Chronic Homelessness in America
Learn more about the complex causes of chronic homelessness, some of the solutions that are in place in communities and what action you can take to help your neighbors in need. Poverty: The poverty cycle is a difficult one to break. Once an individual falls below a certain income level, it becomes more and more difficult to acquire the resources needed to get a better job or a better education.
Disability: Many chronically homeless individuals suffer from some sort of injury or disability that prevents them from working various jobs. Without sustainable employment, they fall back into the poverty cycle.
Mental illness: When depression, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses go untreated, it can be nearly impossible for a homeless individual to function in normal society. This is especially true for homeless veterans who suffer from PTSD.
Substance addiction: When a homeless individual becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, most of the money they can come up with goes to pay for their addiction, rather than clothes or other means of bettering their lives.Drug and alcohol abuse services: Making these life-changing services and treatments readily available to homeless individuals suffering from substance addiction gives them a greater chance to recover and begin the path back to a normal, stable life.
Affordable medical treatment: Homeless individuals with mental disorders or physical disabilities have a better chance at recovery if they can get professional, affordable treatment.
Permanent supportive housing: This is by far the most effective means of preventing chronic homelessness. Supportive housing provides a safe, healthy environment for homeless individuals to feel secure in as they become productive members of the community. While here, they can be connected to other life-saving community resources, such as Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana. Connected to these resources, they can more easily find job training, mental health treatment, personal development services, and counseling services.
Housing First model: This is an approach in which housing is offered to people
experiencing chronic homelessness without requiring sobriety, mental health
treatment, or a minimum income threshold. The goal is rapid housing placement and stabilization in permanent housing. This is a model that both Volunteers of America and HUD have been advocating for. The good news is that outreach, intervention, treatment, and prevention efforts are having a positive effect on the state of chronic homelessness. In fact, chronic homelessness declined in 2018 by 16 percent (or 17,422 persons) since 2010. However, these programs need your help and donations in order to keep helping the chronically homeless get back on their feet.