The State of Homelessness in the U.S.

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-07-29 10:44:00 UTC
Topics:

Notes from opening remarks by Nan Roman, President and CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness on the state of homelessness in the U.S.:

1:15pm - What a difference a year makes! Since last year's conference we have a new President, a recession, $1.5 billion in Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing (HPRP) funds, the re-authorization of McKinney-Vento, and 48 states face massive budget shortfalls.

1200 people from 48 states and 6 countries.

1:17 - Everyone here knows something about serving the homeless has something to teach everyone else.

1:18 - The recession technically began in 2007, which is when we began noticing increases in homeless families. At the same time, efforts to combat chronic homelessness began to work. This, of course, was before we got walloped.

1:21 - The 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) show that the downward trend has reversed, and homeless numbers stayed level. In addition, the majority of communities who have reported their Point in Time count data are seeing increases. What does this mean? That homelessness is likely to get worse.

1:24 - There will no doubt be a lot of chatter about HPRP funds over the next few days. Nan acknowledges the transformative role these funds present in changing the way we combat homelessness. It's a chance to move to a prevention/rapid rehousing model without overhauling our shelter system.

1:28 - Recap: We have big problems, but we have some resources to solve them. That said, the problems will likely be bigger than the resources.

1:29 - A retrospective on the past 10 years: things have changed significantly. Ten years ago, the hardest to serve people were pushed to the back of the line. Today, they are targeted and prioritized thanks to the success of the Housing First model. Other changes include increases in families and newfound support and focus on this issue from elected officials.

1:31 - First priority for Obama administration: End homelessness among families by broadening Section 8 and through housing assistance.

1:35 - Second priority: End veteran homelessness. 'Nuff said.

1:36 - Third priority: End homelessness among street youth. Through family unification, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing for emancipated youth, and aggression preventative care.

1:38 - Fourth priority: Definitively end chronic homelessness.

1:40 - No accident that these goals sound a lot like 10-Year Plans that are in place around the U.S.

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
PREVIOUS STORY:
The Trauma of Homelessness
NEXT STORY:
Sallie Mae Blinks!

COMMENTS (2)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.