Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agent that provides temporary shelter for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide people with safety and protection from weather exposure while reducing environmental impacts on communities. They are similar to, but can be distinguished from, various types of emergency shelters, which are usually operated for specific circumstances and populations - escape from natural disasters or harsh social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster mitigation scenarios, and are handled by heating centers, which typically operate for short periods during bad weather.
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Difficulties of the homeless population
Hundreds of homeless people die every year from illness, untreated medical conditions, malnutrition, starvation, and cold death. In mild mild San Francisco in 1998, the mortality rate for homeless people was 58% larger than the general population. In New Orleans, about 10,000 homeless people were not found after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Residents of homeless shelters can also be exposed to bed bugs that have grown more common in countries such as the United States, Canada and in Europe. Some residents of shelters have reported sleeping in roach-filled spaces at various shelters.
In Washington, D.C., statistics show that 63% of homeless people suffer from lack of access to bathing regularly. Another 58% in the same city can not get enough sleep. Areas such as showers and bathrooms in shelters often have limited access to limited hours.
The homeless also have great difficulty in finding storage locations for their goods.
Homeless people in the United States are arrested and detained in prison for violations of "quality of life" or public poisoning. In Hawaii, homeless people are forbidden to sit or lie on the streets.
LGBT people and homeless shelters
The LGBT homeless are at an increased risk of violence compared to other groups. Transgender people are also threatened to be placed in the wrong shelter. In some cases, transgender women can be turned away from women's shelters. This could endanger their safety.
Male and homeless shelter
In a nationwide survey conducted in the United States, findings show that of the homeless observed, two-thirds are male and most likely single adults between the ages of 25 and 54 years.
One in four men experiences domestic violence. In addition, young men who have been abused as children are more likely to be homeless and risk becoming chronic homeless if they do not live in a permanent situation at age 24.
Women and homeless shelter
Women are at greater risk of homelessness and poverty because they are most likely to bear childcare responsibilities and are vulnerable to being victims of family members or "intimate partners." In a survey conducted in 2013 showed that in emergency shelters in Texas, women are the majority of the population.
Homeless women, whether they have children or not, experience a higher level of physical illness than men. They also tend to be more alert and have high levels of stress. Women seeking refuge from domestic violence can not always find rooms in shelters. Some women have turned away from homeless shelters because shelter staff believe that changing women will stop people from having sex in shelters.
Homeless women of childbearing age also face unique hygiene issues due to menstruation. Homeless shelters have noted that both sanitary tampons and sanitary napkins "meet the needs list at shelters" due to high costs and because they are not often donated.
Maps Homeless shelter
Alternate model and management philosophy
Housing first practice
Homeless shelters across the country only serve as emergency shelter systems that can only accommodate a small fraction of the rapidly growing homeless population. The First Housing Practice provides an alternative to today's network of homeless shelters. The program is targeting a major problem in the United States which is a lack of affordable housing. This methodology seeks to put homeless families back into self-sufficient living situations as quickly as possible. The First Housing Practice has achieved success from the fact that homeless families are more responsive to social service support once they are in their own homes. It provides crisis intervention, affordable rental housing, and gives each family a grace period of six months to a year of social services to enable families to bounce back. The effectiveness of this concept is that it helps homeless families in identifying their needs and recognizing the choices they need to make. From this point families can make better choices for them and plan their own life strategies.
Empowerment model
Some shelters propose "empowerment models", where instead of "client", they empower "participants". The goal is to become an agent in the future and their own destiny.
Such models tend to focus on helping participants to access their rights and to fulfill their responsibilities as citizens. Sometimes this includes contributing financially to the provision of shelters they occupy. In Australia, the law requires those living in government-funded shelters to contribute a figure similar to 25% of their own incomes in return for support and accommodation. As a result, many shelters in Australia rely on participants contributing as much as 20% of their budget.
Religious dwelling
Another model is Dorothy's Place in Salinas, CA. This is actually a coordinating day center with many church congregations and synagogues to link to night shelter opportunities. Dorothy's Place is affiliated with community-based religious service groups, including Franciscan Workers and Friends of the Interfaith Dharma community. They propose that they seek "possibilitarian", a theme that resonates with the leading "thought-out" service promoted by Reformed American minister Robert Schuller.
The Rescue Mission in Milwaukee, Minnesota is an extreme example to help the homeless through religion. To receive free food at the Rescue Mission, citizens must first attend a Christian prayer ceremony.
The Salvation Army is a social support service organization that also serves as a religious group. The programs of the Salvation Army are designed to help women, children, elderly men, families, and those who fight against drug addiction.
