Introduction
The essence of high-quality performance of goals in social work is to timely identify and adequately address the problems faced by the citizens in a particular area. The detection of gaps between the community’s urgent needs and the quality and quality of available services to address those needs informs human services decision-making. This project goal is to address a tentative issue in the community of the City of Atlanta. Georgia. The primary concern is the high percentage of poverty and homelessness in the city, which persists regardless of the economic growth and job opportunities (Ballard et al., 2021; The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, n. d.). The increase in homelessness and poverty is associated with a spike in the crime rate in the City of Atlanta.
Given the scope of the problem and its implications for the criminal situation in the city, the city’s available services should be addressed. An organizational assessment of the Fulton County Human Services (2022) revealed that the community obtains conventional assistance in housing and sheltering. However, the proposed services fail to engage the target audience to the full extent due to the psychological, social, and other obstacles underlying the reluctance of the homeless and impoverished population to refer to community-based institutions (Rhone, 2021). Therefore, although there is significant economic growth and employment opportunity in the city, vulnerable people at risk of poverty and homelessness fail to advance their chances. In such a manner, the percentage of homelessness increases, and poverty and crime persist, further endangering the community’s well-being of the City of Atlanta. It is imperative to implement a multifaceted intersectional intervention to facilitate community outreach and engagement for the following professional help.
Data for Intervention Hypothesis
Given the scope of the problem and the reasons for the increasing gap between the number of homeless impoverished people in Atlanta and available services, the following data might be necessary when developing an intervention hypothesis. First, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (n. d.), Georgia’s number of homeless individuals reached 10,234. Second, in the City of Atlanta, as of 2019, 3,217 individuals experienced homelessness (Ballard et al., 2021). This rate is relatively high and indicates that the City of Atlanta is undergoing a significant deterioration in managing the homelessness issue due to the persistence of the high number of people without a place to live.
Third, an essential piece of data contributing to the understanding of the problem and informing the solution is the poverty rate in the city. Indeed, “20.8% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Atlanta, GA (94.6k out of 454k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.3%” (“Atlanta, GA,” 2021, para. 19). Moreover, the most vulnerable population in poverty status includes females aged 25-34 and pregnant females 18-24 (“Atlanta, GA,” 2021). Fourth, in terms of racial distribution of poverty, the Black community is at the highest rank of poverty, accounting for 72.7% of all people in Atlanta living below the poverty level (“Atlanta, GA,” 2021). Thus, this statistical data demonstrates the severity of the problem and the necessity of facilitating and improving the approach to service delivery to this vulnerable community.
Intervention Hypothesis
Homeless people, predominantly poor, commonly suffer from physical health impairments due to unsafe living conditions, are exposed to mental trauma, and often fail to seek help. The concepts of poverty and homelessness are mutually dependent, and poverty triggers homelessness and vice versa. Indeed, according to Pophaim and Peacock (2021), “poverty is believed to be manifest in a lack of income, insufficient resources required to sustain livelihoods and limited access to education and subsequent homelessness” (p. 70). The components of the proposed solution to the problem should address all the factors contributing to continuous homelessness, poverty, and crime intensification in the City of Atlanta, Georgia. Thus, the individuals living on the streets should obtain access to therapy, legal advice, rehabilitation (from substance abuse), assistance with employment, and housing. For that matter, the intervention hypothesis for the recommended solution is as follows. Launching an intersectional community-based program dependent on state and municipal funding to arrange inter-organizational services to engage and help the homeless through assisted rehabilitation, legal solutions, employment, and housing is imperative.
Involved Stakeholders
Due to the intersectionality and complexity of the proposed solution, the suggested intervention would involve several groups of stakeholders. Firstly, since funding is a fundamental aspect of the program launching process, the governmental representatives of the state of Georgia and the City of Atlanta will be engaged to obtain the necessary funding. Secondly, since the governmental funding might not cover all the service expenses, it might be relevant to arrange a fund-raising event to get reliable sponsors such as privately-owned companies in the region. Thirdly, due to the mental health issues the impoverished and homeless experience hardships and situations that may lead to their criminal behavior. Therapy is essential. For that reason, one of the involved stakeholders would be trained therapists and psychiatrists available for community service.
