Download or read book Policy Shifts in the Massachusetts Response to Family Homelessness written by Margaret A. Leonard and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 15 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Plan to End Family Homelessness written by Massachusetts. Policy Academy on Family Homelessness and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Massachusetts HomeBASE Program written by Ellen Elizabeth Ward and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Massachusetts is the only state in the US to maintain an emergency shelter entitlement for homeless families with its own dedicated line item in the state budget. However, in the last decade that line item has increased by 134%. In fiscal year 2011, Massachusetts spent more money on homeless services while at the same time serving more families through the Emergency Assistance (EA) system than ever before. In an attempt to rein in the cost and volume of participants in the system, the state underwent a major reform that culminated in the launch of a new program, HomeBASE, on August 1st, 2011. The program adopted a housing-first approach to serving families at imminent risk of homelessness that offered financial assistance for families to secure their own housing unit rather than entering an emergency shelter. This thesis looks at the implications of the housing-first policy shift and determines whether the program was able to achieve its intended goals: to reduce the cost and volume of the EA system. I find that the costs associated with offering 12-months of rental assistance are less than half of the average cost of serving a family in EA shelter. However, the savings are partially offset by the increase in demand for assistance when offering a housing subsidy instead of emergency shelter. To understand the reasons for the increased demand, I compare families enrolled in HomeBASE to EA shelter families from previous years to determine which, if any, factors contributed to demand. I find that HomeBASE did not attract a different population of families but merely more of the same. Using this analysis I make recommendations for how the state can modify the program using targeting tools and stabilization services to achieve its intended outcomes. These recommendations are relevant for other homeless policymakers and service providers as more and more programs adopt a housing-first approach to homelessness.
Download or read book Permanent Supportive Housing written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-08-11 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronic homelessness is a highly complex social problem of national importance. The problem has elicited a variety of societal and public policy responses over the years, concomitant with fluctuations in the economy and changes in the demographics of and attitudes toward poor and disenfranchised citizens. In recent decades, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the philanthropic community have worked hard to develop and implement programs to solve the challenges of homelessness, and progress has been made. However, much more remains to be done. Importantly, the results of various efforts, and especially the efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans in recent years, have shown that the problem of homelessness can be successfully addressed. Although a number of programs have been developed to meet the needs of persons experiencing homelessness, this report focuses on one particular type of intervention: permanent supportive housing (PSH). Permanent Supportive Housing focuses on the impact of PSH on health care outcomes and its cost-effectiveness. The report also addresses policy and program barriers that affect the ability to bring the PSH and other housing models to scale to address housing and health care needs.
Download or read book Homelessness written by Padraig O'Malley and published by University of Massachusetts Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 870 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The specter of homelessness is a frightening presence in the lives of many Americans. To date, there are an estimated three million homeless in the United States, most of them children, women, veterans, the elderly, and the mentally ill. But there are also millions of people who are separated from homelessness by only a very thin line, a line that could instantly be crossed as the result of accident, family illness, loss of a job, or death of a spouse. This special issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy addresses the particular needs and concerns of homeless people in the six New England states. Reflecting the latest scholarship and social policy, more than sixty contributors--among them public service professionals, advocacy group members, policy -makers, theorists, and researchers--offer their thoughts an expertise. To their ideas and insights are added the poems and prose writings of some of the homeless themselves. Together, these pieces make a vital contribution toward our understanding of homelessness and provide a framework for creating wise policy designed to protect the least fortunate in our society.
Download or read book Rehousing Homeless Families in Massachusetts written by Laura Humm Delgado and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2009, three significant events related to family homelessness converged on the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). First, the shelters for homeless families in Massachusetts were at capacity, and over 1,000 homeless families had been placed in hotels and motels across the state. Second, Article 87 of the Amendments to the Constitution transferred the Commonwealth's Emergency Assistance (EA) program to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), thereby designating DHCD to run the emergency shelter system for homeless families and individuals. Third, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development granted Massachusetts $45 million to implement the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP), a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. With the newly acquired responsibility to run the EA program, put HPRP into practice, and rehouse the homeless families, especially those in hotels and motels, in Massachusetts, DHCD developed "the Architecture." The Architecture introduced a new policy model for how to address homelessness in Massachusetts through prevention, diversion, rehousing, and stabilization. It also provided the narrative for the HPRP Request for Responses that DHCD released July 3 1, 2009. This thesis is an analysis of how two "best practice" agencies in Massachusetts put the HPRP policy into practice using the Architecture developed by DHCD. Those two agencies are Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership (MBHP) in Boston and the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance (CMHA) in Worcester. The agencies' practices upon which this research focuses are rehousing and stabilization programs for homeless families, including landlord outreach and support. This thesis provides an analysis of how the agencies incorporate this new HPRP policy into existing practice while coping with the challenges and dilemmas they encounter along the way.
