tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37533542993222875592024-03-13T14:43:33.670-07:00Homelessnesspeacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-34938502726791669052010-12-21T19:08:00.000-08:002010-12-21T19:08:27.485-08:00Homeless shelter<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><u>Management and funding.</u></i></span></b><div><b><br />
</b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Homeless shelters are usually operated by a non-profit agency or a municipal agency, or are associated with a church. Many get at least part of their funding from local government entities. Shelters can sometimes be referred to as "human warehouses". Other shelters however, base their practice on empowerment models, where instead of "warehousing clients", they empower "participants" to become agents in their own futures and destinies.<br />
<br />
Such models tend to focus on assisting participants to access their rights whilst fulfilling their responsibilities as citizens. Sometimes this includes contributing financially towards the provision of the shelters they are residing in. In Australia, legislation requires those residing in Government funded shelters to contribute a figure similar to 25% of their own income, in return for support and accommodation. Consequently, many shelters in Australia rely on participant contributions for as much as 20% of their budgets.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><u>Services.</u></i></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Homeless shelters sometimes also provide other services, such as a soup kitchen, job seeking skills training, job training, job placement, support groups, and/or substance (i.e., drugs and/or alcohol) abuse treatment. If they do not offer any of these services, they can usually refer their clients to agencies that do.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><u>Controversy.</u></i></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There has been concern about the transmission of diseases in the homeless population housed in shelters, especially with some air and blood borne viruses. A question has been raised as to just how much money donated to the charities that run the shelters actually gets to the homeless person and the needed services. In many cases, there is a large overhead in administrative costs, which compromise the money for their homeless clients.</span>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-25102643257728032502010-12-21T19:02:00.000-08:002010-12-21T19:02:23.200-08:00Homeless shelter<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people. Usually located in urban neighborhoods, they are similar to emergency shelters. The primary difference is that homeless shelters are usually open to anyone, without regard to the reason for need. Some shelters limit their clientele by gender or age.<br />
<br />
In the United States, most homeless shelters expect clients to stay elsewhere during the day, returning only to sleep, or, if the shelter also provides meals, to eat; people in emergency shelters are more likely to stay all day, except for work, school, or errands.<br />
<br />
There are daytime-only homeless shelters, where the homeless can go when they cannot stay inside at their nighttime sleeping shelter during the day. Such an early model of a daytime homeless shelter providing multi-faceted services is Saint Francis House in Boston, Massachusetts which was officially founded in 1984. It was based on the settlement house,clubhouse and community center support and social service models.<br />
<br />
In Australia, due to government funding requirements, most homelessness services fill the role of both daytime and nighttime shelters. Shelters develop empowerment based "wrap around" services in which clients are case managed and supported in their efforts to become self reliant. An example of such a service provider in this area in Australia is Najidah.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What about in MALAYSIA ??? figure it youself..</span></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-79602710481854796242010-11-29T22:45:00.000-08:002010-11-29T22:45:23.417-08:00Story in the Star (January 7, 2008)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Entitled, “Rude shock for guard” told how a 61 year old man was mistaken for a beggar and taken to the Rumah Seri Kenangan in Seremban where he was detained for 31 days despite his insistence that he had employment. Lim Tian Swee who was homeless, habitually napped at the Pasar Seni LRT station following his night shift. Lim reported that he had been napping there for about 9 months and that there were hundreds of people who also napped there. On this particular morning, an officer from the Welfare Department asked to see Lim’s MyKad and if he had a home. Lim informed the officer that he did not and he and four others were taken away ina green van. Upon arrival to the home, he had to hand over his belongings including his</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">money, his identification card, and his hand phone. Lim reported that he was stripped naked and given a sarong, a plastic mat, blanket, and pillow. Lim stated that upon release he was not given money to return to Kuala Lumpur and was told he could walk back. Complaints were lead in relation to Lim’s case.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A May 17, 2008 New Straits Times article (De Silva, 2008) described that the number of people attending the Welcome Caring Services Feeding Programme centre, for free lunchtime food had increased from 90 in December 2007 to between 120 to 140 in May 2008. The article stated that the majority who frequent the place live on the streets. Carl D’Cunha the co-coordinator informed the NST that due to a recent increase in</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">unemployment, the number of destitutes [sic] had increased. On occasion, the centre now runs out of food.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Several points should be noted from the above reports. First, homelessness in Kuala Lumpur is not new, seven years ago FNBKL were feeding homeless people. Second, these stories suggested that there are hundreds of homeless people in Kuala Lumpur. Third, Lim’s reported experience of his treatment was appalling. In essence, he underwent a 10 process similar to that of a prisoner – possessions taken, stripped naked, detained against his will and denied basic liberties. It is easy to see how reports such as this would deter people from seeking the assistance of the Welfare Department. As noted in numerous interviews were held to gain data for this study.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Homeless people, Elites and members of NGOs were interviewed. The interviewees were selected from three sites: FNBKL Sunday food giveaway; Street Fellowship at Klang Bus Station; and PT Foundation Chow Kit Centre. Four ‘elite’ interviews were carried out. Two with very high ranking academics and two with people at the Director level of Government Agencies. A multitude of issues were raised as a result of these interviews and therefore they are summarised beneath. Of the 27 homeless people interviewed for this study the biggest majority were middle aged and older men. The majority of the men were of Chinese ethnicity, who practiced Christianity. It must be strongly noted here, that this study was not a random sample. Almost half the participants were selected from a Christian Service near Chinatown (a small number of these participants were Malay and Indian). This study makes no attempt to statistically generalise its results.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of the participants were single (either never married, divorced, or widowed). Less than one third reported being married. Most participants had some level of secondary education with only two participants having any education beyond secondary level. Of note, 19 of the participants reported having children. However, only 6 reported currently being in contact with their children and most of this contact was impersonal and infrequent. Sixteen reported being homeless for more than one year. Of that 16, four stated they had been homeless for between 2 and 5 years, while 7 reported being homeless for more than 10 years. One participant reported more than 30 years of homelessness. Eighteen of the participants reported coming from somewhere other than Kuala Lumpur. The highest percentages coming from Penang 14.8%, Ipoh 11.1% and Johor Baru 11.1%. It is perhaps surprising that almost one third (29.6%) of the respondents come from Kuala Lumpur. Again, while this study does not attempt to generalise statistically, these findings question </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the belief held by some, which suggests that all the homeless people in Kuala Lumpur have moved to the city from elsewhere. It is clearly not the case.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A number of participants reported the simple history of not having employment/money and coming to the city to find work only to be disappointed and subsequently finding themselves sleeping on the streets. This scenario appears to be the exception rather than the rule. The self-reported causes of homelessness were numerous and complex. Many of the respondents reported disputes with their immediate family, whether that be, partner and children, or family of origin. Oft times, the final dispute would occur after very long periods of additional problems. The final dispute would be the crisis point that would start the homelessness, for example, the respondent who reported an enduring gambling problem, which the family could no longer endure. Another participant described having untreated bipolar disorder. During the manic phases he would engage in extremely risky financial dealings such as trading money on the internet. This would result in heavy </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">financial losses and the subsequent conflict within his marriage. The final conflict took place and the wife asked him to leave. For a number of participants interfamilial conflict would be combined with drug abuse. One participant who reported many years of drug 11 abuse also reported that when she was 17 years old her father tried to rape her. She left home. Another participant who reported a violent father also reported leaving home and many years of drug abuse. For some other participants, issues of sexuality appear to have been instrumental in family conflict. One participant reported that his having contracted HIV caused disputes within the family so he left. Another participant reported that he is homosexual, has a history of drug abuse and is HIV positive. He believed that his family would not be able to accept either and so rather than confront his family with the truth about himself, and potentially cause the family suffering he sleeps on the streets of Kuala </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lumpur. He reported that his family is not aware of his homeless status; they think he has a job in the city. Another participant reported that in 1991 he had a motor bicycle accident and was in a coma for 2 months. In June that year his father died and in December his mother died. He became depressed and was hospitalised in a psychiatric hospital then his marriage broke down because of his ‘sanity’. He stated that he had no support and so he started traveling. One participant informed the author that he has schizophrenia and that two weeks prior to interview he had ceased taking his medication. He stated that during his teenage years he used marijuana. However, he viewed alcohol and his anger as his big problems. He viewed the cause of his homelessness as his family rejecting him because they found his ‘Islamic Conversion Card’. He stated that his family could not accept his conversion. Another participant described how he had failed to cope when a girlfriend, whom he loved, ended the relationship. He stated that he made a bad decision and decided to leave his job. He received bad advice from his friends. He left Johor Baru for the city and became a homeless person.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some points must be noted here. First, some assume that homelessness only commences after people arrive in the city. This is flatly not correct for all cases. Some homeless people were homeless prior to their arrival in Kuala Lumpur. Second, some may assume that drug use commences after arrival to the city or after homelessness commences. Again, this is flatly not correct for all cases. A number of participants reported drug abuse in their hometowns and abusing drugs before becoming homeless. Indeed, for some it </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">appears to have been a causal factor. Therefore, many homeless people have a history of some form of dysfunction accompanied by a crisis that leads to homelessness. At times the crisis may be posited as the cause of homelessness however, commonly a small number of probing questions can reveal that there are long standing personal, or interpersonal problems, which have lead to the crisis. Commonly the dispute that leads to the commencement of homelessness is only one in a history of disputes that have the same unresolved issues at their core.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Almost fifty percent of the participants reported no prior hospitalisation. Two participants stated that they have previously had mental problems. Six stated that they currently have mental problems, while 19 stated that they have never had mental problems. Diagnosis of mental disorder is by degree and somewhat subjective on the part of the person giving the diagnosis. However, it was apparent that several of the participants lacked awareness of their psychological issues. Only one participant stated that they are currently taking medication for their psychological problems. Of interest, 24 of the 26 participants who provided information on the subject stated that their current medical needs are being met. Access to Medical care in Malaysia is readily available to all, and additional to the mainstream medical services, charitable organisations such as Grace Community 12 provide medical care for the poor and homeless on a weekly basis. Many of the homeless people informed the author of where and when they go to receive medical care. Clearly, the information gained from the above interviews, presents as an explanation, a pattern of crisis accompanied by insufficient finances, as the starting point for homelessness in Kuala Lumpur.