Homelessness: Housing and Services Strategy
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique set of challenges, exacerbating national crises that existed long before the coronavirus. Nowhere is this more evident than in the pandemic’s influence on economic precarity, homelessness, and substance abuse disorders. Social services were limited throughout the pandemic and the economic consequences of the pandemic put more Americans at risk of entering homelessness. Meanwhile, according to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 87,000 Americans died of drug overdoses over the 12-month period that ended in September 2021, the highest number of deaths from any year since the opioid epidemic began in the 1990s.
As the country is emerging from the pandemic, housing costs have increased, and providers have experienced increased demands on their systems while continuing to manage COVID-19 outbreaks. Yet, states have received historic levels of federal emergency funding to meet urgent and unprecedented housing challenges. Some of these dollars were also made available with more flexible guidelines, allowing them to be used for purposes beyond emergency direct assistance. Can these resources be the catalyst to end homelessness? Minnesota Housing has $75 million in remaining federal emergency funds and intends to use these resources to address both immediate and long-term housing needs.
Imagine you are a key member of the state housing staff. What is the need now and what will it take to end homelessness? Sketch out a comprehensive strategy that addresses both the housing and service needs to set the state on a path to end homelessness. In your 3-page essay, cite at least four readings from this session.
Sample Solution
Homelessness in America is a “revolving-door” crisis. Many people exit homelessness quickly, but many more individuals become homeless every day. During a year’s time, four or five times as many people experience homelessness as are homeless on any particular day. If housing were inexpensive, or people could earn enough to afford housing, very few individuals would face homelessness. But housing costs have risen steadily across the country, and they have skyrocketed in many areas. What is the need now and what will it take to end homelessness? Build more housing and subsidize the costs to make it affordable to people with incomes below the poverty level; Help more people afford housing, by providing them with better schools, better training, and better jobs; and prevent the next generation of children from experiencing homelessness.