About Funding for Homelessness
Homelessness is a serious problem and is attributed to a combination of factors. Although some people may bring homelessness upon themselves, many are forced into it. Help for the approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, who experience homelessness every year, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, comes from a variety of funded programs stemming from government agencies, local and national funders, shelters or non-profit agencies, or just good Samaritans.
Other People Are Reading
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Theories/Speculation
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Homelessness often stems from diminishing job opportunities, a rise in poverty resulting from higher market prices, a growing shortage of affordable housing and mental illnesses. Many tax-paying citizens feel that a person brings homelessness upon themselves, but the truth is many people are forced into homelessness and need help for their conditions.
According to Funders Together, a national effort to end homelessness, the key to ending long-term homelessness is adequate and affordable housing, and to help people take charge of and get help for their financial or mental instability in order to become self-sufficient. These types of local and national groups join together to invest in research to end homelessness and ensure that the government uses the tax and grant dollars allotted in a smart and efficient way. There are yet other experts who believe homelessness will never be cured, and may only become worse in the future, so they lobby against homeless funding and claim it is a waste of money.
Types
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Many different types of homeless funding are available, but there are core types that are most important to be noted.
National groups are created to provide leadership and dollars needed to end homelessness and draw funds off of large businesses and organizations, grants and individual contributions.
Thousands of local groups and charities are funded through sponsors, donations, fundraisers and government.
The U.S. federal government provides the majority of dedicated homelessness programs, from funding nationwide shelters to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
Nonprofit agencies help provide resources and jobs.
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Facts
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Homelessness is impossible to measure with 100 percent accuracy. A lot of homelessness is temporary, but a solid number of how many people are homeless at one time can only be counted by the number in shelters, federal programs and food kitchens, not the remaining number wandering the streets.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately 40 percent of homeless males are veterans, with many experiencing mental disabilities. Approximately 7 to 9 percent of the homeless population are under the age of 18, and 50 percent are families with children. Domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children, and approximately 25,000 homeless women and children received help from domestic violence services each year.
The government spent approximately $2 billion on homeless funding in 2007.
Features
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Programs targeting homelessness all have different programs and features. The national groups such as Funders Together, which was created to provide leadership and dollars needed to end homelessness have goals such as leveraging $30 million in funding from other national and locally based foundations, financial institutions and businesses to build 150,00 units of permanent housing for the homeless in the United States. They draw funds from groups such as Rockefeller Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation and the Hilton Foundation. Many other national groups help feed and clothe the homeless.
Thousands of local groups and charities funded through sponsors and donations help feed and clothe the homeless as well as find homeless people on the streets and help them go live at shelters and eventually get back on their feet.
The U.S. federal government homelessness programs range from funding nationwide shelters to the HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) Emergency Shelter Grants and Continuum of Care Grants, which contribute millions, if not billions, of dollars to ending homelessness. Other government homelessness programs include the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and Social Security; and mainstream programs such as TANF and Medicaid. The hovernment also is in charge of food stamps and food banks.
Organizations such as Goodwill and Salvation Army are nonprofits that help provide resources and jobs.
Function
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Funding for homelessness is used in a variety of ways, but always has the main mantra in mind to put an end to homelessness and to get women, men and children off the streets and into sufficient health care, jobs, housing and to stabilize the nation's economy.
Funding can be used from different organizations to help educate the public about homelessness and provide income and advertising to gain volunteers to recruit homeless from the streets to put into shelters. Food stamps and food banks are a huge resource for the nation's poverty. The funding is also used for counseling for substance abuse, domestic violence abuse, mental illness and to provide health care to patients. It is used to provide shelters with beds, food, and other supplies. It is used for teaching and mentoring about how to find employment and housing, become a suitable individual for banking and interviewing, get over addiction, and how to finance one's life. Many shelters have programs where the homeless individual works in steps to put their life back on track, from sleeping in a cot at the shelter to earning their own apartment on the premises and gaining employment.
Effects
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Although the fight to end homelessness is slow, it is moving along steadily in the right direction. The effects of funding for homelessness have had a positive reaction, especially in local areas. According to the National Funders Movement, Portland, Ore., reduced its homeless population by 70 percent, and Denver by 36% in 2007. As long as grants, funds, government contributions and tax dollars are all used in the efficient, humane way they are meant for, homelessness funding should steadily keep rising in importance.
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Resources
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