Putting Social Advocacy Skills into Action

Putting Social Advocacy Skills into Action

            A social problem is a condition or behavior that negatively affects a large number of people (objective component) and is widely recognized as an issue that needs to be addressed (subjective component). Homelessness is both a complex political and social problem with several combinations of factors leading to it: uncertain physical and mental health, domestic abuse, lack of affordable housing, unemployment, community and family breakdown, and addictions. Being homeless entails living without shelter but could also include those experiencing partial homelessness, such as living in sub-standard or temporary shelters. Homelessness in America is prevalent, as about 3.5 million people are living on the streets or in a shelter (Erickson & Wilhelm, 2017). Moreover, a more significant number of 7.5 million share living spaces, as they cannot afford the high housing costs. These levels of homelessness in America have been influenced by public policy choices such as affordability and housing supply, eligibility for housing assistance, and welfare spending.

Homelessness became a national issue in the 1870s, facilitated by industrialization, urbanization, mobility, and the construction of the national railroad systems. Later on, in the early 1980s, significant changes such as gentrification, deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, emergence of HIV/AIDS, high unemployment rates, inadequate affordable housing options and major budget cuts by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) further led to an increase in the rate of homelessness. The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill occurred due to civil rights movements that advocated for the moral treatment of the mentally ill who were highly populated in understaffed psychiatric hospitals (Olivet et al., 2019). The number of patients living in these institutions also substantially dropped. However, lack of funding could not support the proposed community-based services or the needed housing. As the availability of cheap houses reduced, a majority of patients previously institutionalized due to severe and persistent mental illnesses had nowhere to go but the streets and temporary shelters.

Policy interventions aim at remedying or improving the situations that lead to problems such as enhancing social welfare, supporting greater social justice, and a more considerable extent of social protection. During the late 19^th Century, homelessness was a problem addressed by the local and state authority. The department of Housing and Community Development administers the federal housing assistance programs, which consists of three main categories: assistance to state and local government, rental housing assistance, and assistance for homeowners (Blanco, 2018). The aim of the programs has been to making housing affordable to low-income earners. The programs tend to target specific but overgeneralized groups, mainly families with children, those with disabilities, and the elderly. The policy should narrow down and set up a focus on those with mental disorders.

Mental illnesses are a significant contributor to homelessness, being the third largest cause of homelessness among single adults. Due to the lack of treatment, people find it challenging to live with individuals with serious mental illnesses. Therefore, the mentally ill end up being homeless, with communities having to bear the costs. According to a study by the National Alliance to End homelessness, a third of homeless people have serious mental illnesses, mainly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (“State of Homelessness – National Alliance to End Homelessness”, 2020). The housing assistance policy should thus focus more on finding a solution to decrease homelessness of people with mental disorders, and this will significantly reduce a vast percentage of people living on the streets. The department of Housing and Community Development should extend its housing assistance policy to enable the construction of affordable houses close to community-based services dedicated to the mentally ill. In the specific buildings, there could also be spaces set aside for community-based services where the patients can have easy access to treatment. This partnership will ensure that apart from having access to living areas, treatment will be readily available.

The extension of the policy to focus on those with mental disorders should begin with research to find out how many people diagnosed with severe mental disorders live on the streets and families containing people with mental disorders. After that, the number and locations of community-based mental health service institutions should be determined. If there is available land, then restrictions should be lessened to enable the construction of public housing. If not, a different area can be identified, and part of the building can be set aside for community-based services.

Narrowing down the groups in the housing assistance policy will enable more focus to be placed on those with mental illnesses. This will ensure that adequate resources are set aside to ensure that the homeless and mentally ill will be placed in the appropriate living spaces. Together with the proximity and availability of treatment, their road to recovery will be quick; hence they will be able to take opportunities that will make them able to support themselves financially.

References

Blanco, G. P. (2018). Federal Policies and the Poor: Allocation Decisions and Impacts of Housing Financial Assistance Programs (Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University).

Erickson, J., & Wilhelm, C. (2017). The Extent of Homelessness in America. In Housing the Homeless (pp. 125-143). Routledge.

Olivet, J., Dones, M., & Richard, M. (2019). The intersection of homelessness, racism, and mental illness. In Racism and psychiatry (pp. 55-69). Humana Press, Cham.

State of Homelessness – National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2020). Retrieved 7 April 2020, from https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-report/