Homelessness
Homelessness
Homelessness (sleeping rough) is the condition of people and social category of people who don't have a regular house or dwelling because they cannot afford, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or they lack, "fixed, regular, and adequate night time residence".
The term homelessness can also include people whose primary night time residence is in a homeless shelter, in an institution that provides a temporary residence for those intended to be institutionalized, or in a public or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
Homelessness in 21st Centry UK and US
It has been reported that some formerly homeless people, when they finally were able to get their housing and life straightened out and return to a normal lifestyle, have donated money and volunteer service to the organizations which helped them when they were homeless. Alternatively, some social service entities that help the homeless now employ formerly homeless individuals to assist in the care process.
Homelessness has migrated toward rural and suburban areas. There are 1.6 million homeless people in shelters in 2009. The number of homeless people has not changed dramatically but the number of homeless families has increased according to a report of HUD.
The United States Congress appropriated $25 million in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants for 2008 to show the effectiveness of Rapid Re-housing programs in reducing family homelessness.
In February 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 part of which addressed homelessness prevention, allocating $1.5 billion for a Homeless Prevention Fund. The funding for it was called the "Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program" (HPRP), and was distributed using the formula for the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program.
On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act into Public Law (Public Law 111-22 or "PL 111-22"), reauthorizing HUD's Homeless Assistance programs. It was part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. The HEARTH act allows for the prevention of homelessness, rapid re-housing, consolidation of housing programs, and new homeless categories. In the eighteen months after the bill's signing, HUD must make regulations implementing this new McKinney program.
In late 2009, some homeless advocacy organizations, such as the National Coalition for the Homeless, reported and published perceived problems with the HEARTH Act of 2009 as a HUD McKinney-Vento Reauthorization bill, especially with regard to privacy, definitional ineligibility, community roles, and restrictions on eligibile activities.
Homeless Shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people. Usually located in urban neighborhoods, they are similar to emergency shelters.
The primary difference is that homeless shelters are usually open to anyone, without regard to the reason for need. Some shelters limit their clientele by gender or age.
In the United States, most homeless shelters expect clients to stay elsewhere during the day, returning only to sleep, or, if the shelter also provides meals, to eat; people in emergency shelters are more likely to stay all day, except for work, school, or errands.
There are daytime-only homeless shelters, where the homeless can go when they cannot stay inside at their nighttime sleeping shelter during the day. Such an early model of a daytime homeless shelter providing multi-faceted services is Saint Francis House in Boston, Massachusetts which was officially founded in 1984. It was based on the settlement house, clubhouse and community center support and social service models.
In Australia, due to government funding requirements, most homelessness services fill the role of both daytime and nighttime shelters. Shelters develop empowerment based "wrap around" services in which clients are case managed and supported in their efforts to become self reliant. An example of such a service provider in this area in Australia is Najidah.