Economic Opportunity Report 40.9 (April 25, 2005): p86.
Bipartisan legislation introduced this month in the House and Senate aims to fight long-term homelessness with a range of support services to keep people off the streets.
The legislation would cover mental health and substance abuse treatment, general health referrals, family support, life skills training--such as money management--and
"Providing affordable housing alone is not enough for many chronically homeless people to achieve stability," said sponsor Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio).
Co-sponsor Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) called the measure "critical to the development and implementation of more effective strategies to combat chronic homelessness through improved service delivery and coordination across federal agencies serving this population."
Added House sponsor Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), "It's one thing to offer someone a place to rest their head. It's another to offer those individuals hope and support to turn their lives around."
This bill, she said, would go beyond providing shelter to provide treatment and training. "This will help homeless individuals beat their addictions, get a stable job, or realize their potential and worth to society and move them off of the streets for good. And that's our ultimate goal."
Co-sponsors in the Senate include Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). In the House, co-sponsors include Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Paul Gillmore (R-Ohio).
According to DeWine, the chronically homeless, who number 200,000 to 250,000, make up about 10 percent of the homeless population but use most of the services provided to all homeless people.
Problem is Growing
A recent report, meanwhile, found homelessness of all types on the rise. The number of people seeking emergency shelter and food increased at all survey sites, ranging from urban to rural areas and small to mid-sized towns. At the same time, funding--not adequate to begin with--is on the decline, according to the report from the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.
According to the 2004 survey of 900 emergency food and shelter providers in 32 states:
* 74 percent of agencies said they had had increased requests for food assistance, with the increases averaging 28 percent;
* Emergency shelter requests were up at 65 percent of agencies, at an average increase of 27 percent;
* 24 percent of emergency food providers had turned away requests for food, and 77 percent of emergency shelter providers had turned away people; and
* A third of agencies had lost revenue in the past year, with 43 percent experiencing cuts from the state government and 35 percent from the federal government.
Contact: Sen. Mike DeWine, (202) 224-2315, www.dewine.sena
Source Citation:"Bipartisan Senate, House legislation would fight chronic homelessness." Economic Opportunity Report 40.9 (April 25, 2005): 86. General OneFile. Gale. Vanderbilt University Library. 11 Dec. 2008
Gale Document Number:A132465119