Vehicles as shelter
Around the late 2000s, in Santa Barbara and other areas of California, new homeless groups began camping in their cars in the parking lot with the coordinated support of local nonprofit groups. These individuals and families are often unable to pay rent or mortgage, but still have jobs, cars, insurance, and other types of support structures. In Santa Barbara, an estimated 55 people camp out every night in various private and public places, some reserved for women only. As more and more people began camping in their vehicles, California cities began passing laws against sleeping in vehicles, such as the 2013 law passed in Palo Alto. However, many of these laws in different cities are then beaten in higher courts as unconstitutional, such as the Los Angeles ban being judged by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal in 2014. Some cities choose to lift their own ban on sleeping in vehicles. In Los Angeles by 2015, about 9,500 homeless people have turned their cars into homes. In Hawaii, a Honolulu-based company retrofit five city buses retired to a mobile shelter that provides a place to sleep and bathe.
Attitude community
People's attitudes toward homeless shelters vary widely, but one study found that parents, men, homeowners and all those who generate more income are often detrimental to the concept of homeless shelters in general. The Calgary neighborhood recognizes the needs of shelters, but many do not want to place shelters near their own homes. Similar responses came from residents in Oahu. In communities such as Portland, Oregon, where the weather can be very loud, there is an extensive support network. They operate an informal restaurant, the "Sisters of the Road" cafe, which supports residents of homeless shelters as well as some who do not slip. At the end of the spectrum, jurisdictions such as Santa Barbara, California, show ongoing disputes in a mode that is often very hostile. The dispute has even reached schemes such as rearranging the benches on city sidewalks to prevent beggars. In another 2011 incident, eight approved housing support units were recalled to the city council agenda the following week to allow about 35 public commentary on the pros and cons, despite the fact that the action has just been approved.
Sometimes there are concerns about disease transmission in homeless populations residing in shelter, even though public health professionals argue that such concerns are increasing. In addition, a study published in 2014 conducted in Marseille, France found that respiratory diseases in homeless shelters did not differ significantly from the general population. Moreover, during the peak influenza months, the shelter residents did not test positive for the flu virus and the researchers hypothesized that being isolated from others might be the reason they were viral-free. However, tuberculosis outbreaks have been reported in shelters in three major Ohio cities in the 1990s.
A question has been raised because how much money donated to the charity that runs the shelter is really up to the homeless and needed services. In many cases, there is a huge overhead in administrative costs, which jeopardize the money for their homeless clients.
Internal issues in homeless shelters
Sometimes there is corruption and theft by shelter employees as evidenced by the 2011 investigative report by FOX 25 TV in Boston where a number of Boston public housing workers were found stealing large quantities of food over a period of time from shelter kitchens for their personal use and catering. Residents have reported that personal items, such as underwear, are stolen by other residents when they are occupied.
The shelter can become overcrowded when too many occupants are allowed into the shelter.
Shelters sometimes can not meet state standards for occupancy, such as testing a fire sprinkler or ensuring that the exit is clearly marked. In New York City, 2015, the state holds funds from many shelters that do not meet standards or have bad conditions.
Occupational employees are sometimes at risk from the violence perpetrated by the population they serve. To address the problems faced by employees who are trying to help homeless people in New York, the Department of Homeland Security is stepping up security at some shelters and conducting security assessment of shelters by 2015. While many shelter employees know that there are risks when working in a high-crime environment or with mentally ill individuals, they continue to work in homeless shelters because they feel that they are doing a public service similar to that of police or firefighters.
External troubles of homeless shelters
Some problems arise when homeless shelters are present. Homeless shelters have been put forward by some to have a negative effect on business. Businesses for years complained that they often watched pedestrians stop outside their stores by homeless people asking for money. Such incidents have led to the creation of local laws that prohibit "aggressive raising." Another problem is that it is often difficult to decide where a homeless shelter should be built and how the zone where the shelter can be built. The neighborhood, as well as the schools, argue that homeless shelters bring bad elements into their environment. There are also too many shelters that do nothing but housing facilities; they fail to provide job or educational training that will help the homeless with getting their own housing. Housing through homeless shelters does not offer a lasting, temporary solution. Drugs and alcohol also tend to surround homeless shelters. Most shelters prohibit the use of illegal drugs and alcohol at home, but their enforcement is sporadic in many places. Finally, no classification system for the shelter has been enforced. There is no mechanism or facility to separate those who have mental illness from the rest of the shelter population.
