Introduction to the Issue
Homelessness is a global, national, and local problem that has been challenging communities since people began living in houses. Becoming homeless can happen to anyone and due to different reasons as both individual life events and social issues contribute to populations becoming homeless. However, in the United States, the two fundamental dynamics fostered homelessness in the region. The first contributing factor is deinstitutionalization associated with the 1963 policy of releasing long-term psychiatric patients from public mental health care facilities and sent to health centers located in the community for further treatment and follow-up. However, funding was not available to support the policy, with the individuals subjected to the policy having to live on the streets, especially in urban centers (Florida Coalition to End Homelessness, 2019). The second contributing factor is the absence of affordable housing that low-income households can rent. By 1985, the number of affordable housing units that could be rented had decreased to meet 5.6 million, while the number of such households increased to 8.9 million (Florida Coalition to End Homelessness, 2019). The 3.3 million disparity in the number of units available for rent and the number of households exacerbated the problem of homelessness in the country. Moreover, as further comparative data shows, there are significant disparities between states regarding the capacity of local governments to assist homeless populations.
Florida falls in third place in the ranking of US states by the number of citizens without housing, which calls for the proactive action of establishing an effective policy that would eliminate the pervasive issue. The current efforts to end homelessness in Florida have been attributed to the Florida Coalition to End Homelessness (FCEH), which is an organization distinguishing itself as “the state’s leading voice on homeless policy, demonstrating commitment by working with state and federal stakeholders to develop solution-driven practices” (The Florida Housing Coalition, 2014, p. 3). Despite the efforts, Florida is significantly challenged by the lack of a cohesive and evidence-based policy intended to overcome the homelessness problem.
Scope of the Program
The insufficient efforts of the government of Florida should be considered the main barrier to eliminating homelessness in Florida. The examples of such states as Utah illustrate the possibility of overcoming the pervasive issue and creating favorable environments for vulnerable populations to get access to housing. The criminalization of homelessness has transformed into a widespread issue that makes the vulnerable populations subjected to prosecution for such actions as camping in public or living in vehicles (National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, 2014). Yet, the programs that are established do not account for the fact that the individuals sleeping in public places have no other place to go. Although, the problem is possible to resolve drawing from the best practice example established by the state government of Utah.
Success Story: Utah’s Housing First Initiative
Since 2005, Utah has managed to decrease the number of homeless citizens by approximately 75%, giving the group access to long-term housing (Bertrand, 2015). The Housing First project initially emerged as a 10-year project intended to eliminate homelessness by 2015. The core idea behind the project is that the housing was permanent, and no payment was in place (Henry, Watt, Mahathey, Ouellette, & Sitler, 2020). This resulted in giving people stability in life, and they did better without having to worry about where they would spend their nights. The radical incentive implemented by the government of Utah resulted in chronic homeless being tallied by numbers but rather by name, with the last few individuals awaiting their houses (McCoy, 2015). Sustaining the program long-term has been a challenge to the state as the lack of funding could result in the accumulation of large numbers of homeless individuals on the streets awaiting housing (Ebi, 2016). However, the Housing First model helped to stay on track with the focus of the program, showing the population’s commitment to alleviating the issue of homelessness in Utah. Philadelphia and New York City also implemented programs similar to Housing First; however, the lack of consistency and the steady inflow of financial support meant that the initiative was unstable and could not guarantee long-term results.
Using the Best Practice: Implementing Housing First in Florida
Using the example of Utah in Florida is a step forward in giving the population of homeless individuals some degree of stability that would not be taken from them. Permanent housing is the answer to the persistent insufficiency in the current policies. The vulnerable populations of Florida, such as the homeless who are frequent users of behavioral health services and jail, are subjected to risky behaviors in the streets. Instead of offering temporary shelter that would no longer be available to individuals at some point, the provision of permanent housing through governmental support is essential for establishing a framework that would serve as a starting point for addressing homelessness in the state.
For Florida, Housing First should be implemented as a practical solution for eliminating homelessness. The lack of policy consistency and the difference of approaches between counties and local governments is what makes Florida inefficient in addressing the problem. Housing First should work as a statewide initiative that would offer long-term, affordable housing as quickly as possible for families and single individuals subjected to homelessness while also providing customized statewide supportive services intended to address their primary needs (McConnell, 2017). When homeless people have permanent housing, they are more likely to stop the abuse of substances, participate in training for jobs, attend educational facilities, as well as spend less time being hospitalized compared to individuals who are not engaging with such programs as Housing First (McConnell, 2017). In addition, Florida must be consistent with the Housing First program because it offers a high degree of flexibility – housing and other services are given to individuals and families depending on their needs. Such an approach is more effective compared with having to spend the funding on services that are recommended but are ineffective on a long-term basis.
