The Federal Definition of Homelessness as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is written as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,” and “an individual who has a primary nighttime residence” that is

1. “a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter…”
2. “an institution that provides a temporary residence for an individual intended to be institutionalized”
3. “a public or private place not designed for… a regular sleeping accomodation for human beings

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However, a blog post by Dominic Mapstone for the “End Homelessness” section of change.org about the difference between “houselessness” and “homelessness” made me think further about this federal definition. [You can read the post here]  There is always going to be a need for a federal definition in situations that call for  research and statistics, but as many researchers have seen, homelessness statistics are consistently underscored.  Many times when we think about someone who is homeless, we think about someone without a house.  Mapstone goes further when talking about a family who has lost their house because of a fire, but he states that, “They aren’t homeless! That family still has each other and all their social connectedness and contacts are still intact.”

Homelessness is something more than being without a house.  Homelessness is having no connection, or no support.  I agree with Mapstone when he says that, “housed people experience this loneliness and isolation also.”  Ending homelessness calls for a reconnection between an individual and a community.  Providing OPTIONS and linkage to community resources is key to helping the homeless.

Visit HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program page to learn more about the services that are provided for the homeless.  Or, check out our Open Doors with Care page to see how you can continue to help our initiative.

In an article from the Detroit Free Press, it was noted that the average stay in a homeless shelter has dramatically declined.

“[A]verage stays dropped from four months to 28 days since summer,” Executive Director [of South Oakland Shelter], Ryan Hertz, said.

In an earlier post, I touched on the importance of the ‘housing first’ approach.  Getting someone housed takes a weight off of their shoulders and allows them to focus on utilizing support services they may need to overcome addiction or mental illness.  “In Detroit, Southwest Counseling Solutions used the approach to find permanent housing for more than 600 mentally ill clients in the last five years, Executive Director Joseph Tardella said.”

People with mental illness or addiction can not simply be asked to stay in a shelter and be expected to recover or suddenly act responsibly.  Only in rare cases can people recover by themselves under these circumstances.  Indiana took initiative in 2003 and came up with the Blueprint to End Homelessness focusing on housing first and housing plus (affordable housing plus support services).

What do you think the pros and cons are for the housing first approach? Comment below.