Ending Homelessness: MSW Students Chime-in with Top 4 Approaches
On March 13, Shahera extended her crowd sourcing engagement activity to first-year MSW students at California State University, Sacramento. Following a collaborative discussion on the barriers to housing and support services, MSW students suggested the following approaches to comprehensively end homelessness:
1. Re-evaluate and Re-distribute multi-level funding
Establish a permanent and reliable source of funding solely dedicated to affordable housing
Organize tax payer funding to provide a greater allotment to housing and services for folks experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity
Allow less to be funneled into the prison system, and reroute the funds to promote decriminalization practices that effect folks experiencing homelessness
2. Establish and Implement Supportive Resources and Procedures
Allow social workers to be the first responders instead of police
Create programs connected to community centers around cities that allow sleeping indoors
Allow materials to be used to create mobile pseudo-shelter without penalization
Improve access to quality affordable health care regardless of financial or housing status
Increase access to mental health resources and services regardless of financial or housing status
3. Apply and Embrace the Housing First Model
Decrease restrictive shelters and increase amount of low-barrier shelters
Allow access regardless of substance use, criminal background, documentation, pets, etc…
Establish more affordable housing options outside of shelters that are low-barrier
Increase the quality and quantity of transitional programs for former foster or formerly incarcerated youth
4. Create, Support, and Market Innovative Housing Programs
Convert closed military bases and hotels into community housing
Establish housing as a right, similar to education and medical insurance
Market a host home platform for people to “rent” rooms to folks experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity by providing incentives (tax breaks, etc.)
Hopefully these soon to be professional social workers will jump on board to establish some of these suggested approaches to help end homelessness.