The practical and moral reasons for establishing the Housing First program in Florida are linked to the evidence showing that the program works by saving money for states and saving lives, as illustrated by the example of Utah. Practically, evidence shows that consistent adherence to the program showed tangible results. For example, the veteran system in San Diego has demonstrated significant success in the Housing First program by logging a 24% decrease in veteran homelessness over two years and by 40% in five years (McConnell, 2017). Morally, the program helps people who are at risk of dying on the streets due to the outdated methods of managing homelessness to get off the streets and get the needed degree of security. Of all options that are available and possible to implement in Florida, Housing First is the most humanistic solution to ending homelessness in the state.
Background of the Issue
History of Homelessness in the US
Going back in history, homelessness in the United States dates to mid-seventeenth century colonial America. The issue developed as the result of King Philip’s War against the native people, which drove the population out of their homes to seek shelter in coastal and forest areas. Later, during the American Revolution of 1765-1783, which forced many individuals without housing due to the lack of resources to address their needs. By the time when the depression in 1857 struck America, the majority of the growing cities were full of homeless people. However, neither local nor national governments did anything to intervene in the situation. Few efforts were put in place with some private charities, such as the “Western Soup Society” in Philadelphia to help vulnerable citizens with food during rough seasons. Without governmental support, the organization was struggling to exist. Despite the criticism that the politicians received from the public and the private charity organizations, the government rejected any appeals to help the homeless populations. Therefore, the issue of homelessness developed as a result of the government not engaging ineffective efforts to help individuals without housing.
With the break of the civil war, the situation with homelessness got worse as many war veterans remained without jobs and housing due to war and natural catastrophes. This meant that they spent the majority of their time living in the streets. Declining for a short period after the Civil War, the problem of homelessness turned into a national challenge in the 1870s as a result of the national railroad system being constructed, industrialization, urbanization, and mobility that allowed the homeless to search for jobs. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018), the large population of “overwhelmingly young and non-disabled men created a culture that combined the search for work with a love of the open road and a disdain for the constraints of workers in industrialized America. Willing to embrace hard work, they represented a counterculture with rules and habits that often engendered the wrath of mainstream society” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018, p. 175). However, World War II served as a driver that would put the population of the US to work. Over the three decades that followed, the common individual subjected to homelessness remained disproportionately white and male but became older (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018).
The beginning of the 1980s marked the development of what now is called the modern period of homelessness (Schwartz, 2014). Significant factors that changed the context of homelessness in the country included the inner-city gentrification, the high rates of unemployment, the deinstitutionalization of mentally ill individuals, the emergence of HIV/AIDS, the absence of affordable housing options, as well as the significant budget cuts in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as social service agencies (Jones, 2015). The combination of the mentioned factors created an environment that increased the number of individuals becoming homeless.
Historically, homelessness in the United States was exacerbated along with the ongoing lack of support and attention from politicians, with historical events such as wars or economic crises. Naturally, homelessness passed from one generation to another in the form of crime or poverty, and the government was ineffective in alleviating the burden associated with it. The problem dragged into the 21st century not only due to the lacking interest of the government to address homelessness but also as a result of declining economic prosperity, increased unemployment, the absence of funding, and unfavorable social conditions set for vulnerable individuals. Effective policies are needed to address the challenges that the homeless population face to this day. For example, there is disproportionate victimization of the homeless, as reported by Al-Hakim (2015), which points to the severity of the impact on the homeless population in the US.
Statistics on Homelessness: Nationwide and Florida
The national statistics on homelessness point to the pervasiveness of the issue. In 2019 alone, the findings of the National Alliance to End Homeless concluded that there were 567,715 homeless individuals in the United States. The leading position by the state is held by California, with 151,278 homeless citizens, followed by New York with 92,091 homeless individuals. Florida comes in third place with 28,328 homeless people (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2019). Of that total number, 2,171 included family households, 2,472 Veterans, 1,450 unaccompanied young adults aged between 18 and 24 years old, and 5,729 citizens who found themselves in the position of chronic homelessness. The severity of the problem is also reflected in Florida data on the homeless population of public school students. Through the 2017-2018 school hear, it was reported that an estimated 95,167 students attending public schools were experiencing homelessness over the year (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2019).
Statewide in Florida, 31,030 people are homeless on a given night, with 15 individuals per 10,000 people in the general population being homeless (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018). In the lead are the Miami Dade Country and Orlando, Osceola, and Seminole counties by the rates of homeless individuals in Florida. In Miami Dade, there are 3,516 individuals without shelter living in the streets on a given night, with the rate of homelessness in the county equal to 12.8 individuals per 10,000 people (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018). In Orlando, Osceola, and Seminole, there are 2,053 homeless individuals on a given night, with the rate in the counties being approximated at 9.5 individuals per 10,000 people (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018). Due to the smaller population, the highest rate of homelessness in Florida is in Monroe County. While there are 973 homeless individuals without shelter on a given night, the rate is 126.3 per 10,000 people in the general population (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018).
