Homelessness is a Non-Partisan Issue

By Maria Foscarinis | November 27, 2006

Each year, over 3.5 million people experience homelessness, including 1.35 million children. Beginning in the early 1980s, the number of homeless Americans grew dramatically, and the face of homelessness changed from the middle-aged white males of Skid Row to include working men and women, families, children, ethnic and racial minorities and an overall younger population. Click here for demographic information on homelessness.

Homelessness has many causes, but the primary one is the lack of affordable housing. Federal funding for new housing is virtually zero, and funding for existing housing has been cut by every President (Republican and Democrat) for the past 25 years. Another cause is low wages, which have remained stagnant even as housing costs have skyrocketed, and inadequate public benefits. The lack of affordable health care, limited educational opportunities, substance abuse and mental illness (and the lack of treatment options) also contribute. One of the leading causes of homelessness for women and children is domestic violence - some women become homeless when they flee abuse, while other domestic violence survivors are evicted as a result of the violence against them.

The federal response to homelessness has focused primarily on aiding people who are already homeless and that assistance is inadequate to the need. Every night, homeless individuals and families seeking emergency shelter are turned away due to lack of resources. Closing these gaps is essential to protecting the lives and safety of these families and individuals. Perhaps even more important, however, national policy must focus on ending and preventing homelessness - by addressing its underlying causes through increased funding and systemic change.

The cornerstone of any major effort to end and prevent homelessness must be a substantial increase in access to affordable and low-income housing. Many U.S. cities have waiting lists for federal housing assistance that are so long they won’t even accept new applications. Those lucky enough to be on the list usually wait years for a subsidized apartment. Also essential are adequate incomes, including living wages for those able to work and adequate public benefits for those not able. Educational opportunities for homeless children and youth must also be increased to break the generational cycle of homelessness. Click here to learn how you can help.

These solutions are most effective if they work within a human rights framework. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to an "adequate standard of living," including the right to adequate housing. Yet here in the US, these basic human rights are largely unrecognized and they are routinely violated. Fighting to recognize these rights and to begin implementing them here in the US is essential to fostering human dignity and basic social justice - and ending homelessness in the United States.