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Information gleaned from the elite interviews varied greatly. Some of the elites were aware of the problem and were able to offer theories to explain the situation. However, others new nothing of the problem. One even stated that he would be surprised if there were homeless people in Kuala Lumpur since in Malaysia there are many more houses than there are people. This was surely surprising coming from the head of a government social department. Based on the interviews of this study, in general, the attitude toward the government’s services to the homeless is perhaps best described as look warm. Knowledge of government services varied greatly. Many people interviewed were unaware of any services while others thought the services were bad. A small number expressed fear of the Social Welfare Department Malaysia. Only a very small number of people interviewed for this study reported that the government’s services were good. Clearly, work needs to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">happen in this area.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Several times the belief that people can sleep in mosques was raised over the course of this study. However, the bulk of the data collected, which related to this issue strongly argues that this has not been the case for quite some time. Evidence suggested that due to anti-social or criminal behaviour, the caretakers of the mosques have felt forced to lock the mosques after Isyak prayers. From numerous sources of evidence: newspaper reports, television documentary, direct observation, participant observation, interviews, and physical artifacts, this study has compiled data that shows that there are many homeless Malaysians who sleep on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Among the numerous places they sleep are bus stations, train stations, public gardens, in car parks, in shop and office doorways and on the streets. The shelter that they are afforded falls very short of the definition of adequate shelter proffered by the United Nations Habitat Agenda. Additionally, as stated by the Director General of the Social Welfare Department of Malaysia, the statistics to indicate the size of the homeless population are derived from the number of people who enter their institutions. The Social </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Welfare Department of Malaysia does not have statistics on the number of homeless people in Kuala Lumpur, nor does the Department of Statistics Malaysia. The findings of this research are in direct contradiction to the Minister’s 2006 Habitat Day Speech in which it was stated that, “no Malaysian is without a shelter, and we can be proud that, comparatively, homelessness in our country is negligible” (Menteri, 2006). First, there are </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">numerous homeless people in Kuala Lumpur. Second, since the number of homeless people is unknown, how then could the Minister compare homelessness in Malaysia with anywhere else?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It readily becomes apparent that many of Kuala Lumpur’s homeless people can get all their basic needs met primarily by the NGOs and charitable organisations: all except a roof over their heads. The following scenario appears to be representative of the process that occurs in relation to homelessness in Kuala Lumpur. Within days of becoming 13 homeless in Kuala Lumpur, a homeless person meets up with other homeless people. These encounters act as a form of information service whereby the newly arrived homeless person learns where to go and what to do. They learn where and how to get food, clothes, medical care, laundry services, and where to take care of their personal hygiene needs. It would appear that the vast majority of these services are non-government. In a relatively short period of time the homeless person is on a path for survival and dependency. As one homeless person put it, “Homelessness is always accompanied by helplessness!”</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Malaysian government has expressed the will to eradicate poverty in Malaysia. Numerous low cost housing schemes are in place. So what’s the problem? The problem for some is simple. They have no job and no money, or they have a job but it pays insufficient wages to provide them with accommodation. As previously noted, one perhaps unintended consequence of the Destitute Persons Act 1977, Act 183 is that it instills fear in some homeless people. From accusations of mistreatment in government institutions to stories of people fleeing from the Welfare Officers of the SWDM, an image of distain rather than assistance is imagined. This paper wishes to make very explicit that the SWDM does a great deal of very, very good work. However, when it comes to the Destitute Persons Act 1977, some welfare department staff must follow legislation and practices that do not entirely endear them to the homeless people of Kuala Lumpur. While Act 183 may rescue some elderly homeless people, there is a component of the Act that criminalises people for being poor. Under the Act the authorities have the right to remove and relocate people. Leave without permission and you can face charges and possible imprisonment. In addition, Act 183 effectively bans homeless people from busking, or what could otherwise be legitimate ways of earning a living. While undoubtedly there must have been reasons prior to 1985 when begging was incorporated into Act 183, surely one would have to reflect upon the wisdom of denying people who have nothing legitimate avenues to earn a living. Playing music and public performance can be viewed as begging under the Act. Quite strange isn’t it that some people will be given licenses to perform and can earn phenomenal amounts of money from singing in public, while people who have nothing are denied the right to sing for food. This hardly fits with the notion of a caring Malaysia.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thankfully, several social policies that are a great deal more caring than Act 183 have been written more recently. That stated, Malaysians appear not to acknowledge the homeless that live among them. As the saying goes, ‘the fish can’t see the water they swim in’. While the author encountered many examples of Malaysians not acknowledging the homeless, one example is very telling. It relates to a discussion had with a 30 something, university educated Malaysian woman about the people who sleep on the streets. Surprised, she asked, “Are those people homeless?” This negates two facts. First, she sees people sleeping on the streets and second she is unaware that they don’t have homes. This study asked three important research questions: 1. Why is there homelessness in Kuala Lumpur? 2. How is the government responding to the issue? And, 3. Why is there no specific public policy to address the issue?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Clearly, several factors contribute to homelessness in Kuala Lumpur. A person may have an enduring problem that leads to a family dispute and crisis, which results in his/her loss of accommodation with insufficient money to acquire shelter. Alternatively, the 14 person may have a crisis, such as the loss of job, which results in loss of accommodation again with insufficient funding to acquire shelter. These scenarios may take place in Kuala Lumpur or in any part of Malaysia. Upon arrival to the ‘streets’ the person connects with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">other homeless people who introduces the person to support services. Once the person enters this circle, they learn ways in which to survive as a homeless person and dependency commences. As a part of this process, the homeless person learns about the ‘raids’ of the SWDM and the police. They learn how to avoid them, or what to say to prevent themselves from being taken to government institutions. As one homeless person stated, “Malaysia has become a dishonest country… promises are made but nothing gets done...Malaysia way of life you must lie.” While a small number of the homeless people interviewed have sought accommodation from the SWDM, some do not qualify, some are unaware of what is on offer, and some do not want the accommodation offered. They view being homeless and sleeping on the streets, as being more desirable than the government run institutions.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The second research question this study asked was, ‘How is the government responding to the issue?’ This study concludes that the government’s response to the issue falls very short of optimum. While the government is to be applauded for its poverty eradication successes and the provision of low-cost housing to many people, it would appear that the government has failed to acknowledge sufficiently Kuala Lumpur’s homeless people. The government does not have statistics on the numbers of homeless people and its current legislation appears not to have kept pace with its own desired policies. At surprisingly high levels, there appeared to be ignorance and incorrect information. On a more hopeful note, the National Social Policy and the National Social Welfare Policy could both be viewed as providing the required authorisation for improving </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the situation. There is always a time-lag between policy launch and policy outcome. Perhaps when the effectiveness of the welfare policies are next reviewed, homelessness could be placed firmly on the agenda.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The third research question that this study asked was, ‘Why is there no specific public policy to address the issue?’ Several factors appear to be most influential. First, lack of awareness or denial of the problem. As this research has shown, Malaysians from many walks of life were unaware of the existence of homeless people in their midst. Even people who have seen people lying sleeping on the streets have revealed that they did not </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">realise that those people were homeless. Thus, in relation to homelessness in Malaysia, (and perhaps in relation to a good deal many other issues) this study coins the term, ‘social blindness’. By this the author means, the individual’s ability to see social situations and to fail to recognise or acknowledge what they are seeing. As has been demonstrated above, in relation to homelessness, people at all levels within society, the public service, and government may engage in social blindness. Therefore, social blindness is one factor that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">contributes to the lack of a public policy to address the issue of homelessness. A second factor relates to the misinformation provided by government. When a Minister tells the world that the problem does not exist then some people at least will believe it. A third issue relates to priorities. While many are aware of the issue, they fail to give it a high enough priority to effect action. A fourth reason, relates to failure to recognise the possible </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">negative consequences of not formulating a policy to deal with the issue. Circumstances can change overnight and as the saying goes, ‘if you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail’. Malaysia on its rapid development path must prepare not to fail in relation to this issue.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As noted above, Malaysia is a rapidly developing country with increasing rural to urban migration. Warnings about the need to effectively manage development have been plenty. It is therefore, recommended that the Malaysian Government should create a public policy specifically to deal with the issue of homelessness. The Destitute Persons Act 1977, Act 183 should be reviewed and that review needs to incorporate a more caring approach such as that found in Malaysia’s national social policies. The elements of the Act that can ‘criminalise the poor’ should be removed and all barriers to service need to be removed. Future research could identify and study those who manage to leave homelessness and return to a more normal lifestyle. This could potentially provide answers that may help others end their homelessness.</span>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-78589336891597995162010-11-08T23:05:00.000-08:002010-11-08T23:05:30.472-08:00Why then are people homeless and sleeping on the streets of Kuala Lumpur ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ZXLQ7JDImH0/S4pyw3TMuVI/AAAAAAAAASY/ZzX3P9oXf9s/s320/homeless+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ZXLQ7JDImH0/S4pyw3TMuVI/AAAAAAAAASY/ZzX3P9oXf9s/s320/homeless+006.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Perhaps the singly most important and influential document that relates to homeless </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">people is The Destitute Persons Act 1977 Act 183. Act 183 is “An Act to provide for the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">care and rehabilitation of destitute persons and for the control of vagrancy”. The Oxford </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">online dictionary defines destitute as, “extremely poor and lacking the means to provide for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">oneself”, while a vagrant is defined as, “1. a person without a home or job. 2 archaic a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">wanderer.” One could question as to whether or not the term vagrant continues to have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">such ‘emotionally neutral’ interpretations as those attributed to the term ‘wanderer’.