How to solve the problem of the homelessness people?

Homelessness is a solvable problem. Yet there is an enormous gap between what we know works to end homelessness and what is actually done in most places.
 Community Solutions' purpose is to strengthen communities through the process of ending homelessness. We provide a platform, data, tools, best practices and encouragement to assist communities in closing the knowledge to practice.
We provide a platform, data, tools, best practices and encouragement to assist communities in closing the knowledge to practice.
We learned from our conversations with men and women living on the street that most were extensive users of government and not-for-profit services intended to help them. They repeatedly fell between the cracks, however, because the services themselves were not connected.

We heard again and again how someone had entered the hospital for treatment, or a program for alcohol detox and been discharged back to the street, only to go through the process again within months.
Though their health issues were directly related to their living conditions, the hospitals and treatment programs were not linked to housing, so they became sicker and sicker. We also discovered that many were trapped in homelessness because of the extensive and unrealistic requirements of institutions, such as needing a copy of their birth certificate or that they show proof of income or good credit in order to qualify for housing -- an unlikely prospect for someone living on the streets for months or years.

The solution to homelessness is simple:
 We all need a stable home, supportive relationships, access to good quality health and mental health care and a way of supporting ourselves and contributing to our communities. These pieces come together for most of us in ecuador  and other  countries, and when they don't, most of us can rely on a family member or friend to help us deal with the economic disruption of an illness, lost job, relationship breakdown or the paperwork requirements of the institutions and government agencies whose assistance we need.
Look around to see who is without those supports, however, and you understand who is most likely to become homeless. Thus, the solution to homelessness is for communities to help those without their own effective networks to knit together the pieces of a stable and purposeful life.

Questions
Ø What is the simple solution to help the homelessness?
Ø Why it is the simple and the best solution?

       

Bibliography
  http://cmtysolutions.org/update/homelessness-solvable-problem
  http://gawker.com/5980549/how-to-solve-homelessness-the-mundane-miracles-of-the-doe-fund
  http://www.businessinnovationfactory.com/summit/story/end-homelessness-solve-bigger-problem

Statistics of homeless people

The estimates of homelessness found in the State of Homelessness in America reports from 2007 to 2014 do not reflect the current estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is due to retroactive changes to improve data quality.

Homelessness

On a single night in January 2013, 610,042 people were experiencing homelessness. From 2012 to 2013, a period of continued slow recovery from the Great Recession, overall homelessness decreased by 3.7 percent and homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation—families (7 percent), chronically homeless individuals (7.3 percent), and veterans (7.3 percent). But nationwide trends do not tell the full story:

• 31 states saw a decrease in homelessness, while 20 states saw increases in overall homelessness.

• The national rate of homelessness fell to 19 homeless persons per 10 ,000 people in the general population, but the rate in individual states ranged from 106 in Washington, DC to 8 in Mississippi.

• The rate of veteran homelessness fell to 27 homeless veterans per 10,000 veterans in the general population, but the rate in individual states ranged from 28 in Wyoming to 156 in Washington, DC.

• 

• Nationally, the number of people in poverty increased slightly, by 0.6 percent with 24 states experiencing an increase.

• The poverty rate remained unchanged at 15.9 percent, but the rate in individual states ranged from 10 percent in New Hampshire to 24 percent in Mississippi.

• Unemployment decreased 9.6 percent nationally and in all but four states from 2011 to 2012 and the unemployment rate ranged state by state from 3 percent in North Dakota to 11 percent in Nevada.

• The number of poor rental households experiencing severe housing cost burden, meaning households in poverty paying more than 50 percent of their income toward housing, increased slightly nationally, by 0.7 percent. Yet, 25 states still saw decreases.

• The number of people in poor households living doubled up with family and friends remained relatively stable nationally, decreasing in 27 states and increasing in 24 states.
• 
  

Populations at Risk of Homelessness

Homelessness is often described as a “lagging indicator,” meaning it takes time for economic and housing trends to impact trends in homelessness. Examining the trends in populations that would seem to be at particular risk of homelessness may be valuable in anticipating future needs for housing and homelessness assistance. Nationally, unemployment decreased significantly, but trends in the size of other at-risk populations did not improve simultaneously. Additionally, there was great variation among the states:

Sources:

http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/the-state-of-homelessness-2014 

Questions 
Do you think that homeless people can increase in the next two years?
How is the situation in your country for Homeless people?

