Solving Homelessness: Housing First, Prevention, and Contingency Management (Homelessness Part 3)

A Variety of Help

Combating homelessness requires different strategies for different people. One general good practice for systems designed to help the homeless is that it needs to be individualized as much as possible. Different people have different issues that caused their homelessness and will need help in different ways. A big general split in the types of homeless are those with serious disabilities or addiction, and those temporarily down on their luck.

For capable people in rough times, we may be able to quickly get them to mostly independent living. They just need help getting over a hump.

For those with greater problems, they will need more permanent attention.

Shelters

Shelters are places the homeless can go temporarily. They are not meant to permanently help people as long-term housing. They are designed to provisionally give people a roof over their heads and protection from the elements. They also should be a place to connect the homeless to services.

While this isn’t always the case, those who aren’t addicted or mentally ill usually don’t stay homeless too long. They are able to get help from friends, family, or services and get back to work and in stable housing. For them, a temporary stay at a shelter may be all they need.