The demographic by share of homelessness in Florida show that the most substantial numbers include individuals rather than families. There are more unsheltered than sheltered homeless people in the state. Chronically homeless individuals are outnumbered by homeless families, while homeless veterans outnumber the unaccompanied children and youth, only by a fraction. Overall, there are larger numbers of homeless individuals being unsheltered (35%), followed by sheltered homeless people (34%). The lowest rate Is for unsheltered people with families (8%) and sheltered people in families (22%) (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018). Therefore, a housing program to overcome homelessness in Florida should initially target unsheltered individuals without families due to the highest rate of homelessness within the population.
Criticism of Past Policies
Due to the persistence of homelessness in Florida, the state government was challenged to initiate policies and programs that would address the problem. In 2009, the McKinney-Vento Act, initially established in 1987, was significantly amended by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, which embraced the model implemented within the Housing First framework that regarded permanent housing as the first and not the last step in the process of eliminating homelessness. Therefore, the HEARTH Act enabled Florida’s stakeholders to show high levels of collaboration when providing homeless assistance networks (The Florida Housing Coalition, 2014).
However, despite the high levels of responsibility placed on the stakeholders in Florida, the ramifications of the new policy and funding changes were soon emerging. The government realized that individual service providers involved in the program did not have enough control while the transitional housing providers had to adapt to the new model. In Florida, HEARTH did not work because of the environment in which affordable housing, living-wage jobs, and funding sources were highly limited (The Florida Housing Coalition, 2014). In addition, more pressure was placed on communities to implement parallel efforts to optimize their systems with the resources they already possessed to make stronger cases for increased funding. Despite the established goals, HEARTH did not give satisfactory results that the high-standing federal and state officials expected.
The support for the programs to deal with homelessness was uncertain, especially in the area of funding. Even in the years after 2010, during which Congress was generous with funding into the McKinney-Vento program, it was still not enough for covering the renewals for projects that had been put in place (The Florida Housing Coalition, 2014). Those included the mainstream resources intended to create paths out of homelessness, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), public housing, and community health centers, the funding for all of which have received significant budget cuts (The Florida Housing Coalition, 2014). Other programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid, have been receiving non-discretionary financial support and can grow according to demand. In addition, the food stamps program has also been cut in funding, which shows that any program can be vulnerable to inconsistent funding. Therefore, the analysis of past policies implemented to manage or eliminate homelessness in Florida has been inconsistent in their funding, which limited the capacity of the existing programs and did not allow for the comprehensive approach toward homelessness as a persistent issue.
It is also imperative to mention that the federal approach to homelessness, which influenced the efforts in Florida, pushed communities to decrease the role of Transitional Housing (TH). While TH does not offer the same level of confidence for homeless individuals, it is still better than offering no housing support whatsoever. However, the federal government exaggerated the downsides of TH, which led to the screening out of hardest-to-serve clients, especially for single adults who had shown to struggle with homelessness the most (The Florida Housing Coalition, 2014). Overall, the overview of past policies carried out to address homelessness showed that the state was inconsistent in having a set program that was followed step-by-step. The Housing First initiative still has the potential of being successful if the state government provides enough funding and does not discriminate against eligible individuals who should be offered to house.
Critique of Current Program Implementation
Recent and current programs that target homelessness also have their limitations associated with both approach and implementation. One of the most prominent disadvantages is associated with the issue that relevant programs may differ from one county to another, causing a difference in the rates of homelessness. According to Grau (2019), if a person is in Jacksonville, FL, and does not have housing, the city will provide food, showers, and counseling for mental health. If a person is homeless in West Palm Beach, the town would use loud and repetitive music to deter the homeless from gathering in public places. This shows that the experiences of homeless individuals will differ from one city in Florida to another, showing that there is no consistency in the state’s approach toward the problem. It is important to note these differences to illustrate the lack of statewide efforts that would be effective in addressing the pervasive problem of homelessness.
On the positive side, it is necessary to note several practices that favor homeless individuals. In St. Petersburg, FL, the Rapid Rehousing program allows homeless individuals to move-in housing for up to six months when they seek employment (Grau, 2019). While the initiative does not offer permanent housing, it has been shown to shorten the stretches of homelessness more effectively compared to shelters since 2016. Also, the St. Petersburg Police Department has launched a Police Assisting the Homeless (PATH) unit that provides support to homeless communities in the city, ranging from transportation and shelter to personal hygiene products. Such community efforts serve as a positive example for other cities to follow.