United States
In the United States, the "protection movement" began to grow significantly during the 1970s when there were high unemployment rates, rising housing costs and people with severe mental illness being deinstitutionalized. In the 1980s, homeless became a "national epidemic" in the United States and helped professionals create shelters as "temporary shelter." Occupancy occupations have more than doubled in the late 1980s and that doubled again in 2000. Statistics from 2011 show that "on the night given in January 2010, 407,966 people were placed in homeless shelters, temporary homes or on the streets.Or, the prison has been used for registration of health services by citizens in certain states.
Homeless shelters should provide various services for diverse citizens. Homeless shelters, such as La Posada Providencia in San Benito, Texas, may also be asylum seekers, mainly from Mexico, Central America, and South America. The shelter also provides outreach to people who can not use shelters or who choose not to use shelter. Outreach may include providing clothes for cold weather or food. Very few shelters have case managers looking for resources locally, such as going up to the social service department where health care can be obtained.
Most shelters usually expect residents to go out in the morning and occupy other places during the day, returning for dinner and sleeping. During times of bad weather, shelters can provide services outside of their normal hours. Curfew is very varied but tends to the previous hour than adults usually may return home. There is also a homeless shelter in the daytime, where homeless people can leave when they can not stay in the night they shelter during the day. The initial model of daytime homeless shelter providing multi-faceted service was Saint Francis House in Boston, Massachusetts, officially established in 1984. It was based on residential homes, clubhouses and community center support and social service models.
In the United States, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has pointed out in a recent study that about 5 million Americans are eligible to use homeless shelters. As poverty rates continue to rise, it is estimated that the number of homeless shelters, especially in the United States, will continue to rise. Based on a survey of 24 US cities, the average stay in homeless shelters was found to average about seven months beyond the year.
Statistics of homeless populations in the United States
A study by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year. Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, and Hawaii are states with the highest concentration of homeless people. About 1.5 million children or one out of every 50 children in America are homeless. Many Americans suffer from a "chronic homelessness" condition, in which a person has a continuous disabling condition without home for more than a year or has been homeless for at least four different occasions within four years. About 23% of the homeless population has been characterized as "chronic homelessness." Veterans also represent nearly 40% of homeless men in the United States. The racial demographics of the Homeless Population in the United States can be represented as:
- White: 39%
- African-Americans: 42%
- Hispanic: 13%
- Native Americans: 4%
- Asians: 2%
About 40% of all homeless teenagers in the United States identify as LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). In San Francisco, about 29% of all homeless in the city are on the LGBT spectrum. The National Center for Transgender Equality reports that 1 in 5 transgender people have experienced homelessness at least once in their lives.
Ownership of pets among the homeless varies, but estimates indicate that about 5 and 10 percent of homeless in the United States have pets.
Homeless people seem to be largely concentrated in urban areas. The central cities have 71% of the homeless population while the suburbs have 21% of the homeless population. Only 9% of homeless classes can be found in rural areas.
Operations and roles in US society
Homeless shelters are usually operated by nonprofits or municipal agencies, or associated with the church. They almost always have Section 501 (c) 3 corporate organizations with a Board of Directors drawn from various sectors of society. Often, the Council includes pastors, elected officials, and even protects citizens and people from nearby communities.
Shelters funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) require residents to have identification.
Homeless shelters often provide other services to the wider community. The classic example is a common kitchen for people who do not live in shelters. Others include support groups, and/or substance abuse treatments. If they do not offer one of these services, they can usually refer their clients to agencies that do so. Supportive housing supports services in a more assertive way. The typical path through an interlocking system is that one can start at a shelter and move through transition housing to a housing that supports and ultimately independent housing.
Centers in the United States also often coordinate with external programs both for mission-specific operations and for additional services. For their availability communication, most coordinate with the mandated Federal 2-1-1 or 3-1-1 telephone information system that allows people in need to find out where the shelter is located. For transportation to shelters, some offer free transportation, [15] especially in the case of persons released from prison. Some prisons have special staff assigned to the deployment of the freedmen.
List of national organizations in the US that support homeless shelters
Across the United States there are several national organizations that assist in the establishment and maintenance of homeless shelters. The main national organizations are:
- National Alliance to End Homelessness
- The Salvation Army
- National Coalition for the Homeless
- Food Emergency and Shelter Program (United Way)
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Feed the Americans
- Housing Help Council
- Help USA.
United States Library
Homeless shelters often work with other organizations to support and help homeless people improve their situation, including libraries. They often work with coalitions to provide temporary library cards to members of the homeless coalition who can use shelters as local addresses. This intends to give new customers the opportunity to utilize computer services, books, programs, and more that the library offers.