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Section 1 of Act 183 specifies three interpretations that relate to destitution, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“begging” means any conduct calculated to induce the giving of alms, whether or not </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">there is any pretence of singing, playing, performing, offering anything for sale or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">otherwise; </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“destitute person” means— </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(a) any person found begging in a public place in such a way as to cause or to be</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">likely to cause annoyance to persons frequenting the place or otherwise to create a</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">nuisance; </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">or</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(b) any idle person found in a public place, whether or not he is begging, who has no</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">visible means of subsistence or place of residence.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Clearly then, as interpreted by Act 183 any person in a public place who is doing nothing, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">with no visible means of subsistence and who has no place of residence may be considered </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a destitute person. Having determined what is a destitute person, Act 183 goes on to direct </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that an authorised officer, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">…may take into his [sic] charge any destitute person and produce such person before </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a Magistrate within twenty-four hours: Provided that if the destitute person refuses to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">be taken or offers any resistance to the officers mentioned in this subsection, such </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">officer may call upon any police officer for assistance in the exercise of his powers, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and it shall be the duty of every police officer to comply with such request. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The term ‘take into his charge’ is a very interesting use of language. While the destitute </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">person is not arrested the encounter may be experientially similar. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Upon presentation of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">person before a Magistrate, the Magistrate then has, within the limitations of the law, the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">power to order that the person be admitted temporarily to a welfare home. Following the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">furnishing of a report by a social welfare officer to a Magistrate in Chambers, the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Magistrate may order the person to reside in a welfare home for a period of up to three </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">years. Following a subsequent report furnished by a social welfare officer, a Magistrate in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chambers may extend the duration of the person’s residence in a welfare home by a further </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">period that shall not exceed 3 years. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Under specific conditions, the Superintendent of the welfare home may discharge a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">person. Persons in welfare homes may be required to engage in activities or sent to hospital </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">as required. The next section, Section 11 of Act 183 is extremely powerful and is therefore fully </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">quoted.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Penalty</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">11. Any person who— </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(a) refuses to be taken, or offers any resistance to being taken, into the charge of an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">officer duly authorized in writing by a local authority and acting under the direction </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of the Director General or a social welfare officer under this Act;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(b) escapes from an officer duly authorized in writing by a local authority and acting </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">under the direction of the Director General or a social welfare officer while </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">committed to their charge under this Act;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(c) without permission of the Superintendent leaves a welfare home in which he is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">required to reside under section 3 or to which he has been admitted on his own </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">application under section 4; or </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(d) having been permitted to leave a welfare home for a specified time fails to return </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">without reasonable cause at the expiration of such time, shall be guilty of an offence </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and shall be liable, on conviction, to be sent to a welfare home or to imprisonment for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a term not exceeding three months. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Indeed, Section 12 of Act 183 rules that “A police officer may arrest without warrant any </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">person who he reasonably believes has committed an offence under section 11.” </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some points need to be highlighted at this juncture. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First, while the person initially is taken </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">into charge, his/her going away from the police or welfare officer is construed as ‘escape’. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Second, imagine yourself in the following scenario. You have had a crisis. You have no </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">one to turn to. You are homeless. You are committing no crime and are indeed sitting </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">doing nothing. You can then be ‘taken into charge by the police’ and if you leave, you may </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">possibly face up to 3 months in prison. Hence, two things should be strikingly obvious </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">from this scenario a). as the law currently stands, there is an element of Act 183 that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">criminalises the poor and homeless. b). who would want to go near a welfare officer </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">knowing that you may have your freedom taken from you and if you try to leave, you may </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">face arrest and imprisonment? While in pragmatics, the implementation of Act 183 may </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">take on a more ‘negotiated flavour’, it is obvious that the current legislation is established </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">in such a way that it could deter homeless people from approaching social welfare officers </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">or the police. As such, the system predisposes at least some homeless people to avoid the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">legitimate authorities or to lie. Indeed, if you cannot sell goods on the street, or perform to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">earn some money, and you are hungry and you are reluctant to approach the authorities for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fear of being detained or arrested, then what is left for you to do to get food? Clearly, this </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">legislation was not written from the perspective of homeless people. And clearly, this </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">legislation has components, which contrary to its intentions, could drive homeless people </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">toward crime. This is undoubtedly a very serious unintended consequence of the Destitute </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Persons Act 1977.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is now just over 30 years since the Destitute Persons Act 1977 was enacted and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">people and society have moved on. From the country’s highest level documents to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">social welfare policies, Malaysia through its policy makers are expressing a strong desire </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">for equitable sharing of resources and a more caring society. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In a speech by Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">National Seminar on Urban Poor and Low-income Families Towards The 9th Malaysia Plan </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(2005), The Prime Minister acknowledged that, low-income families are deprived of adequate housing and sanitation, insufficient access to education, healthcare, and transport </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">facilities, and that the poor are more susceptible to urban pollution. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On March 31, 2006 the 9th Malaysia Plan was tabled in parliament by Prime</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. There is not a single use of the word </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">‘homeless’ anywhere in the 9th Malaysia plan. One would have to suggest, that while ‘low </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">income families’ and the ‘urban poor’ are ‘visible’, the category of ‘homeless’ remains </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">below the radar of the policy makers. In the language of public policy, the issue of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">homelessness is not on the agenda. It must be noted that while Malaysia has many low cost </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">housing initiatives, even low cost houses are out of reach to people who have no money and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">no source of income.</span>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-84086333042207673812010-11-03T20:48:00.000-07:002010-11-03T20:48:16.708-07:00Homelessness in Malaysia: A Public Policy Issue?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Homelessness in Kuala Lumpur does not exist when clearly it does. If you fully</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">grasped that statement then you probably know a great deal about the issue of homelessness </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">in Malaysia. If you did not however, fully grasp that statement, but instead found it </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">confusing, then you are on the right path to gaining a deeper understanding of the issue of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">homelessness Malaysian style.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This paper is a case study of the issue of homelessness in Kuala Lumpur. The study</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">examined the issue from a public policy perspective. The study aimed, to illuminate the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">status quo in relation to public policy and homelessness in Kuala Lumpur, to shed light on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the profile of homeless Malaysians, and to explore how they become and remain homeless. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the outset, the study asked the following research questions: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>1. Why is there homelessness in Kuala Lumpur? </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>2. How is the government responding to the issue? And,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>3. How developed is public policy in relation to homelessness in Kuala Lumpur?</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the study reveals, these are timely and pertinent questions. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">People have homes for lots of very good reasons. A home provides not only </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">protection from the elements, but also a sense of security and safety. It is a place where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">people can meet many of their, spiritual, physical, intellectual, social and emotional needs. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Additionally, a home locates an individual in social space. It is arguably the most </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">importantpoint of reference to which others may turn to establish or maintain contact with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">each other . However, many people are homeless and the phenomenon of homelessness is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">apparent on the streets of Malaysia. So what is homelessness?