Selecting a Federal Policy
Homelessness in many parts of America has hit crisis proportions. Recent figures indicate that over 500,000 people have no place to call home including 120,000 children ( Clark, 2016). A number of p rogrammes that sought to address the issue of homelessness among families stalled after the Federal government reneged in funding them. The problem has since worsened over the years prompting the Federal government to device a different approach that seeks to tackle the issue of homelessness including coming up with an explicit goal to end homeless. Initially, the Federal Government tried to resolve the problem, but that approach has since changed to that of ending the problem. The increased cooperation at the local, state and federal level also demonstrates the commitment to put an end to the question of homelessness.
The issue of poverty that contributes immensely to the problem of homelessness has sent policymakers to the drawing board. Indeed, it is believed that eradicating poverty will have a double effect of eliminating the homelessness problem. In essence, individuals end up in a state of homelessness due to their inability to pay house rent or buy houses due to poverty. The lack of affordable housing has also become a big concern. Currently, there is a shortage of 7.4 million affordable as well as available rental houses to cater for 11.4 million households ( Clark, 2016). The most affected individuals include people with disabilities, seniors, and families with children. Ideally, a shortage exists in every major metropolitan and state in the country.
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Poor households have to make tough decisions such as paying rent or acquiring other necessities such as healthcare and food. Ending Homelessness Act of 2017 intends to invest $13.27 billion in a period of five years in a bid to address the scarcity of affordable housing and stem homelessness. The bill also seeks to provide $ 1 billion to the National Housing Trust Fund every year to establish the first affordable housing initiative in a whole generation that targets individuals most in need. Besides, the Bill aims at providing $50 million annually for rental assistance that will be used jointly with HTF housing ( Desmond, 2017). Importantly, the bill seeks to establish 410,000 units of affordable houses for the poorest households.
Specifically, providing $ 5 billion in five years to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants will assist in building additional 85,000 new supportive housing units that will adequately address the crisis of homelessness in America ( Desmond, 2017). The revised funding method will also ensure that funds are distributed more accurately to all communities in need. Another way the bill will stem the problem of homelessness is by ascertaining that the fund gives priority to permanent supportive housing. The funds can also stretch to sustain all qualified activities that fall under McKinney-Vento such as rapid housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters. Overall, funding of initiatives under the McKinney-Vento will guarantee homeless families decent lives even as the Federal government makes plans to provide them with permanent residence. Street families experience a myriad of challenges including inaccessibility to health care services and starvation ( Erickson & Wilhelm, 2017). To this end, the programs seek to ensure that the street families enjoy the same privileges as other families.
The number of homeless veterans in the US rose to 40,056, which was nine percent more than that of the average adults. However, nearly all the homeless veterans belong to the masculine gender with women making only three percent of the population. Nonetheless, most homeless veterans come from poor backgrounds ( Desmond, 2017). To this end, the bill seeks to provide the veterans with permanent homes and proceed to offer counseling services as most of them suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which goes unchecked over the years.
Moreover, the bill aims at providing more than the affordable housing in that it will go further to avail finances to both outreach and case management to ensure the homeless have a connection to the services they need. The Bill will also enable permanent authorization to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act as well as the U.S Interagency Council on Homelessness ( Desmond, 2017). The two acts play a crucial role in ensuring homeless individuals have access to emergency shelter, transitional housing, primary healthcare, and education.
Ideally, the policy aims at ensuring the homeless populations in the streets have a place they can call home in addition to solving the issue of poverty that leads many households to the streets. The bill intends to empower people by equipping them with skills they can use in earning income to sustain their needs. The funds set aside for aiding the poor households and in settling their rents in part aims at ensuring that no one goes to the streets due to the problem of homelessness ( Tsai, 2017). Particularly, street f amilies encounter numerous challenges such as exposure to violence, diseases among other hazards. In this regard, providing homes for street families will help in minimizing incidences of insecurity that have become rampant in the last few years. Indeed, most gangs trace their origin from street families.
Historical Issues and Context to Homelessness
The problem of homelessness has existed in the U.S for a very long time but has never been addressed comprehensively. Several bills presented in Congress have discussed the issue in part but largely ignored handling the root cause. Over the years, families have continued to find temporary shelters in the cold streets in makeshift camps ( Wright, 2017). The Federal government has tried to give financial aid to various housing agencies for the establishment of affordable house units, but the efforts have proved futile as the homeless population keeps surging by the day. The bill also funds the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to ensure that it assists states in coordinating policies in the Medicaid programs, housing providers, and finance support services targeting the homeless persons. The bill also supports some housing programs such as Interagency Council on Homelessness, which will go a long way in guaranteeing that the homeless individuals receive continuous support from the Federal Government even as they strive to acquire permanent residences for themselves.
Voting Outcomes for the Policy
The bill was an amendment to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act that sought to make extra FY2018-FY2019 allocations available for rental assistance, homeless coordination and outreach services, and address the unmet needs of homeless households. Notably, Ending Homelessness Act of 2017 was introduced in the Congress by Congresswoman Maxine Water and was co-sponsored by 22 other members ( Wright, 2017). Congressmen Steve Stivers and Ed Royce alongside Congresswomen Joyce Beatty and Maxine Waters stood as the most influential members to the bill from the onset. The aforementioned legislative leaders still support the law to ensure that it lives to the expectations of the founders. Therefore, it suffices to conclude that the bill has the potential of stemming the perennial problem of homelessness because it addresses the issue of poverty and low incomes among the affected households. In addition, initiatives that aim at equipping low-income families with skills will provide a long-term solution to the crisis. Overall, the funds set aside to support programs in the bill will help many homeless people to own permanent house units.
References
Clark, A. (2016). Homelessness in America.
Desmond, M. (2017). How homeownership became the engine of American inequality. The New York Times , 9 .
Erickson, J., & Wilhelm, C. (2017). Housing the homeless . Routledge.
Tsai, J., Lee, C. Y. S., Byrne, T., Pietrzak, R. H., & Southwick, S. M. (2017). Changes in public attitudes and perceptions about homelessness between 1990 and 2016. American journal of community psychology , 60 (3-4), 599-606.
Wright, J. (2017). Address unknown: The homeless in America . Routledge.
