INDIVIDUAL MEMO: IDENTIFYING BEST PRACTICES FOR HOMELESS SERVICES IN A BUSINESS DISTRICT
Executive Summary
The City Heights Business Association is interested in understanding the best practices for homeless services to deal with the relatively large population of homeless individuals in the business improvement district (City Heights Business Association, 2016). The organization has services available in the form of funding and partners, but the organization is very concerned about what the most important method for dealing with the problem of homelessness in the United States— and particularly in their district and surrounding districts— might be. This discussion is an overview of the various options that the City Heights Business Association might have in terms of providing services to their district, as well as a set of recommendations for best practices to deal with homelessness in the urban sphere.
ISSUE: Determining Best Practices for the City Heights Business District
The problem that the City Heights Business District must address is an overall assessment of the best “menu” of goods and services to be supplied to the homeless population in their area. Essentially, understanding the needs of the homeless population in the region is the overarching goal of the organization. The analysis will be conducted on the needs of this vulnerable population nationwide, in the hopes of determining the best selection of services for the City Heights Business District to provide to the individuals who are experiencing homelessness and related problems.
Homelessness is a national problem in the United States, and recognizing it as such is one of the most important social issues of the time is the only way to really work towards solving the problem of homelessness in the United States. Really, the problem of homelessness is incredibly complex: there are a number of different factors that affect whether or not an individual becomes homeless and remains so (Gaetz, Scott, & Gulliver, 2013). Although people are always homeless for different reasons, and there are a variety of different, unique needs presented by many individuals who become homeless, there are also similarities between homeless populations, including homeless populations in a particular business district.
ANALYSIS
Scope of the Problem
The common condition for all homeless individuals is, of course, that these individuals do not have a place to live (Bassuk et al., 2014). Although this might seem like an oversimplification of the issue, it is incredibly important to note the diversity of individuals in the situation of being homeless; for instance, veterans have a very high rate of homelessness as a population, but so too do young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (homeless.samhsa.gov, 2016; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016). Both the middle aged and the youth are susceptible to homelessness, and individuals with mental health issues are more likely than well-functioning individuals to become homeless (Gaetz, Scott, & Gulliver, 2013; Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2013).
When individuals are experiencing problems with homelessness, they are in crisis. The homeless community is comprised of many individuals that might be described as “high risk” individuals; they are at risk for abuse, drug use, sexual violence, and even death as a result of their presence in the homeless community (Greenberg et al., 2013). The important thing for the success or failure of any program designed to address the problem of homelessness is the generalizability of the program as well as the flexibility of the program. A program must be able to be flexible enough to be tailored to the needs of a specific population, but it should also be generalizable to be universal enough to deal with the wide variety of needs in the homeless population as a whole (nhceh.org, 2016).
The Problems of Planning
The housing program designed for a homeless population must first focus on providing semi-permanent homes for a homeless individual to live in (Bassuk et al., 2014). The critical situation in the case of homelessness is the living situation; however, in most cases, merely providing a bed and shelter is not enough. An individual case must be examined by an expert and tertiary services must be provided— especially services like mental health and wellness services and substance abuse recovery programming (Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2013). Merely placing individuals into housing is not enough— there must be a pipeline that moves individuals from the streets into the mainstream parts of society, so that these individuals can begin to avoid the problems so commonly associated with homelessness, mental illness, discrimination, and substance abuse (nhceh.org, 2016; Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2013; Gaetz, Scott, & Gulliver, 2013; Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2013).
The needs of the community might vary, but the needs of different communities will not vary enough to fundamentally change the nature of any program for homelessness in the United States. All homeless communities are linked by a single need: the need for affordable housing and even free housing for individuals who are having difficulty maintaining employment and a steady place to stay and sleep (nhceh.org, 2016; Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2013; Gaetz, Scott, & Gulliver, 2013; Haskett, Perlman, & Cowan, 2013). Youth homelessness presents its own specific set of problems, as young people who are living on the streets are particularly at risk for violence, especially sexual violence.
CONTEXT
The recommendations for the City Heights Business Association are relatively broad in scope, but they provide an excellent overview for the needs of the community and the ways in which the community can alleviate the problems associated with homelessness. The first important step in dealing with homelessness is to establish psychiatric and psychological services for the community. These services should be flexible and available to individuals of the community— they should also include services focused on conquering substance abuse. Second, supportive housing must be built for the homeless community. Shelters are an excellent start for the Business Association, but in San Diego, where affordable housing is very rare, shelters are only the first part of the problem. Shelters must be built in conjunction with other permanent housing solutions, which will be rent-controlled and structured to ensure that all the individuals who are able to maintain employment are then able to find a stable, safe living situation.
Ongoing support seems to be the cornerstone of the process when it comes to alleviating the problem with homelessness. Homelessness is not an insurmountable problem by any means, although dealing with the problem does take significant time and capital investment. However, there are rewards to both the homeless population and to the community as a whole when investment is made. While it might be difficult to completely eradicate the homeless population and instead provide everyone with stable employment and housing, this can and should be the long term goal of the organization.
REFERENCES
Bassuk, E. L., DeCandia, C. J., Tsertsvadze, A., & Richard, M. K. (2014). The effectiveness of housing interventions and housing and service interventions on ending family homelessness: a systematic review. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 457.
Gaetz, S., Scott, F., & Gulliver, T. (2013). Housing First in Canada: Supporting communities to end homelessness.
Greenberg, B., Korb, S., Cronon, K., & Anderson, R. (2013). Supportive housing best practices in a mid-sized US urban community. Housing, Care and Support, 16(1), 6-15.
Haskett, M. E., Perlman, S., & Cowan, B. A. (Eds.). (2013). Supporting families experiencing homelessness: Current practices and future directions. Springer Science & Business Media.
Homeless.samhsa.gov,. (2016). Homelessness Resource Center - Best Practices for Providers . Retrieved 5 February 2016, from http://homeless.samhsa.gov/channel/best-practices-for-providers-17.aspx
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2016). Library: Articles on Best Practices. Retrieved 5 February 2016, from http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/type/best-practice
Nhceh.org,. (2016). NH Coalition to End Homelessness - Evidence-Based Practices | NH Coalition to End Homelessness. Retrieved 5 February 2016, from http://www.nhceh.org/research-advocacy/evidence-based-practices