Fourthly, healthcare workers and nursing volunteers should be involved in primary and ongoing physical wellness check-ups of the clients. Fifthly, non-profit organizations with experience in shelter provision should be involved as primary stakeholders in addressing the housing problem. Sixthly, since many homeless people may have turned to criminal activities to survive or have been victims of crime themselves and have lost their property, legal advisors should be engaged to assist the target audience with necessary services to become productive members of society once more (Rhone, 2021). Finally, Atlanta municipal employment agencies should be engaged as stakeholders to obtain a facilitated opportunity for the clients’ employment.
Capacity for Change
The intended solution to the identified gap between the number of the homeless in Atlanta and available services might be successfully implemented, given the community’s capacity for change. According to Allen et al. (2021), there are three basic components of change capacity, namely “motivation for social justice and equity, ethical and professional engagement, and building capacity for change through relationships” (p. 221). Indeed, as claimed previously, the reason for such a gap between the need and services is due to the reluctance or diminished access of the community to seek help (Rhone, 2021). Therefore, with proper motivation achieved via promotional and engagement practices, the target audience will be aware of the available services and encouraged to enroll in the program. Moreover, since the proposed solution involves creating a professional team, this high-standard characteristic will serve a boost of capacity for change. Finally, relationship building between the multiple stakeholders will allow for a systematic multi-level change aimed at reducing the level of poverty and homelessness and ultimately changing the level of well-being of the community of the City of Atlanta.
Appropriate Evidence-Based Change Approach
When implementing a large-scale multifaceted change project like the proposed intervention for reducing the gap between homelessness and available services, one should rely on a credible, evidence-based change model. One of the most effective approaches to managing change is Kottler’s Change Model, which involves a sequence of defined steps necessary to follow when transitioning through change (Grenway, 2021). According to this model, the intended intervention will be based on the establishment of a sense of urgency in all the involved stakeholders, with the following development of a strong coalition between the stakeholders (Grenway, 2021). Furthermore, the vision for the successful reduction of homelessness in the city will be created, communicated to the stakeholders, and encouraged to act upon. After that, short-term goals of enrolling small groups of people will be planned and achieved with the ultimate full-scale program implementation (Grenway, 2021). In such a manner, such a change approach will allow for step-by-step planning and implementation of the program to ensure the evidence is used as the basis for change management.
Conclusion
In summation, the analysis of the community of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and the human service organizations addressing the needs of the community and the under-addressed problem of increasing rates of homelessness has been detected. An intersectional, multifaceted community-based program should exist since homelessness is a complex issue intertwined with poverty, unemployment, crime, mental and physical health deterioration, and isolation. The integration of stakeholders responsible for funding and execution of services in healthcare, legal advice, therapy, employment, and housing will allow for bridging the identified gap in services in Atlanta.
References
Allen, C. G., Ashford, J., Fox, D. J., Guzmán, R., Hirsch, G. R., Martin, M., Rush, C. H., Smithwick, J., Sutkowi, K., Thomas, C., Vedilago, V., & Young, M. (2021). Building individual and community capacity. In Promoting the health of the community (pp. 221-260). Springer, Cham.
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Grenway, B. (2021). A review and application of John Kotter’s” Leading change.” Journal of Sociology and Christianity, 11(2), 91-95.
Pophaim, J. P., & Peacock, R. (2021). Pathways into and out of homelessness: Towards a strategic approach to reducing homelessness. Acta Criminologica: African Journal of Criminology & Victimology, 34(2), 68-87.
Rhone, N. (2021). Opinion: Why are 3,200 people in Atlanta homeless? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Web.
The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. (n. d.). Georgia homelessness statistics. Web.