VIDEOS ABOUT HOMELESS PEOPLE 

Stereotypes of Homeless People

Some of these negative impressions are so ingrained into our society that even some people who are trying to help may believe some of them. Many of these incorrect representations make people who would otherwise want to help unwilling to help people they've come to believe do not deserve it. Here are just a few of those myths, misconceptions, stereotypes and assumptions.

Sterneotype: They Are All Criminals

Most homeless people are not criminals and many of those who are technically criminals have only committed what are called status crimes. Status crimes include getting arrested for loitering, sleeping in public, or trespassing. Those are called status crimes because they are things impossible to avoid doing if one does not have a home.

This stereotype is one of the most harmful because it creates an unreasonable fear of homeless people because those who spread it can't or don't distinguish between people who got a ticket for sleeping on a bench and violent criminals. It makes many who would probably help people afraid to do so. It prevents people from getting hired or from renting a place to live. This misconception also makes it difficult for charitable organizations to open or expand facilities that provide services for the needy due to objections from nearby residents who fear for their safety.

Stereotype: They Are All Drug Addicts and Winos

Many are neither drug addicts nor alcoholics. While close to half of adult homeless people in the United States currently struggle with addictions or have struggled with addictions in the past many of them do not have and have not had a drug or alcohol problem.

This is a harmful stereotype because it closes many doors for people without homes. Employers and landlords that believe this are unlikely to hire or rent to them. Even some homeless shelters are hampered by this misconception. Some of them require substance abuse counseling for all who use their services, even those without addictions, taking up valuable time that people could use to seek employment or to work odd jobs.

Stereotype: They Are All Too Lazy to Work

I can't count the number of times I've encountered this statement. It pops up almost every time I have a conversation about charity work and people start to go on about the topic of "the undeserving poor" or people they think don't deserve help. The major reason people claim poor people don't deserve to be helped is that they are too lazy to help themselves.

While almost half of all adult homeless people in America are unemployed it doesn't indicate laziness. Many of them lost their jobs through no fault of their own - through corporate downsizing or due to injury, illness, old age or disability.

Those well enough and young enough to work have many high barriers to gaining employment. They may be putting in dozens of applications a day but never get a bite due to the prejudice created by the strong and commonly held negative beliefs about homeless people.

Those with jobs are often underemployed or don't earn enough to afford rent or to qualify to rent. Another issue is that even if a person works full time, he or she may earn enough to afford an apartment but find themselves unable to rent one because of the income requirements many complexes have. Many rental properties require renters to make three times as much as the rent costs. Getting a co-signer can help but the co-signer usually has to have a good credit rating and an income, that if combined with the renter's, equals at least five times the price of the rent.

How is the life there?

``I stay near a homeless shelter, and I often play chess some of them. The biggest problem a lot of them have on a daily bases is not the people that they come in contact on the street it's the staff that treats them less than human, and that is a shame``. Gabriel burnett

QUESTIONS:
· Do you think that all the stereotypes of homeless are real?
· What can you do to help those people in order to make them get out of their condition?














Resources:
 http://kylyssa.hubpages.com/hub/homelessness-myths-misconceptions
 http://www.preblestreet.org/news/Myths-about-the-homeless/232/

What are the causes that explain the situation of the homeless ?

A homeless is a person, child or adult who has no permanent place to live and is forced to live on the street, but What are the causes that explain this situation?.

The situation with the homeless people has a beginning or common origin, for example: in their families, the economic problems, in their jobs, or other social problems like:

·         A rupture of family and personal ties. They have no usual or not maintained any contact with his direct and indirect family relationship. It may be due to the death of one or more members. A family fight, addiction, illness or physical or mental disorder.

·         A marital separation.

·         A Breakdown of labor relations. Homeless people are unemployed or do not have a steady job to provide them with a stable income. An estimated 10% of these people have even college.

·         Lack of funds.

·         A breakdown of social ties. The homeless may lose their friends or can have institutional difficulties such as legal problems or the police. It can be a gradual process or a sharp break because your friends will turn their backs to not accept his situation.