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The definition of homeless for the purposes of this study is an adaptation of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">American definition found in The United States Code, Title 42, Chapter 119. While the American definition includes individuals who stay in private or publicly operated shelters, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">institutions or public spaces; for the purposes of this paper a homeless individual is defined </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">as ‘an individual who lacks a fixed, regular nighttime residence and who sleeps in public </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">places not designed for sleeping’. Since this paper is about homelessness and public </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">policy, a definition of public policy is provided below.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lester and Steward (1996) summarised the various definitions of public policy and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">stated that public policy is: a process or a series or a pattern of governmental activities or decisions that are </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">designed to remedy some public problem, either real or imagined. The special </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">characteristic of public policies is that they are formulated, implemented, and evaluated </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">by authorities in a political system, for example, legislators, judges, executives, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">administrators. Public policies are always subject to change on the basis of new (or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">better) information about their effects.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One could now ask why homelessness should be a public policy issue. According to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">UN-HABITAT, The 100 years from 1950 to 2050 will be remembered for the greatest social, cultural, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">economic and environmental transformation in history – the urbanization of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">humanity. With half of us now occupying urban space, the future of the human </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">species is tied to the city. How we plan and govern our cities will determine whether </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">our collective future will be bright and sustainable or brutal and chaotic (2007, p.5).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As will be seen Malaysia fits very nicely into the UN-HABITAT’s above précis.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Developing countries were given specific mention in the UN-HABITAT 2006 Annual</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Report. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The report noted that urban population growth in developing countries is tenfold </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that of developed countries. Malaysia’s population has been steadily increasing. In 1970 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the total population of Malaysia was 10,439,430 (Chander, Fernandez & Johnson, 1970). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By 1980 the population was 13,136,100 (Saw, 2007). By 1991 it was 18.38 million and the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2000 Census recorded the population at 23.27 million (Department of Statistics Malaysia, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2005). The estimated population of Malaysia as of June 17, 2008 was 27,477,645 persons</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2008).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In regard to urbanization, it was observed that the proportion of urban population </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">had increased to 62.0% in Census 2000 from 50.7% in 1991. States with very high </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">proportions of urban population in Census 2000 were Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(100%), Selangor (87.6%) and Pulau Pinang (80.1%). Conversely, the states with low </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">urbanization levels were Kelantan (34.2%), Perlis (34.3%) and Kedah (39.3%). Clearly, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Malaysia population is growing rapidly and it is rapidly urbanizing. So where does </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Malaysia fit on the ‘developmental continuum’?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The World Bank categorises countries based on their Gross National Income (GNI) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">per capita (World Bank, 2008a). Countries with low income and middle-income economies </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">are considered ‘developing countries’ (World Bank, 2008a). Currently, the World Bank </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">categorises Malaysia as an upper-middle-income economy and therefore Malaysia is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">considered a ‘developing country’ (World Bank, 2008b). In consideration of the above </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">then plainly, managing urbanisation is of the utmost importance. One aspect of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">urbanisation is homelessness. Indeed, homelessness may be a criteria by which successful </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">urbanisation could be measured. Be that as it may, homelessness needs to be managed as a part of the bigger picture of population growth, rural to urban migration, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">‘development’. Seen in this light, homelessness falls well within the ambit of public policy </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">as defined by Lester and Steward above. But does the Malaysian government have any </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">commitments to manage the issue?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHSP), one </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">element of the right to an adequate standard of living is the right to adequate housing </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(UNHSP, 2008a). Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">right to housing for everyone (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). Malaysia </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">recognises the provisions of the UDHR to the extent that they do not conflict with the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">provisions of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution (Eraconsumer.org, 2008). This is provided </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">for by section 4(4) of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Act 597) which states </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that, “For the purposes of this Act, regard shall be had to the Universal Declaration of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Human Rights 1948 to the extent that it is not inconsistent with the Federal Constitution”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, 2008). As article 25 of the UDHR, is not </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">inconsistent with the provisions of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, then it would be </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">reasonable to state, that under the UDHR Malaysia has an international commitment to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">provide her citizens with a “Right to a standard of living adequate for health and wellbeing, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">including food, clothing, housing and medical care” (Human Rights Commission of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Malaysia, 2008).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In his 2006 Habitat Speech, the Malaysian Minister for Housing and Local </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Government drew particular attention to the Habitat Agenda, which details the actions that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">governments should take in order to develop sustainable human settlements and adequate </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">shelter for all. The Minister stated, “no Malaysian is without a shelter, and we can be proud </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that, comparatively, homelessness in our country is negligible” (Menteri, 2006). In view of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the Minister’s claims, it is important to clarify the definition of adequate shelter. According </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to the United Nations Habitat Agenda, </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Adequate shelter means more than a roof over one's head. It also means adequate </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">privacy; adequate space; physical accessibility; adequate security; security of tenure; </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">structural stability and durability; adequate lighting, heating and ventilation; adequate </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">basic infrastructure, such as water-supply, sanitation and waste-management </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">facilities; suitable environmental quality and health related factors; and adequate and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">accessible location with regard to work and basic facilities: all of which should be </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">available at an affordable cost (2003a, 22).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As will be seen later, the reality on the ground falls short of the minister’s claims. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, domestically Malaysia has much that should dictate a better life for homeless </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">people.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As outlined in myGovernment (2008), the Rukunegara is Malaysia’s national </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ideology. It was formulated to guide Malaysia’s nation-building efforts and it was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">proclaimed on August 31, 1970 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong IV. Rukunegara calls for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the ‘creation of a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably shared’. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As outlined by the Economic Planning Unit (2008), the Malaysian government declared in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1991, the objective that Malaysia become a developed nation by the year 2020. This to be </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">achieved by sustained economic growth and structural economic changes. The key to the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">realisation of this objective is the triumph over the nine strategic challenges. Vision 2020 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">calls for a ‘fully caring society’, a fully moral and ethical society, and “…an economically just society, in which there is fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation”. It </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">would therefore be reasonable to argue that homelessness is the antithesis of the themes of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the nation’s highest documents. When one examines Malaysia’s social policies one can </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">infer that homelessness would not exist.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The National Social Policy is Malaysia’s umbrella social policy, which enshrines the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">principles outlined in the Constitution of Malaysia, Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Malaysia’s international commitments. The National Social Policy was launched on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">August 19, 2003 by then Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Jayasooria, 2003). The goal statement of the National Social Policy is, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To create a progressive and established Malaysian society with every member having </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the opportunity to develop his/her potential to the optimum in a healthy social </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">environment based on the qualities of unity, resilience, democracy, morality, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">tolerance, progress, care, fairness and equity in accordance with the goal of Vision </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2020.