This was one of the topic areas with the most responses . . .
These are the items that got the most responses:
- Need for rapid rehousing/housing first
- Lack of SRO housing and transitional housing, Destruction/low stock of SROs
- Stigma associated with being homeless in search of housing – with police and community, criminalization of homelessness, scapegoating, targeting homelessness, Ignorance about homeless
- Lack of treatment – mental health, AODA, dual diagnosis, Lack of health care/mental health, facilities and insurance, Untreated mental health/drug/alcohol
- Lack of employment options, Lack of entry level jobs
- Lacking re-entry options, Lack of housing for ex-offenders
- Daytime shelter
- Problems with shelter management, mistreatment in shelter, Shelter Standards
- No safety net, time to get SSI, benefits takes too long; no general assistance
- Not enough shelter space, even overflow, More shelter & shelter options
- Subsidized housing application/search – red tape
- Lack of permanent supportive housing and case management
- “Wet” shelter
- Barrier for searching for work without facilities (showers, laundry, etc), Hygiene
- Subsidized housing “criteria”/procedures limiting
- Under-reporting of homelessness, Lack of visibility, uncounted homeless
Only received one or two votes
- Classism/racism
- More supportive services for those in shelter & moving out, Easy access to services
- Lack of affordable housing and rental increases
- Lack of transit – affordable, public
- NIMBYism
- Hard to take help (humiliation/pride)
- Limits on time in shelter, permanent bans from shelter
- Transitional housing – stricter rules, no time limit, nicer
- Lack of consensus/no agreement in community about homelessness
Items brainstormed which received no votes:
- Deaths/hospitalization + Death of homeless, lack of community response, coroner
- Rape – victimization of homeless
- Disparate treatment for families vs single homeless
- Destruction/low stock of SROs
- Nimby
- Lack of financial education
- Faith-based services
- Giving up on people too quickly
- Impact on children/education
- Lack of storage
- Where to put pets
- Lack of vouchers
Feel free to let us know what we missed!
Please add my vote to everything, including in the catagory that received one or two votes, and the other which received no votes. Excellent brainstorming lists. Each item deserves real attention as together components make up the larger picture, often dependent one on the other, and when addressed can be the right prescription for remedy of the diseased status quo. Not one of these listed items can be ignored or overlooked as they each can and do become the blockade in the path that overwhelms potential for sucessful navigation of system, fortification of self, and ultimate escape from homelessness.
ReplyDeleteSome other items I don't see yet feel to be crutial: 1.Lack of access to transportation.
2. Lack of objective oversight, assessment, training, reccomendations ... with consequences for non-compliance, of homeless services, on standards of dignity, health, safety, accessibility, effectiveness, organizational evaluation and capacity for ongoing improvement of services.
3. Lack of safe from retaliation, objective agent to receive and tend to complaints/comments/service ban decisions, by consumers of services.
4. Ongoing focus by Homeless Services Consortium on value based services with healing, empowerment, dignity, empathy, urgency and persistance among them.
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ReplyDeleteMy conviction is that there needs to be a new a new men's shelter in concept, facility and delivery of service.