Discover the shortcomings of a top-down approach to solving homelessness and the power of community-driven compassion. A thought-provoking perspective on the limitations of government incentives and the true essence of real compassion.
As of September 1, if you were homeless, work requirements established in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act no longer apply to you. They neither apply if you’re a veteran or have aged out of the foster care system and are under 24.
More Americans returning to work equates to less government spending on social programs, but it also restores dignity and strengthen community. James Whitford explains more about a missed opportunity in his article, originally publlished in InsideSources.
The USICH sets lofty goals for reducing homelessness by doubling down on the failed Housing First program—yet the USICH themselves have admitted that though “funding for homelessness assistance has increased every year,” the unsheltered population has grown by a staggering 20.5% nationally.
No across-the-board solutions exist for resolving homelessness. But, more granular data – specific to a community’s population vs. an entire county – can help identify common causes. TCI’s James Whitford discusses how a recent state bill can help do just that.
Housing First is intended to quickly connect people experiencing homelessness to permanent housing “without preconditions such as sobriety, treatment or service participation requirements.” Yet, it has the unfortunate result of trapping people in a cycle of dependency.
How do we shift the balance of our programs from relief towards development? How can we meet vital and basic needs repetitively without also being complicit in the dependency trap? How can we motivate the people we help to do more to help themselves? How can we level up? Look up, expect up, and size up.
Is expanding food stamps benefits to include restaurants a kindness or, as FDR put it, “a subtle destroyer of the human spirit”? TCI’s James Whitford explains how one state’s recent legislation doing just that is a disservice to those in need.
Debate over the term ‘homeless’ versus ‘houseless’ doesn’t provide a real solution, and neither does just offering a place to live. TCI’s James Whitford explains.
Most government programs to help the poor are designed less like a safety net to break a fall and more like a sticky spider’s web. The average nonprofit can’t fix the welfare system. However, there are a lot of practical things you can do to get your clients out of it and to keep them free.