Government assistance program in USA
The homeless in the United States is assisted through various Federal programs. Examples include Social Security Disability Assurance (SSD) and Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) program. Applicants may pass through their medical records. Social Security Disability Insurance Services extend benefits to the family if they have earned sufficient "credit" work. The Social Security Supplemental Supplemental Service offers financial assistance to individuals in need who are disabled, blind or elderly.
HUD estimates that it costs $ 60,000 annually to house homeless families in shelters. Therefore, HUD has a variety of on-site programs to help families, including fast rehousing and permanent housing vouchers. Housing vouchers from HUDs are considered very important to help prevent families with children from being homeless and also helping these families to leave the shelter system permanently.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is solely intended to assist homeless veterans. Although this organization helps a certain concentration of individuals, it is currently the largest network of homeless care in the United States.
Other countries
Australia
In Australia, due to government funding requirements, most homeless services fill the role of daytime and night shelters. Shelter develops empowerment based on "wrapping" a service in which citizens are managed and supported in their efforts to become self-sufficient. An example of such a service provider in this area of ​​Australia is Najidah.
Youth refugees in Australia provide both housing arrangements for crisis accommodation as well as case management to help young people to live independently. Teen refugees are a relatively new form of homeless shelter. In New South Wales, early sanctuaries including Nursing Cottage, Youth Protection, Taldamunde Youth Services, were all established in the mid-1970s.
Canada
Canada has an estimated homeless population somewhere between 150,000 and 300,000 people as reported in 2014. Canada has responded to an increase in homelessness by increasing the number of shelters available to individuals. A study conducted in Canada also found that individuals who entered shelters and drop-in centers experienced a loss of their own personality. Therapeutic Conversation Therapy has been tested and found to be successful in Calgary with a small group of homeless shelter residents in improving their mental health outcomes. Calgary has seen an increasing number of homeless people, in part because of "the lack of affordable rental units."
A national volunteer group in Canada, the Angels at Night, sponsored by the Invis-Mortgage Intelligence, donates cold weather clothing and other supplies to the homeless, visiting shelters and individuals on the streets.
In 2015, Clean the World started the Canadian Operation Center in Montreal to provide soap for homeless shelters. Clean The world distributes and recycles hygiene supplies such as soap and shampoo.
China
In China, homeless forecasts vary, as the Social Welfare Department does not consider those living in temporary shelters as "homeless." There may be between 1 and 1.5 million homeless children who leave their families due to extreme poverty, family problems or abuse.
In the city of Dali, there is an annual conference for "beggars." In 2014, a government-sponsored shelter in Henan province that houses 20 homeless people is being watched for binding children to trees and providing inadequate beds.
India
India defines homeless as not living in a "census house" that should be a structure with a roof.
In India, youth can become homeless because of child neglect. Youth in Jammu and Kashmir living in shelters report high prevalence of emotional and physical abuse, and emotional and physical neglect while living in homeless shelters.
The homeless and families in India face the challenge of accessing water and sanitation services. Census 2011 India found that safe drinking water coverage in urban areas was 91.9% while access to regular sanitation was 81.4%. There is a significant housing shortage in large urban areas of India. People come from rural India to look for work and when there is no accommodation for housing build their own shelters, often known as "hutments."
Statistics of homeless populations in India
According to the 2011 Census, there are 1.77 million people homeless in India, or 0.15% of the country's total population. In India, the cities with the largest number of homeless individuals and families are Mumbai Besar, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore.
Japanese
The number of homeless people in Japan as recorded in 2003, is about 25,296. The number of homeless people has "risen dramatically" since the "bubble economy" collapsed in the 1990s. In Tokyo, around 2007, many homeless people were freed from their temporary residence in the city park. In 2011, the earthquake and tsunami caused many people to be homeless and living in shelters.
United Kingdom
"Sleep well" or "rough sleep" is a term in England for sleeping without shelter. In addition, "not all homeless people are entitled to housing." Shelters like 'Jimmy', in Cambridge, provide access to those who should "sleep well", offering temporary accommodation and support services in the basement of the Baptist Church in the city center.
See also
References
Source
Levinson, David, [editor] (2004). The Homeless Encyclopedia . Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. ISBN 0-7619-2751-4. Ã, CS1 maint: Many names : list of authors (links) CS1 maint: Additional text: author list (link) Cf. entries and articles on Shelters by Kim Hopper, pp.Ã, 498-503.
Further reading
- O'Flaherty, Brendan, "Making room: homeless economy", Cambridge, Massa: Harvard University Press, 1996. ISBNÃ, 0-674-54342-4
- Quigley, John M.; Raphael, Steven, "Homeless Economy: Evidence from North America", European Policy on Housing Journal 1 (3), 2001, 323-336
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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