What The Next President Can Do For US

As you read this piece, over 82 million Americans have already cast their votes for the presidential candidate of their choice in the high stakes US election. And on the 3rd of November, just four days from today, the rest of the votes would come in, with the total expected to surpass the 138 million votes cast in 2016.

Being a nonprofit required by law to be politically neutral, while happy that people are exercising their sacred duty to our democracy, we have no preference for either President Donald Trump or his challenger Vice President Joe Biden.

We have been praying for the election to be peaceful and lawful. And no matter who wins, we plan and hope to continue offering our 24/7 services to the neediest women, children and men that God Almighty has given us the opportunity and privilege to serve right here in the Detroit area. 

That stated, it would certainly be nice to have as the next president of the United States someone - anyone the people vote for - who deeply cares a lot about getting a firm handle on the opioid and substance abuse addiction ravaging our cities and suburbs. Why? We have seen up-close at our service centers how addiction has trampled on remarkable talents and torpedoed hitherto strong families.

No demographic has been spared. Young and old, educated and less educated, rich and poor, city dwellers and suburbanites have all fallen victims. That means the whole of society suffers as a result. We have seen discomforting spikes, and we believe with the right policy framework and adequate funding from Washington DC, we will see a commendable downward trend in cases and consequences. Our community really needs it.

Quite frankly, none of the two presidential candidates has laid out a clear-cut and aggressive policy proposal for collaboratively tackling the nation's opioid and drug addiction problem. 

Talking about the pertinent problem of homelessness, some think it is simply an issue that only the opioid and drug addicted face. Or one that ends with giving people housing vouchers. Not so. Respected and right-acting individuals and families sometimes fall on hard times and consequently become homeless. We have a saying that "Many of us are two or three paychecks away from becoming homeless." That's quite true.

Ours is a society that actively encourages more consumer spending and less savings. One noticeable offshoot of that reality is that people - even those in the high income bracket - don't usually have a lot of money saved up in a rainy day fund that they can draw from when things get out of whack. So, they find themselves in situations where they are unable to keep up with their mortgage or rent payments and their bills. 

In fact, in the Great Recession of 2007-2009, we saw some laid-off business managers and executives who were sleeping in their cars and coming to our emergency shelters for free breakfast, lunch and dinner. Could they have imagined finding themselves in such a predicament? Maybe not. 

For people that fall into that category, it is safe and sustainable to give them housing vouchers if they get back to the workforce on low(er) pay. Why not? They already know how to run a home, and can get back to it with relative ease.

Unfortunately, that's not the case with those who have been on the streets for years and decades. Not knowing how to run a home could easily lead to a number of problems in a new home, which is why we believe it is necessary for them to undergo some home ownership or rent readiness programs that equip them to make the most of the opportunity they now have to call a place home.

But - you guessed right - transitional housing programs that met that critical need have in recent years been eliminated by housing policy makers. For us as a direct service organization, the program was robust and very effective in moving people from homelessness to self-reliance especially because the programs prioritized deploying committed professionals like case managers and councilors in the essential task of resolving the underlying causes of homelessness, and helping clients boast their self-worth, develop marketable skills, get much-needed employment and be reintegrated with their families. 

Another reason a number of people become homeless is their mental illness. Remember when, owing to budgetary considerations, states like Michigan closed mental institutions thus creating a situation where people with mental illness roamed our streets? Won't it be nice to have a federal administration that places very high premium on the mental health and wellbeing of Americans? With the right policy design and implementation, organizations like Detroit Rescue Mission will committedly play a greater role in promoting community mental health and wellness through our laser-focused programs steeped in dynamic collaboration. 

One more thing: At Detroit Rescue Mission, we see getting stable employment and living independently as important parts of our success determinants for the clients we serve. Employment undergirds their stability, boosts their sense of worth and supports their ability to live independently. Fathers who have not been in the lives of their children feel empowered to seek and reestablish relationship with their children. Families that had been broken because of critical issues like food insecurity find a way to heal. Single mothers who have not received child support for years start receiving them. Cities get more taxes to provide needed services to the community. 

You see, it's not ok to just stop at hammering on how opioid and drug addition, and homelessness affect society at large. Good solutions benefit society as well. 

But it should be noted that the ability of formerly homeless and drug addicted persons to get and keep a job is not only incumbent on their behavioral change and sobriety as a result of our evidence-based interventions but also on the economic pulse of the state and the country as a whole.

If businesses are not doing well enough to warrant expansion, our clients won't get the opportunity to get hired. But if the economy is doing well, more people, including those with big holes in their resume, will get the benefit of getting employed and depending on their income. 

Besides, a large chunk of the funds we use to serve our clients come from kind individuals, families, churches, foundations and businesses. The better they perform financially, the higher their donations - in dollar amounts and frequency - in support of our myriad of services aimed at helping the men and women we serve gain the stability, sobriety and self-reliance they really need. 

In other words, we want the next president to make the economy work and work well. That's not too much to ask. Or is it? 

Dr. Chad Audi has been the president and CEO of America’s largest rescue mission, the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, since 2004. An expert in finance and leadership, he is credited with bringing all-round growth and expansion to the 109-year-old organization which gives much needed hope and help to the homeless, jobless, drug-addicted and afflicted of southeast Michigan. For more information, please visit https://drmm.org or call 313-993-4700.