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.
"Government is not the answer to all problems... Often it is the source"
-Ronald Reagan
Open the mental institutions the ACLU had closed in the 1970s, then bring back the Vagrancy laws.
Before Dems created the bogus and completely incorrect word “homeless,” we used the perfectly fine word “bums.” But “homeless” sounds as if they didn’t have a choice, are innocent victims of circumstance and need endless programs of free stuff administered by a whole new perpetual colossal industry.
Most of us were sick of it 40 years ago. Just like we were sick of illegals 40 years ago.
Needs a better name if it’s going to be a Scyfy movie. Bumnami? Hobocane? Trampnado?
Nope. Not a federal problem. The states made this mess, let them clean it up.
It's all liberalism.
I was thinking one step further. Revoke their statehood under each state must have a republic form of government and turn it into a territory.
There are.
My goodness, DCS takes children away from homes on a regular basis. I’m not sure about California.
Not at all. It wasn't substandard when housing boomed post-WWII. Probably because there wasn't envirowackos, bureaucrats, and SJWs demanding things then?
Are you also arguing for substandard automobiles, refrigerators, and stoves? Do you think the gas companies should stop monitoring for leaks?
That's classic knee-jerk liberalism.
When real estate is made a get rich quick scheme for every Tom, Dick and Harry, then you get profiteers who only look at a buck.
So better to see people sleep on the streets for real estate investors and landlords to earn evil profits, right?
And they are sometimes your neighbors. Do you think the fact that housing was supposed to take up maybe 30% of your income 50-60 years ago and now for a lot of people renting it is more like 75% it is all their fault for not having higher paying jobs? Get real.
The majority of those people made bad decisions. Maybe get a roommate and rent out a sleeping room or motel first if your homeless?
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.
The problem is that one has to be able to find a job in an affordable area. Many STEM jobs requires that their employees come to work each day in a housing-challenged area. Work-from-home is still not an option for many people.
I'd start with Washington DC, particularly with some people jonesing for "solutions" of climate change. If we start by eliminating all the air travel for our elected officials, and eliminating commuting for all the bureaucrats, then jobs could move to less-expensive areas.
Don't hold your breath. "Tis for thee, not me."
Totally agree
Put mentally insane and drug and drink addicted Street people in institutions again
That’s 99% of the problem
Where did I call you names? I said your statement I referenced was classic knee-jerk liberalism.
Also I didn't say get rid of building codes, etc. entirely. I said (along the lines) that cities and states run by Democrats are enacting rules such as green energy mandates that do nothing but add on to the cost of new buildings and retard growth. The permit for new buildings in CA is a nightmare, it runs into the thousands of dollars and then there's zoning laws, NIMBY activists who don't want high-rises spoiling their view.
We all support safe buildings, but who knows what's best how structurally sound buildings should be? Certainly not local bureaucrats who never picked up even a paint brush in their life.
The mandates, rules, and building regulations have gone too far. That's a huge reason why these states have high homeless problems.
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