Homelessness continues to be an issue of concern in the United States with hundreds of thousands of individuals being homeless and tens of thousands of them unsheltered. The situation seems to deteriorate with the ongoing pandemic leaving many unemployed with no means to afford housing and other essential needs. Numerous programs and policies have been developed to appropriately address the social issue. For instance, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) is one of the leading initiatives that has been doing exceptionally well in helping the homeless. However, the have been increasing concerns contemplating whether increasing funding for the homeless program to help the participants and also to address the causes of the problem will reduce chronic homelessness. This paper intends to respond to the policy concern. All things considered, increasing funding and adjusting the program’s policy to help feed the participants of the program as well as address the causes of the problem, will reduce chronic homelessness.
EFSP and its Policies
EFSP is a federal program overseen by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (FEMA Fact Sheet, 2020). Other chairs in the food and shelter program include the Red Cross, United Way Worldwide, National Council of the Churches of Christ, and the Catholic Charities. The program targets participants with shelter and food emergencies that are not caused by a disaster; the homeless are the biggest beneficiaries of the intervention. Social workers active in the program provide the participants with food, shelter, and other essential needs. The program is well structured and operates within its policies. The system guidelines dictate the goals of the program, the eligibility of participants, as well as the type of services offered. The following are some of the program’s policies. The program allows one-month rent or mortgage assistance to participants at the risk of eviction from their rental homes (FEMA Fact Sheet, 2020). The program also provides food in the form of groceries and served meals. Another policy allows access to lodging services to beneficiaries in off-shelter facilities for less than a month. Although the program has sheltered many homeless individuals and families, there is increasing concern about the prevalence of the problem especially with the economic hardships caused by the pandemic.
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Policy Question
The policies and approach of the EFSP and many other shelter programs have been designed to temporarily support the participants when they find themselves unable to cater to their essential needs. The policies fail to address the causes of homelessness. At the moment, the major causes of homelessness in the United States are drug abuse, mental disorders, and the economic downturn arising from the ongoing healthcare pandemic. The failure of the program’s policies to address the causes of the problem has led some social workers to raise the question, “Does adjusting the policies and increasing the funding for shelter programs to feed the homeless and address the causes of the problem help reduce chronic homelessness?” The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in collaboration with the National Association of Social Workers, as well as other government and private stakeholders are advocating for increased funding to appropriately address the problem from its root (FEMA Fact Sheet, 2020). Stakeholders in the advocacy for increased funding and adjusting the policies of the intervention include The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Feeding America, donors, religious institutions, the National Association of Social Workers, and the beneficiaries of the program. It is crucial to understand the causes of the problem in order to adjust the policies appropriately.
Leading Causes of Homelessness
Mental illness is one of the leading causes of homelessness in the United States. Mental disorders affect the patients’ cognitive capabilities, and mood. These disorders have far-reaching consequences because they make some aspects of the patients’ life such as work or personal relationships dysfunctional. Just like other somatic disorders, particular risk factors in society contribute to the prevalence of the condition. The more prevalent the risk factors in a particular society, the more likely the higher rate of a mental illness in the specific society. Therefore, the existence of any given mental disorder says more about society than it does about individuals diagnosed with it. It is becoming more evident that some social risk factors such as stressful situations, ongoing medical problems, violence, traumatic experience, drug abuse, isolation, and abuse history significantly contribute to mental disorders (Brinkmann, 2017). Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that may tell more about society than the patients. The use of alcohol and abuse of other substances is a risk factor for schizophrenia. The high rate of homelessness in certain societies in America such as San Francisco is associated with schizophrenia and other mental disorders. In order to solve the chronic homelessness problems prevalent in such areas, it is important to consider addressing the risk factors such as schizophrenia and other mental health problems in the area. Inferring from the above examples, homelessness says more about society than it does about the patients.
Alcohol and substance abuse is another social problem closely related to mental disorders that often lead to homelessness. The use of psychotropic drugs in the youth has been known to increase the risks of homelessness (Brown & Patterson, 2012). Results of substance abuse such as unemployment, depression, aggressive behavior, and financial problems increase the prevalence of destituteness. In other cases, substance abuse leads to suicide, violent attacks, social isolation, or homelessness.
The increased economic burden from the ongoing health pandemic has also contributed to the rise in cases of homelessness and deteriorating living standards. As a result of the pandemic, millions of urban residents have become unemployed with many left with no means to afford proper housing. The financial decline has led to the eviction and the neglect of some of the neighborhoods currently occupied by the affected families. The economic hardships and unemployment caused by the pandemic may also lead to people moving into low-income neighborhoods. According to Francke and Korevaar (2020), house rent prices tend to go down during pandemics. However, the situation does not stay that way for long because rent prices tend to shoot back up once the pandemic is over or after six months into the pandemic. This poses another problem for populations whose economic stability was affected by the pandemic leading to a lack of food and shelter for many citizens.
Adjusting Social Welfare Policies
An understanding of the causes of chronic homelessness in the United States helps social workers and all stakeholders to appropriately adjust the policies and collaborate in addressing the problem of lack of shelter among citizens. Therefore, in addition to feeding the beneficiaries of EFSP, the extra funds collected can be used to address problems such as unemployment, mental illness as well as alcohol and substance, which are the main causes of homelessness. Adjusting the social welfare policies to include support services to the participants and creating awareness about the social problems that cause homelessness in high-risk communities will reduce the prevalence of the problem.
In particular, the additional funds can be used to develop rehabilitation services for the homeless participants who are victims of alcohol and substance abuse. Rehabilitation and therapy sessions funded in support programs within EFSP will help the participants reduce hospitalization costs, reduce cases of relapse, encourage employment, and help them become independent. The change in approach and policy of the program will significantly reduce chronic homelessness. Another policy change in the approach of the shelter program would be introducing treatment and awareness programs of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia; this move will encourage patients with mental illnesses who are homeless to become more independent and also reduce future cases of homelessness resulting from such disorders. Another policy change that would reduce cases of homelessness is introducing development and training programs within EFSP that focus on reducing structural unemployment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, increasing funding and adjusting the program’s policy to help feed the participants of the program as well as address the causes of the problem, will reduce chronic homelessness. The additional funds will be used to finance the policy changes which seek to include support services to the participants and creating awareness about the social problems that cause homelessness in high-risk communities. In particular, the proposed changes include developing rehabilitation services for the homeless participants who are victims of alcohol and substance abuse, introducing treatment and awareness programs of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, and introducing development and training programs within EFSP that focus on reducing structural unemployment .
References
Brinkmann, S. (2017). Mad or Normal? Paradoxes of Contemporary Diagnostic Cultures, (26), 169-183.
Brown, A., & Patterson, P. (2012). The Origins of Schizophrenia. https://www.jstor.org/stable/ 10.7312/brow15124.
FEMA Fact Sheet. (2020). Emergency Food and Shelter Program [E-book]. https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/emergency-food-shelter-program.pdf
Francke, M., & Korevaar, M. (2020). Housing Markets in a Pandemic: Evidence from Historical Outbreaks. SSRN Electronic Journal , 2 (12), 28-32. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3566909