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Objective 1 of the policy bares direct relevance to homeless people. It states, “To ensure </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that the basic necessities of the individual, family and community are provided for”. If one </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">considers a home a basic necessity, then clearly from the government’s social perspective, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">no one in Malaysia should be homeless. More specifically, Objective 1 not only ensures </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“sufficient basic necessities”, it also encompasses “a physical environment that is healthy, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">clean, safe and people-friendly”. The policy also includes in its main objectives, the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">development and empowerment of humans for life, consolidation and development of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">social support system/services, and the generation of multi-sector synergy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The preface of the National Social Welfare Policy (NSWP) acknowledges that due </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to rapid change, social life is now more complex. These changes have brought added stress </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to individuals, their families, and communities. Social problems are viewed as causal to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">higher crime, prostitution, child abuse, drug abuse etc. To combat these increasing social </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">problems, the NSWP calls for not only curative and rehabilitative approaches, but also </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">prevention and development. In particular, the policy calls for increased awareness in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">relation to the various categories of social problems, for example, domestic violence or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">abuse of the elderly and for an upgrade in the level of capability in order that these </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">challenges may be faced. The policy warns that failure to address the issues may result in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">an explosive epidemic that goes beyond control. Thus, one of the central thrusts of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NSWP is to enhance social stability towards social equitability. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The goal of the NSWP is “A contented and strong society for national development”. The three objectives of the NSWP are, to create a society that is, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">independent; blessed with equitable opportunities; and caring. One of the main strategies to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">achieve these objectives “is to build and inculcate the spirit of mutual help and assistance to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">reinforce a caring culture”. The policy asserts that every individual, group, agency, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">community must actively contribute to the success of the policy. An integrated approach </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">among agencies etc is highly encouraged. Evidently, the main themes of the above policies strive to achieve a caring Malaysia; a Malaysia in which every individual has his or her human dignity and worth </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">respected. The policies aim to achieve equitable distribution of wealth and a just society. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the grand ideals of the Rukunegara to the implementation strategies of the NSWP, all policies are entwined in noble values. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-41903725249185285062010-11-03T20:14:00.000-07:002010-11-03T20:14:34.044-07:00abstract<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/images/gallery/Homeless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/images/gallery/Homeless.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Homelessness is a growing problem. In 2008, for the first time in human history,</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">more than 50% of the global population dwells in cities; estimates predict 70% by</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">2050. Malaysia’s development mirrors this trend, with rapid increases in both</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">population, and urban to rural population ratio. Legislatively, Malaysia’s Destitute</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Persons Act 1977, provides for voluntary/involuntary admission to a welfare home,</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">and the arrest of an “escaped destitute person”. However, a public policy on</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">homelessness, in the broader contemporary context of population growth and rapid</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">urbanisation, is nonexistent. This paper is a case study of homelessness in Kuala</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Lumpur from a public policy perspective. Preliminary findings suggest that for some,</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">a pattern of rural to urban migration is associated with homelessness and</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">consequentially helplessness. However, some homeless people are from Kuala</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Lumpur. In view of Malaysia’s recent, current and impending, dramatic, demographic</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">changes, this paper suggests that Malaysia must now develop a broad based, public</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">policy on homelessness.</span></span></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-68408536241939508812010-10-09T03:02:00.000-07:002010-10-09T03:02:38.559-07:00Words from them who cares<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty".</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">- <i><b>Mother Teresa</b></i><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes". </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">- <i><b>Sheila McKechnie</b></i><br />
<br />
"In today's climate in our country, which is sickened with the pollution of pollution, threated with the prominence of AIDS, riddled with burgeooning racism, life with growing huddles of homeless, we need art and we need art in all forms. We need all methods of art to be present, everywhere present, and all the time present".<br />
<br />
-<i><b> Maya Angelou</b></i><br />
<br />
"Although AmeriCorps is making a difference among its participants and the people they serve, we must address homelessness and the need for job training among our veterans". <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">- <i><b>Cliff Stearns </b></i><br />
<br />
"As Secretary of Housing, I do have to express alarm, signal the alarm if you will, that the potential for homelessness to grow is there". <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-<i><b> Henry Cisneros </b></i><br />
<br />
"Homelessness is a part of our Country system. There should be nothing wrong with this condition as long as the individual is not sentenced to unnecessary suffering and punishment". <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">- <i><b>Jerzy Kosinski </b></i><br />
<br />
"Homelessness is the actor's fate; physical incapacity to attain what is most required and desired by such a spirit as I am a slave to". <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-<i><b>Edwin Booth </b></i><br />
<br />
"People can be so apathetic. They continue to ignore the real people trapped in poverty and homelessness. It's almost maddening". <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">- <i><b>Daphne Zuniga </b></i><br />
<br />
"We have weapons of mass destruction we have to address here at home. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction". <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-<i><b>Dennis Kucinich </b></i></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-29952374764228640912010-10-05T00:29:00.000-07:002010-10-05T00:29:09.719-07:00Homeless in Malaysia<object style="background-image:url(http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/hp3pGOOLVlc/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hp3pGOOLVlc?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hp3pGOOLVlc?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-25783031970983657662010-10-05T00:10:00.000-07:002010-10-05T00:10:26.077-07:00The Land of 10,000 Homeless<object style="background-image:url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/rfeALzkl9TI/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rfeALzkl9TI?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rfeALzkl9TI?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-91675353229613092162010-10-04T02:47:00.000-07:002010-10-04T02:47:03.883-07:00Proposed solutions to homelessness<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Housing First / Rapid Rehousing.</span></i></span><div><i></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br />
</i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In the USA, the government asked many major cities to come up with a ten year plan to end homeless problem; and one of the results of this was a "Housing first" solution, also known as "rapid re-housing", which quickly gets a homeless person permanent housing of some sort and the necessary support services to sustain a new home. There are many complications of this kind of program and these must be dealt with to make such an initiative work successfully in the middle to long term.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Supportive housing.</span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives. Supportive housing works well for those who face the most complex challenges—individuals and families confronted with homelessness and who also have very low incomes and/or serious, persistent issues that may include substance abuse, addiction or alcoholism, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, or other serious challenges to a successful life.<br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Pedestrian Villages.</span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In 2007 urban designer and social theorist Michael E. Arth proposed a controversial national solution for homelessness that would involve building nearly carfree Pedestrian Villages in place of what he terms "the current band-aid approach to the problem." A prototype, Tiger Bay Village, was proposed for near Daytona Beach, FL. He claims that this would be superior for treating the psychological as well as psychiatric needs of both temporarily and permanently homeless adults, and would cost less than the current approach. It would also provide a lower cost alternative to jail, and provide a half-way station for those getting out of prison. Work opportunities, including construction and maintenance of the villages, as well as the creation of work force agencies would help make the villages financially and socially viable.<br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Transitional housing</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
Transitional Housing provides temporary housing for the certain segments of the homeless population, including working homeless, and is set up to transition their residents into permanent, affordable housing. It's not in an emergency homeless shelter but usually a room or apartment in a residence with support services. The transitional time can be short, for example one or two years, and in that time the person must file for and get permanent housing and usually some gainful employment or income, even if Social Security or assistance. Sometimes, the transitional housing residence program charges a room and board fee, maybe 30% of an individual's income, which is sometimes partially or fully refunded after the person procures a permanent place to live in. In the USA, federal funding for transitional housing programs was originally allocated in the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1986.</span></span></div></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-35480264000708985022010-10-04T02:44:00.000-07:002010-10-04T02:44:26.615-07:00Tracking and counting the homeless<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In the USA, the federal government's HUD agency has required federally funded organizations to use a computer tracking system for the homeless and their statistics, called HMIS (Homeless Management Information System). There has been some opposition to this kind of tracking by privacy advocacy groups, such as EPIC. However, HUD considers its reporting techniques to be reasonably accurate for homeless in shelters and programs in its Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.<br />
<br />
Actually determining and counting the number of homeless is very difficult in general due to their lifestyle habits. There are so-called "hidden homeless" out of sight of the normal population and perhaps staying on private property.<br />
<br />
Various countries, states, and cities have come up with differing means and techniques to calculate an approximate count. For example, a one night "homeless census count", called a point-in-time (PIT) count, usually held in the early Winter, for the year, is a technique used by a number of American cities, especially Boston, Massachusetts. Los Angeles, California uses a mixed set of techniques for counting, including the PIT street count. In 2003, The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had begun requiring a PIT count in all "Continuum of Care" communities which required them to report the count of people, housing status, and geographic locations of individuals counted. Some communities will give sub-population information to the PIT, such as information on veterans, youth, and elderly individuals as done in Boston.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><h3 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; font-size: 17px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Statistics_for_developed_countries"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Statistics for developed countries.</span></span></h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In 2005, an estimated 100 million people worldwide were homeless.<br />
<br />