Origin	Causes
Job	Unemployment
	Lack of access
	Precariousness
Economy	Total or partial lack of economic resources (poverty)
	Without social protection
	Dependence on social protection
	Precariousness of social protection
	Household financial difficulties
Education	Deschooling
	Language barrier
	Abandonment of Secondary Education
	Low educational levels
	Illiteracy
	Lack of primary studies
Health	Limited access to health systems
	Diseases suffered by excluded groups
	Addiction
	Dependence, lack of autonomy and mobility
	Diseases that cause social exclusion
Social	Racism, discrimination
	Trouble with the law
	Practice of prostitution, drug addiction, gambling addiction, mental illness severe
	Domestic violence, abandonment, institutionalization

For more information:

http://www.bestebi.net/?page_id=120

http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/why_we_campaign/tackling_homelessness/What_causes_homelessness

Questions about the topic:

Ø  In your opinion, what is the most relevant cause that explain the situation with the homeless?

Ø  Do you know other cause? How to solve it?

Characteristics of the homeless people

Homelessness is the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence, and houselessnes is mencioned like the condition of being without a house or home, and inadequate experience of shelter, ranging from a complete lack of selter at one end of the continuum to severely inadequate housing conditions at the other hospital and community psychiatry,J,G and P.F.E included the concept of desaffiliation in theri definition.


They wrote that loss of family and communty bonds is central to homelessness
Homeless or destitute or homeless (or, in terms that are considered less discriminatory and more politically correct, homeless person or person on the street or people homeless or person without well established domicile or person without permanent residence) he is a person, child or adult of either sex who has no permanent place to live and is forced to live in the open, either in the streets, in doorways of houses or temporarily in shelters, because a chained, sudden and traumatic of his family, social and labor ties brk. This problem is more pronounced in large cities and suburbs, being less visible in the villages or in the countryside.

91.5% of respondents to the realizationof this study are men and 8.5% women: in absolute terms, 183 men and 17 women.
The average age is 36 years. By age groups, 30% are under 30 years, 31% between 30 and 39, 28% between 40 and 49 and 11% 50
or more.
29% is in a situation of homelessness for having come from another country and not have a house to live, 22% for nonpayment of previous home, 16% due to problems with his family and 10% by consuming drugs. Others appear less relevant reasons, such as divorce or leave an institution
, in most cases the jail and not have family support. Over time that lead in this situation, 32% take between one and six months, 26.5% between six months and two years, 15% between two and five years and 20% five or more years. As can be seen, and understanding the border five years as the time it certifies greater chronicity of the group, one fifth of the surveyed population is the one that could be considered chronic. The data also suggest that the current economic and employment crisis have influenced these figures, even when taking into account the views of some of the entities, which underpin an increase in demand for resources in recent months . In any case, at the time the survey was conducted it was still at the beginning of the current crisis, so it is difficult to know what has been its impact on the data reviewed. We will have to wait for more data to assess the overall impact of the crisis on the group of the homeless.
Distribution of the homeless by country of origin and age groups

State of health
Self-reported health is positive, since 52.5% of respondents answered that having a good or very good health.
Within this group, they appear overrepresented those under 30 years, of foreign origin, without active consumption and disease
important. 15.5%, however, claims to have a bad or very bad health. In this case people between 40 and 49, of Aboriginal origin, with current or past consumption and serious diseases prevail. From this point of view, therefore, two clearly defined and important differences in their characteristics groups appear. This distinction, as will be seen throughout this article, is key to a proper understanding of the phenomenon of no hogarismo, at least in our environment.
With respect to health, 51% did not suffer from any serious illness, compared with 48.5% yes.
The most serious diseases that suffer are the hepatitis B or C, which occurs in 40.2% of the homeless, and AIDS (30.9%). Some distance other ailments, such as asthma (5.2%) or cancer (4.2%) are placed. 11.3% report having a disability.
These percentages indicate that the most common pathologies are associated with risky drinking practices, especially the intravenous use
drug. As can be seen, is a significant mismatch between the perceived and actual health status as it is striking that
only 15.5% say they have a poor or very poor health, and simultaneously, a 48.5% claiming to have a serious illness.
Turning now to alcohol or other drugs, the most commonly used substance is alcohol, and that 18% consume it regularly and 39% occasionally.
Below this, other substances are placed, for example, joints, cocaine or heroin, which have been consumed in the past month, respectively, by 36%, 30.5% and 22.5 % of the homeless. With a more limited use, they appear other substances, such as pills, speed or ketamine.

Sources:
 http://www.ine.es/press/np761.pdf
 http://www.studentsagainsthunger.org/page/hhp/overview-homelessness-america
 http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/the-catastrophe-of-homelessness/facts-about-homelessness/

Annexes

Videos about runaways and thrownaways 

#1

#2

#3

 

#4

 

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