In Key West, the current Keys Overnight Temporary Shelter (KOTS) center allows holding around 150 individuals each night. Every month, KOTS houses more than 300 unique individuals (Grau, 2019). Despite the significant support that KOTS provides, local officials doubt its future while the residents of Monroe county have pushed to relocate the center. The reason why the officials of the county are torn about the center relates to the conflicting preferences as to what should be done with the land on which KOTS is located and where it should move (Grau, 2019). Therefore, it remains undecided as to how the most reliable homeless resource in Key West would function in the future, leaving great uncertainty overall.
The situation in West Palm Beach is far less optimistic. In July 2019, the Palm Beach Post reported that city workers were using loud music as a means of deterring homeless individuals who gathered on a pavilion patio (Doris, 2019). The loud music was put on repeat throughout the night to make the homeless move to another location. The issue is serious because there are no homeless shelters in Palm Beach County, which meant that the people had nowhere to go. Such a treatment is unacceptable and shows that cities are given too much freedom as to how they would handle the problem of homelessness. With the absence of a policy and supportive services that would be available to the vulnerable population, the city acted unethically.
The barriers that the state of Florida experiences regarding the issue of homelessness can be eliminated with the help of a statewide approach that does not offer flexibility to cities as to their authority in not allowing individuals to live on the streets, as illustrated in the example of Palm Beach. Housing First will provide a framework that Florida can use for introducing additional efforts for reducing the rates of homeless individuals living on the streets of the state’s cities. While some of the cities in Florida have systems that support the homeless population and give some resources that could be useful in regaining stability through getting education and employment.
Summary and Conclusions
The current analysis of the issue of homelessness in Florida has shown that the efforts of the state government have been unsuccessful and insufficient for addressing the pervasive problem. In the current complex climate characterized by the pandemic, there is no other time to provide at-risk populations with stable housing that they can use not only for shelter and short-term self-isolation but also as a support resource intended to help them find educational and employment opportunities. While short-term housing and resources such as food and showers should be made available to the homeless population, the focus should be placed on long-term housing within the Housing First initiative.
The likelihood of the program’s success will be attributed to the consistency of state funding for the program, the collaboration between local governments and communities to identify eligible individuals, as well as the unification of the efforts across all counties in the state. It is expected that the resources will differ from one city to another, depending on the already established programs and policies. Some regions, such as Monroe County, with the most considerable rate of homelessness per 10,000 people, will require urgent and immediate funding to create a basis for further homelessness elimination efforts. Other regions with homelessness centers already available will initially require less support from the state. If possible, some individuals or families may be relocated to areas with higher capacities to provide housing and, thus, opportunities for restoring their livelihoods. The main objective of the initially unmatched efforts is to bring all state counties to the same level as the first major step in the initiative. With the absence of disparities from one region to another, the state government will have a greater understanding of how the Housing First program will be maintained on a long-term basis.
To conclude, the problem of homelessness is pervasive in Florida, while the solution is straightforward if appropriate resources are allocated. The example of states such as Utah shows that permanent housing is possible to provide, and it will serve as a tool for the previously homeless individuals and families to seek opportunities as well as deal with substance abuse. Consistency and needs evaluation is necessary to decrease the number of homeless people. Preventative efforts should go hand-in-hand with intervention practices to ensure that the state targets the problem from a multi-dimensional perspective. It is important to mention that the disagreements over the causes and the ways of addressing homelessness will remain, but through collaboration and the consistency of efforts, it will be possible to alleviate the burden of the issue in the state of Florida.
References
Al-Hakim, M. (2015). Making a home for the homeless in hate crime legislation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(10), 1755-1781.
Bertrand, N. (2015). Utah found a brilliantly effective solution for homelessness. Business Insider.
Doris, T. (2019). West Palm uses music to move the homeless from the waterfront pavilion. The Palm Beach Post. Web.
Ebi, K. (2016). Utah nearly eliminates homelessness with a solution that sounds too simple to work.
Florida Coalition to End Homelessness. (2019). The issue.
The Florida Housing Coalition. (2014). Homeward bound: Policy and resource guide for housing homeless Floridians.
Grau, K. (2019). The policies and laws of Florida cities. The Homeless Voice.
Henry, M., Watt, R., Mahathey, A., Ouellette, J., & Sitler, A. (2020). The 2019 annual homeless assessment report (AHAR) to Congress.
Jones, M. (2015). Creating a science of homelessness during the Reagan era. The Milbank Quarterly, 93(1), 139-178.
McConnell, M. (2017). Why the Housing First approach is a practical solution for homelessness. The San Diego Union-Tribune.
McCoy, T. (2015). The surprisingly simple way Utah solved chronic homelessness and saved millions. The Washington Post.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Permanent supportive housing: Evaluating the evidence for improving health outcomes among people experiencing chronic homelessness. National Academies Press.
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2018). Florida.
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. (2014). No safe place: The criminalization of homelessness in U.S. cities. Web.
Schwartz, A. (2014). Housing policy in the United States. Routledge.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2019). Homelessness statistics by state.