The following statistics indicate the approximate average number of homeless people at any one time. Each country has a different approach to counting homeless people, and estimates of homelessness made by different organizations vary wildly, so comparisons should be made with caution.European Union: 3,000,000 (UN-HABITAT 2004)United Kingdom: 10,459 rough sleepers, 98,750 households in temporary accommodation (Department for Communities and Local Government 2005)Canada: 150,000 (National Homelessness Initiative - Government of Canada) Australia: On census night in 2006 there were 105,000 people homeless across Australia, an increase from the 99,900 Australians who were counted as homeless in the 2001 census United States: According to HUD's July 2008 3rd Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, in a single night in January 2007, single point analysis reported to HUD showed there were 671,888 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons nationwide in the United States. Also, HUD reported the number of chronically homeless people (those with repeated episodes or who have been homeless for long periods, 2007 data) as 123,833. 82% of the homeless are not chronically homeless, and 18% are (6% Chronically Homeless Sheltered, 12% Chronically Homeless Unsheltered). Their Estimate of Sheltered Homeless Persons during a One-Year Period, October 2006 to September 2007, that about 1,589,000 persons used an emergency shelter and/or transitional housing during the 12-month period, which is about 1 in every 200 persons in the United States was in a homeless facility in that time period. Individuals accounted for 1,115,054 or 70.2% and families numbered 473,541 or 29.8%. The number of persons in sheltered households with Children was about 130,968. Japan: 20,000-100,000 (some figures put it at 200,000-400,000) Reports show that homelessness is on the rise in Japan since the mid-1990s. There are more homeless men than homeless women in Japan because it is easier for women to get a job (they make less money than men do). Also Japanese families usually provide more support for women than they do for men.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><h3 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; font-size: 17px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Developing_and_undeveloped_countries"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Developing and undeveloped countries.</span></span></h3><div><span class="mw-headline" id="Developing_and_undeveloped_countries"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The number of homeless people worldwide has grown steadily in recent years. In some Third World nations such as Nigeria, andSouth Africa, homelessness is rampant, with millions of children living and working on the streets. Homelessness has become a problem in the countries of China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines despite their growing prosperity, mainly due to migrant workers who have trouble finding permanent homes.<br />
<br />
For people in Russia, especially the youth, alcoholism and substance abuse is a major cause and reason for becoming and continuing to be homeless.<br />
<br />
The United Nations, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat) wrote in its Global Report on Human Settlements in 1995: "Homelessness is a problem in developed as well as in developing countries. In London, for example, life expectancy among the homeless is more than 25 years lower than the national average.<br />
<br />
Poor urban housing conditions are a global problem, but conditions are worst in developing countries. Habitat says that today 600 million people live in life- and health-threatening homes in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The threat of mass homelessness is greatest in those regions because that is where population is growing fastest.<br />
<br />
By 2015, the 10 largest cities in the world will be in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Nine of them will be in developing countries: Mumbai, India - 27.4 million; Lagos, Nigeria - 24.4; Shanghai, China - 23.4; Jakarta, Indonesia - 21.2; São Paulo, Brazil - 20.8; Karachi, Pakistan - 20.6; Beijing, China - 19.4; Dhaka, Bangladesh - 19; Mexico City, Mexico - 18.8. The only city in a developed country that will be in the top ten is Tokyo, Japan - 28.7 million."<br />
<br />
In 2008, Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, referring to the recent report "State of the World's Cities Report 2008/2009", said that the world economic crisis we are in should be viewed as a "housing finance crisis" in which the poorest of poor were left to fend for themselves.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-23118984772222072312010-10-04T02:36:00.000-07:002010-10-04T02:36:00.118-07:00Health care for the homeless<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Health care for the homeless is a major public health challenge. Homeless people are more likely to suffer injuries and medical problems from their lifestyle on the street, which includes poor nutrition, substance abuse, exposure to the severe elements of weather, and a higher exposure to violence (robberies, beatings, and so on). Yet at the same time, they have little access to public medical services or clinics. This is a particular problem in the US where many people lack health insurance: "Each year, millions of people in the United States experience homelessness and are in desperate need of health care services. Most do not have health insurance of any sort, and none have cash to pay for medical care."<br />
<br />
There are significant challenges in treating homeless people who have psychiatric disorders, because clinical appointments may not be kept, their continuing whereabouts are unknown, their medicines are not taken and monitored, medical and psychiatric histories are not accurate, and for other reasons. Because many homeless people have mental illnesses, this has presented a crisis in care.<br />
<br />
Homeless persons often find it difficult to document their date of birth or their address. Because homeless people usually have no place to store possessions, they often lose their belongings, including their identification and other documents, or find them destroyed by police or others. Without a photo ID, homeless persons cannot get a job or access many social services. They can be denied access to even the most basic assistance: clothing closets, food pantries, certain public benefits, and in some cases, emergency shelters.<br />
<br />
Obtaining replacement identification is difficult. Without an address, birth certificates cannot be mailed. Fees may be cost-prohibitive for impoverished persons. And some states will not issue birth certificates unless the person has photo identification, creating a Catch-22.<br />
<br />
This problem is far less acute in countries which provide free-at-use health care, such as the UK, where hospitals are open-access day and night, and make no charges for treatment. In the US, free-care clinics, especially for the homeless do exist in major cities, but they are usually over-burdened with patients</span></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Homeless_man%2C_Tokyo%2C_2008.jpg/220px-Homeless_man%2C_Tokyo%2C_2008.jpg" /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
The conditions affecting the homeless are somewhat specialized and have opened a new area of medicine tailored to this population. Skin conditions, including Scabies, are common because homeless people are exposed to extreme cold in the winter and they have little access to bathing facilities. They have problems caring for their feet and have more severe dental problems than the general population. Diabetes, especially untreated, is widespread in the homeless population. Specialized medical textbooks have been written to address this for providers.<br />
<br />
There are many organizations providing free care to the homeless in countries which do not offer free medical treatment organised by the state, but the services are in great demand given the limited number of medical practitioners. For example, it might take months to get a minimal dental appointment in a free-care clinic. Communicable diseases are of great concern, especially tuberculosis, which spreads more easily in crowded homeless shelters in high density urban settings.<br />
<br />
There has been an ongoing concern and studies about the health and wellness of the older homeless population, typically ages fifty to sixty four years of age, and even older, as to whether they are significantly more sickly than their younger counterparts and if they are under-served.<br />
<br />
In 1999, Dr. Susan Barrow of the Columbia University Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies reported in a study that the "age-adjusted death rates of homeless men and women were 4 times those of the general US population and 2 to 3 times those of the general population of New York City".<br />
<br />
In 2004, Boston Health Care for the Homeless in conjunction with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council published a medical manual called "The Health Care of Homeless Persons", edited by James J. O'Connell, M.D., specifically for the treatment of the homeless population.<br />
<br />
In June 2008, in Boston, Massachusetts, the Jean Yawkey Place, a four-story, 77,653-square-foot (7,214.2 m2) building, was opened by the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. It is an entire full service building on the Boston Medical Center campus dedicated to providing health care for the homeless. It also contains a long term care facility, the Barbara McInnis House, which expanded to 104 beds, which is the first and largest medical respite program for homeless people in the United States.</span></span></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-43255229170180055132010-10-04T02:28:00.000-07:002010-10-04T02:28:05.136-07:00Refuges for the homeless<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">There are many places where a homeless person might seek refuge:</span><ul><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Outdoors</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: On the ground or in a sleeping bag, tent, or improvised shelter, such as a large cardboard box, dumpster in a park or vacant lot.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Shantytowns</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: Ad hoc campsites of improvised shelters and shacks, usually near rail yards, interstates and high transportation veins.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Derelict structures</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: abandoned or condemned buildings</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Squatting in an unoccupied house where a homeless person may live without payment and without the owner's knowledge or permission.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Vehicles</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: cars or trucks are used as a temporary or sometimes long-term living refuge, for example by those recently evicted from a home. Some people live in vans, sport utility vehicles, covered pick-up trucks, station wagons, sedans, or hatchbacks .</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Public places</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: Parks, bus or train stations, public libraries, airports, public transportation vehicles (by continual riding where unlimited passes are available), hospital lobbies or waiting areas, college campuses, and 24-hour businesses such as coffee shops. Many public places use security guards or police to prevent people from loitering or sleeping at these locations for a variety of reasons, including image, safety, and comfort.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Homeless shelters</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: such as emergency cold-weather shelters opened by churches or community agencies, which may consist of cots in a heated warehouse, or temporaryChristmas Shelters.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Inexpensive boarding houses</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: Also called flophouses, they offer cheap, low-quality temporary lodging.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Residential hotels</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">, where a bed as opposed to an entire room can be rented cheaply in a dorm-like environment.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Inexpensive motels</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> also offer cheap, low-quality temporary lodging. However, some who can afford housing live in a motel by choice. For example, David and Jean Davidson spent 22 years at a UK Travelodge.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">24-hour Internet cafes</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> are now used by over 5,000 Japanese "Net cafe refugees". An estimated 75% of Japan's 3,200 all-night internet cafes cater to regular overnight guests, who in some cases have become their main source of income.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Friends or family</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">: Temporarily sleeping in dwellings of friends or family members ("couch surfing"). Couch surfers may be harder to recognize than street homeless people.</span></li>
<li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Underground tunnels</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> such as abandoned subway, maintenance, or train tunnels are popular among the permanent homeless.The inhabitants of such refuges are called in some places, like New York City, "Mole People". Natural caves beneath urban centers allow for places where the homeless can congregate. Leaking water pipes, electric wires, and steam pipes allow for some of the essentials of living.</span></li>
</ul>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-48831405143581744632010-10-04T02:24:00.000-07:002010-10-04T02:24:25.190-07:00Assistance and resources available to the homeless<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Most countries provide a variety of services to assist homeless people. They often provide food, shelter and clothing and may be organized and run by community organizations (often with the help of volunteers) or by government departments. These programs may be supported by government, charities, churches and individual donors.<br />
