
I live in a very rich white area in Marin County and even with all the money in the world many parents made serious mistakes that cause harm to their children psychology
Children need to be tight to be truthful honest independent and that learning is very important
God help those poor kids whose parents are drug attic‘s or abuse them
The only solution for those in dire straits is Jesus Christ
Of course this is also true for those that sit in ivory towers
SEND ALL OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HOME.
Call this a crazy idea if you want, but if you have a job and still can't afford to pay for housing you might want to consider looking for a job in a place where you can afford to live. It's a pretty basic point just about everywhere and one of the main reasons people who live in 3 bedroom split levels in the suburbs don't try buying homes in Beverly Hills or the Hamptons.
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