The rate of homelessness has been steadily increasing over the last decade in the U.S. due to foreclosures and unprecedented recessionary cycles. As of 2021, it was estimated that approximately 18 out of every 1000 Americans lacked decent places to sleep, maintaining the aggregate percentage of homelessness at 0.3% (Zack, 2020). The U.S. government is trying to curb this situation through the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). The Washington, D.C.-based organization, established in 1983, has its mission and vision tailored towards reducing the rate of homelessness (Zack, 2020). Its mission matches with the vision of being “a non-partisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.”
This is attained through the implementation of different policies and programs regarding housing, including participation in homelessness reforms and supporting Housing Appropriation Acts. However, the effects of socio-economic, cultural, and physical barriers such as rising rates of crime in homeless communities, high rent charges, and limited space for construction cannot be overlooked. Over the years, NAEH has championed several settlement initiatives, including the 2019 Housing First Program. This project focused on providing timely and sustainable permanent housing to vulnerable street families. Similarly, the initiative is targeted at replacing the lengthy bureaucratic procedures in housing with a simple lease agreement, thus leading to health and safety improvements as the beneficiaries move to better homes.
There is evidence that global initiatives support NAEH in achieving its mission and fighting against homelessness. For instance, in November 2021, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development partnered with NAEH and housed over 5,315 households in Skid Row (Zack, 2020). These families registered reduced involvement with narcotics, indulgence in crime, and easier access to better healthcare, thus reinforcing NAEH’s impact on quality of life improvement. Concomitantly, previously disenfranchised families have been able to access long-term housing subsidies through the 2019 Emergency Housing Voucher Program. A breakdown of other ways in which NAEH promotes equal opportunity, public health and safety, and how nurses can be involved in the organization, among other tenets, forms the basis of discussion for this paper.
Promotion of Equal Opportunity and Quality of Life Improvement
The historical and systemic racism dating back to slavery days has been perpetuated in different sectors of the American economy, including the housing and urban planning niche. Racial segregation and incarceration have been ranked as the leading predisposing factors for homelessness among minority cohorts in the U.S. Over the years, individuals of African American and Latino ethnicity have been continuously affected by this trend. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2021 report, at least 14.5% and 36% of the total population of these two groups were homeless (Alpert, 2021). Black and brown communities have been subjected to systemic housing segregation through redlining. In comparison with the whites, the duos are offered fewer rental units and spaces at fairly negotiable prices.
In that regard, NAEH formed the Racial Equity Network in 2016, a subsidiary organization that is focused on eliminating housing segregation. REN operates at the community level to provide National Alliance to End Poverty stakeholders with information on the best approaches to curb these racial disparities in housing. Additionally, it avails research data to congressional policymakers that assists in proper budgetary allotment and informed policy debates to assist in homelessness reforms. The section below highlights some of the roles played by the National Alliance to End Homelessness in conjunction with the U.S. federal government to eradicate homelessness.
Impact of Funding, Policy and Legislation
The U.S. government has been in the forefront of battling the steadily growing rate of homelessness through massive funding of related programs. Similarly, policies such as the Section Eight Voucher Program are geared towards achieving social and racial equity and fairness in housing. As of 2021, the federation channelled over 18 billion to provide reliable shelter to 2.35 million people from vulnerable populations. NAEH endorsed the Better Care, Better Jobs Act by the Senate to fund collaborative non-profit organizations that provide essential services to the homeless population. This legislation was later reinforced by the Build Back Better Act, which advocated for rapid investment in cheap housing to reduce the U.S. homeless burden. NAEH would then use this legislation to oversee the transition of individuals from street life to subsidized or independent residences as mandated by the act.
On the same note, the Coordinated Homeless Care Act requires the U.S. HUD to fund homelessness-related NGOs. These grants were disbursed directly to NAEH and the organization would distribute them to respective NGOs. These funds ensure target groups have access to essential housing services and medical insurance cover. The Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers are inclined towards the provision of over 1,175,000 new homes in the next decade in an attempt to eradicate housing instability (Terry, 2018). As part of its future prospects, NAEH has requested 3.77 billion to fund the coming financial year under the United States HUD Allotment Bill (Terry, 2018). It is therefore evident that NAEH has been acting as a useful link between the government, NGOs, and the homeless. In the long run, these funding decisions have greatly improved the welfare of the homeless by availing them of decent homes at affordable rent rates. The section that follows highlights NAEH’s role in the health and safety requirements in homeless communities.
Organization’s Impact on Health and Safety Needs of the Community (Involvement of Nurses)
Many homeless people stand a higher risk of contracting common communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria due to their indecent home settings. In most cases, their homes are characterized by poor drainage and unestablished sewerage systems and therefore tend to have more healthcare needs. When sick, these individuals are less likely to seek health care, due to competing wants. NAEH ensured the health and safety needs of patients were met, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic by forming the Ending Homelessness Forum. This platform linked homeless system advocates and caregivers, giving them equal chances to raise their concerns and opinionated on matters relating to reduction of homelessness within their communities.
In that regard, these health disparities can be addressed through the adoption of a Home and Community-based Care Program to help the homeless. This can be in the form of an extension of the American Medicaid program with the help of specialized nurses (Alpert, 2021). Due to its accessibility, the program can regularly dispatch nurses to remote areas with high homelessness rates, such as Skid Row. In these areas, they will be expected to primary care such as free health inspections and vaccinations when necessary. This would reduce overreliance on hospital visits while extending essential medical services to homeless groups in marginalized localities.
Conclusion
Although the rate of homelessness in the U.S. has been increasing steadily over time, efforts initiated and perpetuated by the National Alliance to End Homelessness to suppress the crisis cannot be overlooked. Whereas the Racial Equality Network was tailored towards reducing housing segregation in the minority communities, the Emergency Housing Voucher Program focused on providing long-term housing subsidies. The fight against homelessness will be feasible if and only if the necessary legislation (housing acts) enacted by both the federal government and NAEH are aggressively upheld. This paper can be relevant to studies pursuing demographic-related causes such as urban planning to understand the burden of homelessness alongside relevant legislation that can help avert the crisis.
References
Alpert, J. S. (2021). Homeless in America. The American Journal of Medicine, 134(3), 295-296.
Terry, Y. R. (2018). Homelessness in America: Heading Home Homeless Agency.
Zack, N. (2020). Homelessness, philosophy, and public policy. In The Ethics of Homelessness: Philosophical Perspectives (pp. 175-191). Brill.