<br />
In 1998, a study by Koegel and Schoeni of a homeless population in Los Angeles, California, reported that a significant number of homeless do not participate in government assistance programs, and the authors reported being puzzled as to why that was, with the only possible suggestion from the evidence being that transaction costs were perhaps too high.<br />
<br />
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Administration have a special Section 8 housing voucher program called VASH (Veterans Administration Supported Housing), or HUD-VASH, which gives out a certain number of Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers to elegible homeless and otherwise vulnerable US armed forces veterans.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Social supports</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
<br />
While some homeless people are known to have community with one another,[71] providing each other various types of support,[72] people who are not homeless also may provide them friendship, food, relational care, and other forms of assistance. Such social supports may be done through a formal process, such as under the auspices of a non-governmental organization, religious organization, or homeless ministry, or may be done on an individual basis.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Income sources</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
<br />
Many non-profit organizations such as Goodwill Industries maintain a mission to "provide skill development and work opportunities to people with barriers to employment", though most of these organizations are not primarily geared toward homeless individuals. Many cities also have street newspapers or magazines: publications designed to provide employment opportunity to homeless people or others in need by street sale.<br />
<br />
While some homeless have paying jobs, some must seek other methods to make money. Begging or panhandling is one option, but is becoming increasingly illegal in many cities. Despite the stereotype, not all homeless people panhandle, and not all panhandlers are homeless.<br />
<br />
Another option is busking: performing tricks, playing music, drawing on the sidewalk, or offering some other form of entertainment in exchange for donations. In cities whereplasmapheresis centers still exist, homeless people may generate income through frequent visits to these centers.<br />
<br />
Homeless people have been known to commit crimes just to be sent to jail or prison for food and shelter. In police slang, this is called "three hots and a cot" referring to the three hot daily meals and a cot to sleep on given to prisoners.<br />
<br />
Invented in 2005, in Seattle, Bumvertising, an informal system of hiring the homeless to advertise by a young entrepreneur, is providing food, money, and bottles of water to sign-holding homeless in the Northwest. Homeless advocates accuse the founder, Ben Rogovy, and the process, of exploiting the poor and take particular offense to the use of the word "bum" which is generally considered pejorative.<br />
<br />
In October 2009, the Boston Globe carried a story on so-called cyberbegging, or Internet begging, which was reported to be a new trend worldwide.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-37956723178108314392010-10-04T02:06:00.000-07:002010-10-04T02:06:12.680-07:00Problems faced by people who are homeless<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">he basic problem of homelessness is the human need for personal shelter, warmth and safety, which can be literally vital. Other basic difficulties include:</span></span></div><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">personal security, quiet, and privacy, especially for sleeping</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">safekeeping of bedding, clothing and possessions, which may have to be carried at all times</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">hygiene and shaving facilities</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">cleaning and drying clothes</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">obtaining, preparing and storing food in small quantities</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">keeping contacts, without a permanent location or mailing address</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">hostility and legal powers against urban vagrancy.</span></span></li>
</ul><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Homeless people face many problems beyond the lack of a safe and suitable home. They are often faced with many social disadvantages also, reduced access to private and public services and reduced access to vital necessities:</span></span></div><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Reduced access to health care and dental services.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Limited access to education.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Increased risk of suffering from violence and abuse.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">General rejection or discrimination from other people.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Loss of usual relationships with the mainstream</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Not being seen as suitable for employment.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Reduced access to banking services</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Reduced access to communications technology</span></span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span></span></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com107tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-82296701137002313612010-10-04T01:44:00.000-07:002010-10-04T01:44:17.295-07:00Contributing causes of homelessness<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The major reasons and causes for homelessness as documented by many reports and studies include: </span></span><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Unavailability of employment opportunities.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Poverty, caused by many factors including unemployment and underemployment.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Lack of affordable healthcare.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">War or armed conflict.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Mental disorder, where mental health services are unavailable or difficult to access.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Disability, especially where disability services are nonexistent or poor performing.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Substance abuse</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Lack of affordable housing. An article in the November 2007 issue of Atlantic Monthly reported on a study of the cost of obtaining the "right to build" (i.e. a building permit, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.) in different U.S. cities. The "right to build" cost does not include the cost of the land or the cost of constructing the house. The study was conducted by Harvard economists Edward Glaeser and Kristina Tobio. According to the chart accompanying the article, the cost of obtaining the "right to build" adds approximately $600,000 to the cost of each new house that is built in San Francisco.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Domestic violence.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Relationship breakdown, particularly in relation to young people and their parents.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Prison release and re-entry into society.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Natural disaster, including but not limited to earthquakes and hurricanes.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Forced eviction - In many countries, people lose their homes by government order to make way for newer upscale high rise buildings, roadways, and other governmental needs. The compensation may be minimal, in which case the former occupants cannot find appropriate new housing and become homeless.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Mortgage foreclosures where mortgage holders see the best solution to a loan default is to take and sell the house to pay off the debt. The popular press made an issue of this in 2008; the real magnitude of the problem is undocumented.</span></span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Street_dwellers_Rio.JPG/220px-Street_dwellers_Rio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Street_dwellers_Rio.JPG/220px-Street_dwellers_Rio.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">A substantial percentage of the U.S. homeless population are individuals who are chronically unemployed or have difficulty managing their lives effectively due to prolonged and severe drug and/or alcohol abuse. Substance abuse can cause homelessness from behavioral patterns associated with addiction that alienate an addicted individual's family and friends who could otherwise provide support during difficult economic times.<br />
<br />
Increased wealth disparity and income inequality causes distortions in the housing market that push rent burdens higher, making housing unaffordable.<br />
<br />
Dr. Paul Koegel of RAND Corporation, a seminal researcher in first generation homelessness studies and beyond, divided the causes of homelessness into structural aspects and then individual vulnerabilities.<br />
<br />
</span></span>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753354299322287559.post-68925879949837419832010-10-03T21:49:00.000-07:002010-10-03T21:49:28.178-07:00History<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Homelessness</b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">is the condition and social category of people without a regular house or dwelling because they cannot afford, do not desire, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence."</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">street people</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">are the segment of the homeless who spend substantial periods of time on the streets in urban areas. The actual legal definition varies from country to country, or among different entities or institutions in the same country or region.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The term</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">homelessness</span></span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">may also include people whose primary night time residence is in a </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">homeless shelter</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">, in an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or in a public or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/HomelessParis_7032101.jpg/798px-HomelessParis_7032101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/HomelessParis_7032101.jpg/798px-HomelessParis_7032101.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">United States Department of Housing and Urban Development</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">(HUD) defines a "chronically homeless" person as "an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span></span></span></span></div><h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_history_through_the_1800s"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Early history through the 1800s</span></span></h4><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Following the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_Revolt" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Peasants' Revolt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Peasants' Revolt</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">, British </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Constable"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">constables</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> were </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Poor_Laws" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="English Poor Laws"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">authorised under a 1383 statute</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> to collar </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagabond_(person)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Vagabond (person)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">vagabonds</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> and force them to show support; if they could not, the penalty was </span></span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaol" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Gaol"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">gaol</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">. Vagabonds could be sentenced to the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stocks" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Stocks"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">stocks</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> for three days and nights; in 1530,</span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellation" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Flagellation"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">whipping</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> was added. The presumption was that vagabonds were unlicensed </span></span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beggar" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Beggar"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">beggars</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">. In 1547, a bill was passed that subjected vagrants to some of the more extreme provisions of the criminal law, namely two years servitude and branding with a "V" as the penalty for the first offense and death for the second. Large numbers of vagabonds were among the </span></span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="Convicts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">convicts</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> transported to the American colonies in the 18th century.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Down_and_out_on_New_York_pier.gif/220px-Down_and_out_on_New_York_pier.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Down_and_out_on_New_York_pier.gif/220px-Down_and_out_on_New_York_pier.gif" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">During the 16th century in England, the state first tried to give housing to vagrants instead of punishing them, by introducing bridewells to take vagrants and train them for a profession. In the 17th and 18th centuries, these were replaced by workhouses but these were intended to discourage too much reliance on state help.The growing movement toward social concern sparked the development of rescue missions, such as America's first rescue mission, the New York City Rescue Mission, founded in 1872 by Jerry and Maria McAuley.In smaller towns, there were hobos, who temporarily lived near train tracks and hopped onto trains to various destinations. Especially following the American Civil War, a large number of homeless men formed part of a counterculture known as "hobohemia" all over America. This phenomenon re-surged in the 1930s during and after the Great Depression.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Early 20th century</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">How the Other Half Lives later inspired Jack London's The People of the Abyss (1903). This raised public awareness, causing some changes in building codes and some social conditions.These were later replaced by dormitory housing ("spikes") provided by local boroughs, and these were researched by the writer George Orwell. By the 1930s in England, there were 30,000 people living in these facilities. In 1933, George Orwell wrote about poverty in London and Paris, in his bookDown and Out in Paris and London.<br />
