Over the past month, associates of the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies have examined many aspects of homelessness from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives. In my article that kicked off our endeavor, I identified a range of institutional conditions that result in homelessness, including housing costs, poverty, the decline of marriage, the weakening of family bonds, and dysfunctions of our healthcare, education, and criminal justice systems. Dr. Melissa Trussell discussed how certain populations are at heightened risk of homelessness, such as teens in foster care. Dr. Heather Farley outlined how our changing climate impacts homelessness. Dr. Don Mathews highlighted how Capitalism has improved living standards over time, which paints an optimistic future for reducing homelessness.
This final article in our series identifies some policy recommendations to address homelessness. Are eviction moratoriums or “tiny home” initiatives practical solutions to keep folks from sleeping on the street?
Most policymakers, religious organizations, and philanthropists adopt individualistic approaches to address homelessness. I argue that these strategies treat the symptom of homelessness, but fail to mitigate the root causes of homelessness. There is no one silver bullet solution to social problems with manifold institutional causes. The range of solutions to homelessness must include both public and private solutions.
Numerous public solutions are necessary to end homelessness. Local governments could require that new housing developments include affordable housing options to ensure housing for low-income populations. In addition, it is necessary to fund supportive housing programs. Supportive housing provides low-cost housing and on-site job training, alcohol and substance abuse disorder treatment, and other support services. Supportive housing programs provide stability and key support services that empower residents to secure and maintain employment.
Ensuring access to mental health services is key to ending homelessness. Additionally, drug interdiction efforts should be paired with increased access to addiction treatment, counseling, and other mental health services. Expanded access to healthcare, especially mental health services, can address many underlying causes of homelessness. An expansion of Medicaid and greater benefits for those with permanent disabilities promises to provide income that reduces rates of homelessness.
Reforms that go beyond accessing housing and healthcare can also reduce rates of homelessness. Public schools should teach about mental health, revise their drug education curriculum, and teach personal finance. Antivagrancy laws should be reformed. Many existing laws that address homelessness do little more than criminalize the homeless for sleeping in public, panhandling, public urination, or other statute violations.
In addition, private solutions can also reduce rates of homelessness. Religious organizations and non-profits have long sought to alleviate the hardships faced by vulnerable populations. These efforts must continue or be expanded. Marriage and strong family bonds provide a robust safety net against homelessness. Marriage and cohabitating partners can provide financial and social support that prevents homelessness. Similarly, parents, grandparents, adult children, extended family, and friends can offer support that protects one from ending up on the street.
Structural reforms are necessary to eliminate the institutional conditions that cause homelessness. Individual solutions cannot solve social problems. Individual solutions only treat symptoms of social problems.
Providing emergency shelter, especially for the chronically homeless, can make a huge difference in the outcome of an individual. Eviction moratoriums keep roofs over people’s heads, albeit temporarily. Meanwhile, building tiny homes puts roofs over a few people’s heads. These programs reduce rates of homelessness, but these approaches do not address the root causes of homelessness, only the symptoms. Metaphorically, this is like doctors treating the symptoms of a disease. Therapies can provide relief for those who are sick, but vaccination and preventative care can often avert the onset of disease. Treating the symptoms of homelessness is a start. Institutional reforms to mitigate the causes of homelessness should be the goal.
Roscoe Scarborough, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of sociology at College of Coastal Georgia and an associate scholar at the Reg Murphy Center. He can be reached by email at rscarborough@ccga.edu.
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