Homelessness continues to be a persistent problem in many communities across the country. On any given night, hundreds of thousands of people in the US cannot access safe and stable housing. The homeless population encompasses families, veterans, the mentally ill, victims of domestic abuse, and others struggling with different challenges. While emergency shelters provide short-term relief, long-term solutions involve expanding social services and support systems. According to Canham et al. (2022), developing outreach programs such as Hospital-to-Shelter/Housing (H2SH) have proven effective in helping people transition out of homelessness permanently. However, limited funding and resources prevent many communities from providing these needed services to all who require them. Expanding social service capacity in Wayne County holds promise for creating pathways for people experiencing homelessness to obtain housing, employment, and stability. Wayne County needs to establish designated shelter areas and expand social services to address homelessness in the community effectively effectively.
The most impactful social services to address homelessness take a holistic approach focused on transitional housing, such as mental health care, career training, and rent assistance. Expanding funding for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs such as disaster planning would bolster rapid re-housing programs and provide housing case managers to support stability. Morris (2020) argued that local community job training programs for disaster planning offer pathways to stable housing in case of a disaster. Through this, the provincial government will provide rent vouchers and public housing development necessary to facilitate access to affordable housing. In Way County, the government should increase mental health and addiction counseling opportunities to serve homeless individuals working towards independence. Therefore, thoughtful policy changes and allocation of funds towards housing-focused programs can make meaningful progress toward reducing homelessness in Wayne County.
Strategically expanding social services for people experiencing homelessness provides advantages beyond just serving this vulnerable population by decreasing burdens across the local community. Investing in transitional programs and housing stability lowers chronic homelessness over time. Culhane and An (2022) explained that funding homeless shelters reduces reliance on emergency shelters and acute healthcare services. the government can address the issue of homelessness by allocating funds to provide mental health and addiction treatment. For instance, Wayne County funding such programs will lower cases of substance abuse and publicly disruptive behaviors. The county should also develop effective interventions to facilitate skilled employment for those overcoming homelessness to reduce itreduce associated unemployment burdens. Therefore, by funding housing shelter programs and providingmental health and addiction treatments, Wayne County will effectively address the issue of homelessness in the community.
While expanding social services requires upfront investments, failing to address homelessness also comes at a high community cost. Homelessness often leads to overuse of public emergency services, including hospitals, police, and jails, resulting in more taxing on public budgets. Canham et al. (2022) asserted that investing part of those funds towards permanent housing and supportive services for the same population could reduce repetitive public costs. Addressing homelessness more effectively creates opportunities to reduce spending on short-term shelter support. For example, a report on homelessness in Wayne County found each homeless person costs taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars per year through high use of crisis care. Investments in supportive housing generate more public savings over time when accounting for expensive costs associated with leaving chronic homelessness unaddressed. Though increased budget allocations are required, enhancing services ultimately balances out and relieves fiscal burdens on public systems. Therefore, as such, expansion through housing-focused interventions makes sense economically.
Beyond fiscal motivations, providing adequate social services to transition people out of homelessness is the right thing to do. Allowing vulnerable individuals to continually fall through the cracks represents a societal failure to protect basic human rights. Safe, affordable housing and access to health and self-sufficiency programs should be guaranteed rather than treated as luxuries for the most under-resourced citizens (Morris, 2020). Expanding services is not only pragmatic but also upholds principles of human compassion. It is because many faith communities argue that society has an ethical responsibility to care for people experiencing homelessness. As homelessness often intersects with mental health issues, past traumas, and discrimination, the homeless population deserves equitable support to address complex needs. Thus, increasing access to safe and stable housing aligns with moral obligations to assist fellow citizens facing homelessness to rise above unrelenting hardships.
When discussing homelessness, many argue that the laws provided to protect citizens criminalize the survival behaviors of the vulnerable population. As homelessness has increased in recent years, so have laws essentially criminalizing necessary life activities for those without housing. According to Allen (2020), leveraging Eight Amendment “excessive fines” laws helps protect homeless people since the existing laws criminalize their survival behaviors. The Eighth Amendment’s “excessive fines” clause protects against disproportionate fees and penalties targeting disadvantaged groups such as people without housing. In this case, Wayne County courts should deem certain fines against people without homes excessive by shifting focus away from punishment through fines and towards constructive services. Therefore, rather than criminalize homelessness, communities must expand restorative services to uphold Constitutional rights against undue harassment of this vulnerable population.
In conclusion, homelessness persists as a solvable crisis in many communities lacking the infrastructure and resources to fully address housing insecurity. While misconceptions exist, comprehensive social services for transitional housing, such as counseling, rent assistance, and job training, provide pathways out of homelessness. Strategic investment in these programs helps the vulnerable population while benefiting the broader public interests. Allocating funds towards expanding evidence-based services to address root causes makes progress toward effectively ending homelessness over time. Wayne County must prioritize housing-first policies and support programs and erase stigmas to see this persistent problem end.
Allen, S. (2021). The Role of the Excessive Fines Clause in Ending the Criminalization of Homelessness. Colum. JL & Soc. Probs., pp. 55, 499. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/collsp55§ion=21
Canham, S., Humphries, J., Seetharaman, K., Custodio, K., Mauboules, C., Good, C., … & Bosma, H. (2022). Hospital-to-shelter/Housing interventions for persons experiencing homelessness. International Journal on Homelessness, 2(1), 136–151. https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/ijoh/article/view/13455
Culhane, D. P., & An, S. (2022). Estimated revenue of the nonprofit homeless shelter industry in the United States: Implications for a more comprehensive approach to unmet shelter demand. Housing Policy Debate, 32(6), 823-836. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10511482.2021.1905024
Morris, S. C. (2020). Disaster planning for homeless populations: analysis and recommendations for communities. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 35(3), 322–325. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X20000278