American Innovation and Homelessness
It is a moral outrage that the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation allows its constituents to suffer on the streets. The nation that invented the internet, smartphones, machine guns, the Panama Canal and the modern submarine permits over half a million of its citizens to call the streets their home. America invented the trans-atlantic cable communication, put satellites in outer space and invented the first nuclear reactor, yet we tell our homeless neighbors that they are criminals because they are not housed? Our great nation was the first country to mass produce a vehicle named the Ford model T, yet we are unable or perhaps unwilling to solve the social dilemma of unhoused mothers and their children. The USA was the first to make the idea of an airplane a reality, however, we can not supply all our citizens with toilet paper or a place to use the bathroom. We send people into outer space but our veterans whom we call our heroes sleep on the sidewalk.
Why is homelessness such a difficult and persistent problem to overcome?
Our urban development planners have failed to create safe, clean and secure affordable housing for Americans that do not want to call the streets home. Many of our teachers can not afford to live near the students they teach. First responders must travel long distances to get to work because housing in their work area is not tenable. Many of our professors, who have earned advanced degrees from some of the most prestigious universities in the world, live in their cars.
The dynamics of homelessness are incredibly complex and at the same time a simple matter of supply and demand. A shortage of housing prices the working people out of even modest communities. Since 1979 wages have been stagnant while housing continues to appreciate. Real Estate investment trusts have turned housing into a valuable commodity that is bought and sold globally.
All The Homeless are Homeless But not all Homeless are the Same.
The fact that people are poor is no reason to allow them to be exploited by criminals and at the same time treated as criminals by our law enforcement. Their is a strong sense of community on the streets but there is also a lot of exploitation of people on the streets. Child molestation, human trafficking and violance against the homeless is a reality these people have to live with. Gangs turn homeless individuals into modern day slaves. Not all homeless people are criminals and need the protection of our government. They are being oppressed not only by poverty but by organized crime.
Saving Money by Ignoring The Problem
Do we actually think that we are saving money by not complying with the moral obligation of housing the homeless? Imagine the public cost of not solving our housing crisis. People experiencing homelessness are forced to use the emergency rooms as shelter. Because they are exposed to the elements they get sick more often. Due to a lack of hygiene they are more susceptible to disease. The fire fighters are their room service. They use police officers and ambulances as their Uber drivers. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the chronically homeless person costs the taxpayer an estimated $40,000 per year in 2020. Studies show that housing a chronically homeless person would cut the cost to taxpayers by almost 50%.
The solution to homelessness is a deceptive complex problem. Housing alone is not the solution because public housing has been linked to high rates of crime. Housing vouchers were created to solve this problem, but landlords are not buying into the program as they should. Some landlords have a bias against public housing tenants and many homeless people lack the aptitude to find housing with a voucher; Therefore, housing vouchers go largely unused and have to be returned if not used by a certain amount of time. Housing vouchers are perhaps the most effective method for addressing homelessness but there is a long waiting period and only 3 of 4 households are eligible for section 8 vouchers. People working with the housing authority to get public housing or vouchers need additional support from nonprofits to get housed. Nonprofit organizations need additional funding to meet the individual needs of people working to overcome homelessness. People that are homeless need help getting IDs at the DMV, learning how to apply for housing assistance and help after they get a voucher or move into public housing.
I predict that in 2021, a low inventory of housing combined with a high unemployment rate will bring about a historical surge in homeless this country has never seen before. When most people see a homeless person they turn away. It is our turn not to turn away. We must be the generation that brings about an affordable housing solution to homelessness. Is America innovative enough to solve the age old problem of homelessness? Homelessness is not just a moral problem, it is a problem of social innovation. Only nonprofits possess the social innovation to tackle the complex problem of homelessness. A public-private collaboration is very necessary but only the specialized intellectual resources of non profit leaders can create the new approaches needed to end homelessness in America.