By Angelo Anderson
I
believe that we are seeing an increase in the number of men staying in the
shelter system due to a number of reasons.
Lack of affordable housing may be the greatest contributor: the
unavailability of single-room occupancy accommodations, due to the lack of flop
housing, boarding houses and similar cost effective temporary housing.
When we had these options men who worked in entry-level positions, held
seasonal jobs or made minimum wage still had places that they could afford to
rent on a daily, weekly or monthly-basis.
Re-gentrification
of the downtown areas in most major cities played a major role in the loss of
most of these rooms. New rules
regarding who is eligible for release into three-quarter and half-way housing
also resulted in a loss of rooms. Legal
issues and restrictions regarding sexual offender housing will continue to be a
barrier that will keep some men in a shelter setting much longer then normal.
The
rising cost of housing and the inability to obtain government subsidized housing
will make moving into independent housing almost impossible for a large number
of these men.
While
a huge percentage of homeless men work every day, many factors play a part in
them remaining homeless. The
corporate and manufacturing transition to temporary staffing, means that most of
the men working through a temp agency won’t be given an opportunity to earn
seniority in a position giving them benefits and a chance to advance and
increase their potential earnings.
Higher
skill and elevated educational level requirements for entry-level jobs have
helped to decrease job availability. Many
who had been able to find employment on cleaning crews, as laborers at
construction sites and stockers at stores no longer have that option.
The
closing of a large number of mental health facilities has dramatically increased
the number of men who now call homeless shelters home.
While outpatient clinics may address the medication of these individuals,
they put an added burden on a system already overwhelmed with the need to change
how it tackles the problem of chronic homelessness.
Rehabilitation programs that use a shelter as an address for men leaving
prison help add to the burden of how we place our residents in the community at
large.
Career
aspirations and homelessness are at times like two reverse poles of magnetic
energy--a lot of moving around with no coming together.
The longer a person remains in homelessness the easier that lifestyle
becomes acceptable. Drug and
alcohol dependency often play a part in this.
Any mental health issues that a person may have may also become more
active with new ones manifesting themselves.
Education,
or the lack of education and or training, has always been a barrier for many
homeless men. Many have not
obtained a high school diploma or GED. Those
who take the steps necessary to overcome this barrier and take up some
additional training often go on to work their way out of homelessness.
The logistics of getting to a school or training facility can be
insurmountable for them. Add to that the struggle of going to work each day and many
just give up. The legislative body
of government needs to look at changing laws that deal with child support,
delinquent taxes, and sex offender classifications.
Homeless
shelters are generally set-up to provide emergency shelter.
Career aspirations of their residents are not a part of most current
intake processes. Many are strictly
directed to shelter occupancy related issues.
Our shelter system, like many others across the country, is ill equipped
to address career development issues. GED courses as well as job readiness and
life-skill classes often place an added burden on resources already stretched
thin. While we are making strides
to combat these gaps in services, more needs to be done.
Massive layoffs,
decreasing job availability, changes in welfare programs, decreases in funding
for social and educational programs, increases in housing rates/rents and
unprecedented foreclosures in the housing market, are just some of the ways the
economy plays a part in homelessness. As the country battles to turn around and
weather this recession we may only be seeing the beginning of another spike in
homelessness. We all have our work cut out for us, especially the government.
Copyright
Homeless Grapevine Issue #87 in July 2009 in Cleveland Ohio.