The problem of homelessness has been a serious issue for a very long time According to the reported data more than half a million people have been experiencing homelessness in U.S. in 2014 (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015, par. 3). The problem hits both large cities and small local communities causing many serious problems like disorder at day entertainment and business areas, increasing number of crimes, deterioration of natural environment, treat of illnesses spreading, or even causing epidemics. The reasons causing homelessness vary a lot. They can be both of personal or global character from a home violence to a financial crisis. In the essay, some actions that might help to solve homelessness problem in a city will be discussed.
The most obvious humanistic solution of the homelessness problem that comes to mind is creating shelters. As there is a significant percent of potentially socially dangerous people like drug and alcohol addicts, the shelters should have strict rules, like not letting in drunk people, people who are on drugs, people who are dirty or have a strong odour and refuse to take shower (shower facilities are provided by shelter), aggressive people who are looking for fight etc. A shelter should remain a shelter, not a hangout place. The shelter should be provided with certain facilities like a small medical clinic to control diseases and warn epidemics as well as provide general medical care to those homeless who are in need; a service that provides employment assistance; a library, a computer class. Shelter administration should have the open policy on the question of opening vacancies for homeless. There can be various types of shelters with different specialization, but they all should have strict well-thought-out rules and be available to those who are in need. The program Housing First, now strongly supported by the government that states the principle of providing the homeless with the house and only then helping to overcome some of his or her life difficulties that caused the state of homelessness (Hart, 2015, par. 6) can also be applied.
There still will be people who will refuse to use shelter facilities. People like this tend to stay at homeless encampments, and that is a huge problem. Encampments may be a source of increasing criminal activity, decreasing the sanitary conditions of the city in general and the site especially, as well as it may cause the disease spreading. The solution should be radical. All the encampments should be eliminated and the sites of their most possible formation should be monitored and patrolled by the police.
All the free canteens and charity spots that provide free food and clothes should be closed as they attract various types of homeless. Those, in general, who do not want to go to shelters because of the rules and that shifts him or her to the group of potential criminals. Of course, the canteens and free clothes spots should be opened and re-opened in cases of emergency like extremely cold weather, for example. But what to do with the drug and alcohol addicted homeless? Some of them really want to overcome their addiction so the centres for helping the addicts that guarantee the best availability to the homeless people should be created. And, of course, certain programs to reintegrate them into a public life and a normal society should be applied.
All the solutions, listed above are a good, and, in the majority of cases, certain ways to solve the problems caused by homelessness for the cities affected by the issue. In case of a wise and well-out-thought policy, the acuteness of the homelessness problem as well as the problems caused by homelessness, should be significantly decreased.
References
Hart, A. (2015). Solving the Homelessness Problem with Housing. The Press Democrat. Web.
National Alliance to End Homelessness: The State of Homelessness in America 2015. Web.