<br />
In general, in most countries, many towns and cities had an area which contained the poor, transients, and afflicted, such as a "skid row". In New York City, for example, there was an area known as "the Bowery", traditionally, where alcoholics were to be found sleeping on the streets, bottle in hand.</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/Boweryrm.jpg/170px-Boweryrm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/Boweryrm.jpg/170px-Boweryrm.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The Great Depression of the 1930s caused a devastating epidemic of poverty, hunger, and homelessness. There were two million homeless people migrating across the United States.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In the 1960s, the nature and growing problem of homelessness changed in England as public concern grew. The number of people living "rough" in the streets had increased dramatically. However, beginning with the Conservative administration's Rough Sleeper Initiative, the number of people sleeping rough in London fell dramatically. This initiative was supported further by the incoming Labour administration from 2009 onwards with the publication of the 'Coming in from the Cold' strategy published by the Rough Sleepers Unit, which proposed and delivered a massive increase in the number of hostel bed spaces in the capital and an increase in funding for street outreach teams, who work with rough sleepers to enable them to access services.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Later 20th century</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
<br />
However, modern homelessness, started as a result of the economic stresses in society, reduction in the availability of affordable housing, such as single room occupancies (SROs), for poorer people. In the United States, in the 1970s, the deinstitutionalisation of patients from state psychiatric hospitals was a precipitating factor which seeded the homeless population, especially in urban areas such as New York City.<br />
<br />
The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 was a pre-disposing factor in setting the stage for homelessness in the United States. Long term psychiatric patients were released from state hospitals into SROs and supposed to be sent to community mental health centers for treatment and follow-up. It never quite worked out properly, the community mental health centers mostly did not materialize, and this population largely was found living in the streets soon thereafter with no sustainable support system.<br />
<br />
Also, as real estate prices and neighborhood pressure increased to move these people out of their areas, the SROs diminished in number, putting most of their residents in the streets. Other populations were mixed in later, such as people losing their homes for economic reasons, and those with addictions (although alcoholic hobos had been visible as homeless people since the 1890s, and those stereotypes fueled public perceptions of homeless people in general), the elderly, and others.<br />
<br />
Many places where people were once allowed freely to loiter, or purposefully be present, such as churches, public libraries and atriums, became stricter as the homeless population grew larger and increasingly congregated in these places. As a result, many churches closed their doors when services were not being held, libraries began enforcing "no eyes shut" and sometimes dresscode policies, and most places hired private security guards to carry out these policies, creating a social tension. Many public toilets were closed.[citation needed]<br />
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"> <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/A_gipsy_woman_with_her_dog.JPG/220px-A_gipsy_woman_with_her_dog.JPG" /></span></div></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
This banished the homeless population to sidewalks, parks, under bridges, and the like. They also lived in the subway and railroad tunnels in New York City. They seemingly became socially invisible, which was the apparent effect of many of the enforcement policies. The homeless shelters, which were generally night shelters, made the homeless leave in the morning to whatever they could manage and return in the evening when the beds in the shelters opened up again for sleeping. There were some daytime shelters where the homeless could go, instead of being stranded on the streets, and they could be helped, get counseling, avail themselves of resources, meals, and otherwise spend their day until returning to their overnight sleeping arrangements. An example of such a day center shelter model is Saint Francis House in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in the early 1980s, which opens for the homeless all year long during the daytime hours and was originally based on the settlement house model.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
Many homeless keep all their possessions with them because they have no access to storage. There was also the reality of the "bag" people, the shopping cart people, and the soda can collectors (known as binners or dumpster divers) who sort through garbage to find items to sell, trade and eat. These people carry around all of their possessions with them all the time because they have no place to store them. If they had no access to or capability to get to a shelter and possible bathing, or access to toilets and laundry facilities, their hygiene was lacking. This again created social tensions in public places.These conditions created an upsurge in tuberculosis and other diseases in urban areas.<br />
In 1974, Kip Tiernan founded Rosie's Place in Boston, the first drop-in and emergency shelter for women in the United States, in response to the increasing numbers of needy women throughout the country.In 1979, a New York City lawyer, Robert Hayes, brought a class action suit before the courts, Callahan v. Carey, against the City and State, arguing for a person's state constitutional "right to shelter". It was settled as a consent decree in August 1981. The City and State agreed to provide board and shelter to all homeless men who met the need standard for welfare or who were homeless by certain other standards. By 1983 this right was extended to homeless women. </span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a8/Homesless_in_Roma.jpg/220px-Homesless_in_Roma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a8/Homesless_in_Roma.jpg/220px-Homesless_in_Roma.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">By the mid-1980s, there was also a dramatic increase in family homelessness. Tied into this was an increasing number of impoverished and runaway children, teenagers, and young adults, which created a new sub-stratum of the homeless population (street children or street youth). Also, in the 1980s, in the United States, some federal legislation was introduced for the homeless as a result of the work of CongressmanStewart B. McKinney. In 1987, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was enacted. Several organizations in some cities, such as New York and Boston, tried to be inventive about help to the swelling number of homeless people. In New York City, for example, in 1989, a street newspaper was created called "Street News" which put some homeless to work, some writing, producing, and mostly selling the paper on streets and trains.<br />
<br />
It was written pro bono by a combination of homeless, celebrities, and established writers. In 1991, in England, a street newspaper, following on the New York model was established, called The Big Issue and was published weekly. Its circulation grew to 300,000. Chicago has StreetWise which has the largest circulation of its kind in the United States, thirty thousand. Boston has a Spare Change News newspaper, founded in 1992 by a small group of homeless people in Boston, built on the same model as the others: homeless helping themselves. Seattle has Real Change, a $1 newsletter that directly benefits the homeless and also reports on economic issues in the area. Portland, Oregon has Street Roots, with articles and poetry by homeless writers, sold on the street for a dollar. More recently, Street Sense, in Washington, D.C. has gained a lot of popularity and helped many make the move out of homelessness. Students in Baltimore, MD have opened a satellite office for that street paper as well.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">21st Century</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In 2002, research showed that children and families were the largest growing segment of the homeless in America, and this has presented new challenges, especially in services, to agencies.Some trends involving the plight of the homeless have provoked some thought, reflection and debate. One such phenomenon is paid physical advertising, colloquially known as "sandwich board men"and another specific type as "Bumvertising". Another trend is the side effect of unpaid free advertising of companies and organizations on shirts, clothing and bags, to be worn by the homeless and poor, given out and donated by companies to homeless shelters and charitable organizations for otherwise altruistic purposes. These trends are reminiscent of the "sandwich board signs" carried by poor people in the time of Charles Dickens in the Victorian 19th century in England and later during the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s.<br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In the USA, the government asked many major cities to come up with a ten year plan to end homelessness. One of the results of this was a "Housing first" solution, rather than to have a homeless person remain in an emergency homeless shelter it was thought to be better to quickly get the person permanent housing of some sort and the necessary support services to sustain a new home. But there are many complications of this kind of program and these must be dealt with to make such an initiative work successfully in the middle to long term. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Some formerly homeless people, who were finally able to obtain housing and other assets which helped to return to a normal lifestyle, have donated money and volunteer service to the organizations which provided aid to them during their homelessness. Alternatively, some social service entities that help the homeless now employ formerly homeless individuals to assist in the care process.<br />
<br />
Homelessness has migrated toward rural and suburban areas. There are 1.6 million homeless people in shelters in 2009. The number of homeless people has not changed dramatically but the number of homeless families has increased according to a report of HUD.<br />
The United States Congress appropriated $25 million in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants for 2008 to show the effectiveness of Rapid Re-housing programs in reducing family homelessness.<br />
</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In February 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 part of which addressed homelessness prevention, allocating $1.5 billion for a Homeless Prevention Fund. The funding for it was called the "Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program" (HPRP), and was distributed using the formula for the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program. On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act into Public Law (Public Law 111-22 or "PL 111-22"), reauthorizing HUD's Homeless Assistance programs. It was part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. The HEARTH act allows for the prevention of homelessness, rapid re-housing, consolidation of housing programs, and new homeless categories. In the eighteen months after the bill's signing, HUD must make regulations implementing this new McKinney program. In late 2009, some homeless advocacy organizations, such as the National Coalition for the Homeless, reported and published perceived problems with the HEARTH Act of 2009 as a HUD McKinney-Vento Reauthorization bill, especially with regard to privacy, definitional ineligibility, community roles, and restrictions on eligibile activities.</span></span></div></div>peacefroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18149150764714845861noreply@blogger.com3