Homeless


 * 1) The homeless population is highest  in liberal states like New York and Washington, but also in mild weather states like California and Florida.
 * 2) Liberal Democrat programs ensure that the homeless do not get job training to help themselves, and get cash instead to make them a dependent population, and erode their confidence.
 * 3) Because the homeless often have a substance addiction, it is not recommended to give them cash, instead give them food, or direct them to a place where they can find food or shelter.
 * 4) The SOP sample was 54.4 percent male, 45.6 percent female, with 6.8 percent of participants identifying as transgender... 2016 HHS PDF
 * 5) Shelters often exclude men who are homeless, especially if there are ANY women or children at the shelter at all.
 * 6) Addiction rates for the homeless are often not published publicly as the perception is the homeless programs might get less funding. Some reports say up to 90% of homeless have an addiction problem. In my work at a non-profit, 90% of the addicts stopped their addiction and restarted it within 2 months.
 * 7) Liberal policies encourage homeless camps and raw sewage on the ground, leading to more disease and hardship for the homeless.
 * 8) Some attempts to help people are providing housing where the person pays some small fee, about $100 per month, and they can stay there as long as they work 40 hours per week.
 * 9) 62% reported symptoms of mental health problems. Almost three-quarters of participants (73.2%) reported use of alcohol, 64.6 percent reported use of marijuana, and 37.5 percent reported use of hard drugs (intravenous drugs, inhalants, cocaine, and methamphetamine) in the previous 12 months.  Rates were lower for past month use at 59.1 percent for alcohol, 55.1 percent for marijuana, and 13.2 percent for hard drugs. 2016 HHS report, PDF page 3.
 * 10) There are medications to help people get off alcohol, or treat their mental illness, so they can hold a full time job but states rarely fund anything like this.

=Studies and Reports=


 * 1) Searches. DDG Search.
 * 2) 1988 Study "Who are the Homeless?". NIH web page.
 * 3) 2013 Annual US Homeless Report. PDF.
 * 4) 2014. "Incarceration histories of homeless veterans and progression through a national supported housing program." Incarceraion not a barrier to exiting homelessness. NIH page.
 * 5) 2015 HUD report "The 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress". PDF.
 * 6) In January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night.  Most (69 percent) were staying in residential programs for homeless people, and 31 percent were found in unsheltered locations. Nearly one-quarter of all homeless people were children, under the age of 18 (23 percent or 127,787).  Nine percent (or 52,973) were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 68 percent (or 383,948) were 25 years or older. 39.2% female, 60% male, 0.2% transgender. 48.5% were white, 40% were African-American.
 * 7) 2015 study on veterans "Risk factors for homelessness among US veterans." Thirty-one studies published from 1987 to 2014 were divided into 3 categories: more rigorous studies, less rigorous studies, and studies comparing homeless veterans with homeless nonveterans. The study looked at the 448,290 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans who had used VA for care since their discharge. It found that 5.6 percent of those Veterans had been discharged for misconduct, usually drug or alcohol abuse—but that those patients accounted for 28.1 percent of those who became homeless within a year of their discharge. Overall, 1 percent of VA patients were homeless at some point within a year of their discharge, but 5.4 percent of those discharged for misconduct fell in that category.  NIH link.
 * 8) 2016 HHS report. Web page. his report provides a portrait of the young people, ages 14–21, ... The 11 grantee sites (in this survey) were: Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; New York City, NY; Omaha, NE; Port St. Lucie, FL; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; Tucson, AZ; and Washington, DC. Two-fifths of the sample (41.1%) identified as Black or African American, and one-third (33.3%) identified as White only. The SOP sample was 54.4 percent male, 45.6 percent female, with 6.8 percent of participants identifying as transgender...
 * 9) 2017 HUD report to congress, AHAR. Web page.
 * 10) 2019 Whitehouse report. The Economic Advisers "State of the Homeless Report". PDF, 41 pages.

=Resources=

Groups and city-specific groups.


 * 1) Chicago Coalition for Homeless. Web page.
 * 2) End Homelessness. Link.
 * 3) Journalists Resource "Homelessness in the United States". Web page.
 * 4) National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Web page.
 * 5) US Interagency Council on Homelessness. Web page.
 * 6) US Veterans Affairs Homelessness page. Web page.
 * 7) US Vets can call 1-877-4AID-VET to get help with housing. Web page.

=References=