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From Homelessness to Homefullness
Text from the
www.homeaid.org web site:
“According to the National Alliance to End
Homelessness (NAEH), between 700,000 and 800,000 people are homeless on
any night in the U.S., with between 2.5 and 3.5 million people
experiencing homelessness during the course of a year.
Research indicates that – of the total population of homeless – 81
percent will enter and exit a shelter quickly, and not return for a
prolonged period of time or never return. This
population of temporary, or
transitional, homeless individuals and families experience a
life-altering event (e.g. job loss, natural disaster, divorce, abuse, or
medical condition) that drives them to homelessness.
Typically, these temporary homeless individuals and families merely need
a second chance to get their feet back on the ground, attain
self-sufficiency, and move quickly toward acquiring some sort of
permanent housing.
Of the remaining 19 percent of the homeless population, nine percent
enter and exit shelters repeatedly, and are referred to as “episodically
homeless,” and 10 percent remain in shelters and are part of the chronic
homeless population, also referred to as the “hopeless” or “street”
homeless.
In a broad sense, today’s homeless refers to all of these populations.”
“The programs offered by the social service
agencies/charities fall into two primary categories: Continuum of Care
and Housing First. The Continuum of Care model originated with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development. This model advocates that
homeless people must progress through a “continuum” before they can
become stable. In this model, residents enter an emergency facility and
complete the recuperative work available there; proceed to transitional
housing and complete the emotional/educational work required there; then
move onto permanent-supportive housing that provides additional
stabilization services. Optimally, the process ends with residents
becoming fully self-sufficient and entering affordable housing.
As the name implies, the Housing First model provides housing first,
with support services offered at some later date. This model advocates
that housing, in and of itself, provides stability. In contrast to the
Continuum model, the Housing First model espouses that support services
are necessary for long-term self-sufficiency, but are not crucial
initially.”
There is a
reason that we refer to those who are hurting and on the street as
“Homeless” rather than foodless or unclothed or without health
insurance...
It is
because having shelter implies having a roof over our heads, security,
warmth, a special place that is ours, a place to keep our treasured
stuff, a place that our family can commune and be a family. A Home is
that place that we can hang our hat and call our own. It gives us a
sense of self. It is also our most expensive asset and once we lose the
ability to afford it, our sense of security, happiness and self begins
to fade. Our home is very important to our physical and mental health.
Every person needs one!
So when we
lose our home, we become “homeless” and we begin to lose all those
things that we had in our home: our security, warmth, our special place,
our place to be with our family, our sense of self, our sound mental
health…
That is
exactly why having a home is considered by many (including the counties
of Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado) as the 1st step required
to help people out of homelessness, rather than the last… Without home
it is just harder to get your sense of self back.
It’s not
easy. Because homes are the most expensive part. For the community to
provide homes for all of the homeless would cost a lot of money. So how
do we get there? “It takes a village”! I Guess… It takes government,
churches, non-profits, private corporations and individuals to make it
happen, one house, one apartment, one homeless family, one hurting
person as a time. We can all do our small part and it will make a
Big
difference.
So here is
my shot at making a difference. I have been looking at all the
organizations that are indeed parts of the solution. There are
hundreds, thousands of them. I was truly amazed at the depth and bredth
of organizations that have formed to help the hurting, the homeless and
those on the brink of homelessness. There are too many of some, too few
of others, but definitely a lot of dedicated people and organizations
that really care about those who are hurting in their communities. And
there are many right here in the Sacramento area that are providing an
abundance of very credible services for the homeless.
The purpose of this web-site is to assemble
a summary, compendium of all or most of those amazing organizations and
try to assemble a portal that will allow both caregivers and the
homeless to readily find the latest and most credible information about
services that may help them to avoid homelessness, or to help them back
into homefullness.
As such
there is very little new information in this web site. It is just
another way to look at all the information about helping the homeless in
the Sacramento, California area. Hopefully it is helpful!
Let us know. And as with all such endeavors, a lot of research and
documentation is required so this will continue to be a work in
process. It will change as new organizations join the cause and as
others change or add new services and as we all better understand
homelessness and its many causes and remedies.
The Web
site is divided into 3 distinct sections:
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Data / information about the homeless.
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Why people are homeless with programs for each cause.
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What are the needs of a homeless person and where can those needs be
met?
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