HOMELESSNESS AND HUMAN SERVICES

Homelessness and Human services



"Homelessness and Human services"

Thesis Statement: Because the numbers of homeless people have increased dramatically in the United States, communities should begin to understand that part of the homelessness problems is caused by loss of employment so that they can appropriately intervene.

Introduction

It is common practice today for funding agencies, both governmental and nongovernmental, to require the “measurement” of “outcomes,” regular “progress reports,” and “best practices” from their fundees. These methods of evaluating how funds are spent are rationalized in terms of accountability and the “responsible” management of risk. In response to such requirements, many agencies serving people experiencing homelessness have initiated “homeless management information systems” (HMIS). These are computer-based programs that catalog information about services and outcomes in a very visible (e.g., in graphs and charts) and easily knowable way—and they have become a required component of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s “continuum of care plan” (O'Connell, 2003, pp. 165, 166; Lyon-Callo, 2000, p. 338; Cormier & Simmonds, 2006). Such a monitoring and reporting system creates what may be termed “a new grid of visibility” (Rose, 1996, p. 55) of poverty and homelessness wherein numbers, statistics, and audits - rather than the opinions of “clients” or social service experts themselves - become the best method for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a program. One report, for instance, states “It is our belief that many of the answers to the problems surrounding homelessness can be found in the data being collected” (Cormier&Simmonds, 2006, p. 9), suggesting that if better statistics were available, we would have better knowledge of the problem we wanted to solve.

Background

In 1996, information from NSHAPC indicated that about one-third of homeless services users were members of homeless families; 23 percent were the children in these families, and 11 percent were their parents. These families comprised 15 percent of all homeless households; 86 percent of which were headed by women. Among family households, 38 percent were white non-Hispanic, 43 percent were black non-Hispanic, 15 percent were Hispanic, and the remainder were from other races/ethnicities. Forty-one percent had never married, and only 23 percent were currently married. Educational attainment was very low, with 53 percent having less than a high school education. These families had a mean monthly income of $475, or less than half of the US federal poverty level for a family of three (Burt et al. 1999). Nonfamily homeless households were 61 percent men by themselves, 15 percent women by themselves, and 10 percent men or women with at least one other adult (Burt et al. 2001). Among nonfamily homeless service users, 41 percent were white non-Hispanic, 40 percent were black non-Hispanic, 10 percent were Hispanic, and 9 percent were from other races/ethnicities. Half of these homeless adults had never married, and only 7 percent were currently married. Equal proportions (36-37 percent) had completed high school and had less than a high school education. Mean monthly income was $348 or 51 percent of the federal poverty level ...