Homelessness is a Systemic Failure

By Emily Huang / Winter 2021

Dear Emily,

When we were young, you were always so hopeful, innocent, and childish. You never lacked basic needs or parental love. You were always protected in a bubble by your parents that only showed you the good side of the world. However, as you grew up and were exposed to different ideas, beliefs, and institutions, your perceptions of the world have transformed. You realized you were blinded to some of the biggest problems, such as homelessness, in society that are hurting people emotionally, physically, and mentally. When we were little, we thought people were homeless because they were too lazy to find a job. We thought if they tried hard enough, they would find a job and escape poverty. However, as we grew up, we realized our perception was wrong. They were not the only ones to blame for. It is the combination of the person and the failure of the underlying system of America that should be examined to curb homelessness.

You grew up in a house that your parents have bought. So, your family would never care about rent. You did not have too much knowledge about how affordable housing was to the mass. It was not until you had to move out of our family during college and came out of that protective bubble. For the first time, you had to rent a house. You were very surprised by the high rent prices for such a small space. You were so shocked, but you still rented it so you can go to school more conveniently. You were lucky enough that you had your parents to support you financially for rent that you did not have to work few jobs. However, did you know that many people cannot afford housing in America? Housing prices in America rise at an alarming rate every year, and in return, rent prices increase every year. Demand is always greater than supply, therefore, it drives up rent prices. It makes it harder for the majority of people to get housing; nonetheless, the homeless community. In particular, the homeless community is having a hard time catching up with the rising rates every year, and it makes it inevitable for them to just sleep in the streets. This puts them at a disadvantage in terms of finding a job or integrating into society. This cycle of being disadvantaged just keeps repeating due to the lack of affordable housing. The government needs to implement or revise policies to indirectly make housing more affordable. For example, the government could increase the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC.) The LIHTC was established by the Tax Reform Act in 1986 to give state and local agencies funds to give people tax credits for buying, renting, or building a house. The government can boost this credit so more people can benefit from it, in particular, the homeless community. There are even more homeless people due to the side effect of the pandemic.

Furthermore, the formerly incarcerated make up more than 20% of the homeless community and it sheds light on the failure of America’s criminal justice system. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, they are ten times as likely to be homeless after coming out of prison because the transition from prison to their local community poses many barriers. It is because they have been cut off from modern society for some time, and they would have to catch up with the trends, norms, or values again. Some even come out with very low self-esteem because people discriminate against them from being incarcerated. Therefore, there should be a reform on America’s reintegration programs for the formerly incarcerated. The reintegration programs are designed to better prepare the formerly incarcerated for the community by helping them locate their resources after getting out of prison so they do not come out with so many barriers. Those programs for them should start early when they are in prison or a few months before they come out of prison. Those re-entry programs should not wait until they are out of prison to help them. During prison, the programs should help them find jobs and housing, and provide them mental counseling. Mental counseling is very important because the formerly incarcerated are usually discriminated against for being an ex-convict. Those programs need to help build courage and determination in them early on so they better prepared for the world after prison. The government should really revise their integration programs to help decrease the amount of formerly incarcerated becoming homeless.

The lack of welfare programs is also part of the systemic failure in the country. I have witnessed this shortage when I volunteered as an Informational and Referral Specialist at a call center in Riverside. My responsibility was to connect my clients to the most appropriate human and health resources to solve their problems. The clients that mostly called in were homeless people looking for programs for affordable housing, food stamps, or utility assistance programs. However, most of these programs have very long waiting lists or have requirements. For example, affordable housing programs have thousands of people on the waiting list. It might take months or years for them to get off the waiting list. The lack of support and services can truly make it hard for a person to escape poverty and still not lose hope after waiting for a long period of time. Homelessness has always been a huge social issue that requires more attention. If more governmental funds are allocated to these programs, it can curb homelessness at a faster rate. The government should make homelessness a priority on their federal agenda because homelessness just keeps rising each year.

Solving homelessness requires intervention at all levels of the nation. It requires patience, forgiveness, determination. Action should be taken quickly because the homeless community is even rising at a more rapid speed today due to people losing jobs or their homes during this pandemic. It is definitely very sad to hear, but if we all look a bit deeper at those underlying causes of homelessness, we might be able to understand why homelessness still occurs.

Work Cited

“Formerly Incarcerated People Are Nearly 10 Times More Likely to Be Homeless.” ​National Low Income Housing Coalition​, 20 Aug. 2018.