America’s programs to end homelessness have failed. It’s time to reevaluate and develop a new strategy.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, The Daily Wire<\/a> reported:<\/p>\n Former President Barack Obama\u2019s approach to combat homelessness has been \u201ca disaster on every level,\u201d according to Texas Public Policy Foundation senior fellow Michele Steeb.<\/strong><\/p>\n Steeb is an expert on homelessness and author of \u201cAnswers Behind the Red Door: Battling the Homeless Epidemic.\u201d She said in an interview with Morning Wire that homelessness in the United States, and especially in California, has dramatically worsened since the federal government adopted \u201chousing first\u201d as its singular approach to homelessness.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bush administration first introduced the Housing First model to federal policy in 2008. The Obama administration massively expanded the policy in 2013, turning into the federal government\u2019s \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d approach to homelessness.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThankfully, the Trump administration has stepped in and said at the federal level, we need to reprioritize mental health treatment. Drug and alcohol counseling needs to be offered in conjunction with housing,\u201d said Steeb, \u201cand we need to clear these encampments because these encampments have become so dangerous. Not just for the individuals living in them, pets are now overdosing, women are being trafficked, and there\u2019s spillover effects to the general public that have been devastating.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The article notes:<\/p>\n \u201cUp until about 12 years ago, the federal government funded shelters, they funded transitional housing. They funded mental health and drug and alcohol treatment along with that housing,\u201d said Steeb.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mental health and substance abuse play a major role in homelessness. The pictures of tent shelters coming out of some of our major cities include open drug use and discarded needles.<\/p>\n Homelessness is a symptom of a much larger problem–mental health and drug abuse. Those issues need to be addressed in order to solve homelessness. One of the problems is that you need some level of cooperation from the homeless person in order to address those issues. Homelessness has increased in places where money was given for shelter but not to deal with drug and mental health issues. We need to tackle both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" America’s programs to end homelessness have failed. It’s time to reevaluate and develop a new strategy. On Saturday, The Daily Wire reported: Former President Barack Obama\u2019s approach to combat homelessness has been \u201ca disaster on every level,\u201d according to Texas … Continue reading