Download or read book Changing the Paradigm of Homelessness written by Yvonne Vissing and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-06 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changing the Paradigm of Homelessness offers a comprehensive look at family housing distress related to the homelessness epidemic in the United States. This book explores the causes and consequences of this epidemic and proposes drastic changes in America’s historically ill-fated approach to family homelessness. By describing this crisis in detail, the authors enlighten readers to the scope of this issue, describe those impacted by it, and outline ways to shift public policies and public perceptions. The authors interweave scholarly concepts with insights of those who are currently or previously homeless, and, in doing so, they show the importance of academic knowledge influencing policy decisions and the ways in which these influences impact the lives of real persons. This book, then, uses pedagogy, policy, and pragmatism to critique the United States’ approach to family homelessness.
Download or read book Defending the Right to a Home written by Beth Ellen Harris and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2004 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the influence of legal professionals on the dynamics of state policy making, this work looks at the responses of poverty lawyers to attempts by US Congress and state legislatures to dismantle social welfare programmes and to straitjacket law reform activities in the 1980s and 1990s.
Download or read book Report of the Special Commission Relative to Ending Homelessness in the Commonwealth written by Massachusetts. Special Commission Relative to Ending Homelessness in the Commonwealth and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Homelessness Health and Human Needs written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1988-02-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have always been homeless people in the United States, but their plight has only recently stirred widespread public reaction and concern. Part of this new recognition stems from the problem's prevalence: the number of homeless individuals, while hard to pin down exactly, is rising. In light of this, Congress asked the Institute of Medicine to find out whether existing health care programs were ignoring the homeless or delivering care to them inefficiently. This book is the report prepared by a committee of experts who examined these problems through visits to city slums and impoverished rural areas, and through an analysis of papers written by leading scholars in the field.
Download or read book Responding to the Homeless written by Russell K. Schutt and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-21 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Responding to the Homeless: Policy and Practice is largely a product of a unique collaboration between Russell K. Schutt and Gerald R. Garrett and their Boston community. As such, it offers a rich perspective on the problem of homelessness that is derived from the authors' shared experience with researchers, academics, students, providers, policymakers, and homeless persons themselves. Schutt and Garrett take the reader into the shelters and acquaint him or her with the philosophical and practical dilemmas facing line workers as well as policymakers. They also take the reader into the community to better understand the housing market and the dysfunctional continuities among shelter, housing, treatment, and social supports. There are sensitive discussions of the salient health problems that too commonly touch the lives of homeless individuals, such as substance abuse and AIDS. The volume also includes clear descriptions of the sometimes elusive processes of counseling and case management for homeless individuals. The sidebars of "what to do" and "what not to do" contain useful information that will both inform and empower individuals who are working on the front lines, and inspire and prepare future caregivers. While the eminently readable organization and style of the book are sugges tive of a highly practical handbook on the basics of homelessness, the authors and their contributors have also produced a scholarly volume that is replete with current research findings, programs descriptions, case studies, and vignettes.
Download or read book Homelessness in America written by Robert Hartmann McNamara and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-08-30 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Homelessness is one of the most compelling social problems in the United States. Dating from the early years in Colonial America to the current problems relating to homeless women and children, homelessness has been the topic of discussion of scholars, social activists, and policy makers. Many types of social problems are linked to homelessness, including poverty, substance abuse, foster care, and crime. As a result, unpacking the issues has proven to be a challenge for anyone interested in this topic. Homelessness in America offers an assessment of what is known about each segment of the homeless population, which contrary to conventional belief, is comprised of a wide variety of faces from many backgrounds. It explains linkages to other social issues and provides a balanced overview of homelessness in light of the varying perspectives on the topic. While much of what has been written about homelessness has come from the academic perspective, agendas often interfere with an accurate understanding of the problem. Clearly, there is a place for other types of perspectives, including those that view homelessness through political and legal lenses. These groups have provided us with a robust body of information within which we may better understand the questions relating to homelessness. McNamara has brought together the voices of these groups in order to reveal the numerous political, economic, and social constraints that beset current attempts to solve homelessness. In addition, the commonly held belief that homelessness is a result of laziness or a poor work ethic is turned on its head to reveal that homelessness is truly a multifaceted and complex issue.
Download or read book Homelessness Prevention in Massachusetts written by Grady Deacon and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Issues for Debate in Social Policy written by CQ Researcher, and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2014-05-27 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of non-partisan reports focuses on 18 hot-button social policy issues written by award-winning CQ Researcher journalists. As an annual that comes together just months before publication, the volume is as current as possible. And because it’s CQ Researcher, the social policy reports are expertly researched and written, showing all sides of an issue. Chapters follow a consistent organization, exploring three issue questions, then offering background, current context, and a look ahead, as well as featuring a pro/con debate box. All issues include a chronology, bibliography, photos, charts, and figures.
Download or read book COVID 19 and Homelessness written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Strategies for Improving Homeless People s Access to Mainstream Benefits and Services written by Martha R. Burt and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2000, HUD, in recognition that any solution to homelessness must emphasize housing, targeted its McKinney-Vento Act homeless competitive programs towards housing activities. This policy decision presumed that programs such as Medicaid, TANF and General Assistance could pick up the slack produced by the change. This study examines how 7 communities sought to improve homeless people¿s access to mainstream services following this shift away from funding services through the Supportive Housing Program. Provides communities with models and strategies that they can use. Highlights the limits of what even the most resourceful of communities can do to enhance service and benefit access by homeless families and individuals.
Download or read book Homelessness written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
