Terry Cline, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Washington, had the following to say about homelessness:
“Each year some 2 to 3 million individuals experience a night of homelessness, and approximately 800,000 people are homeless in the United States on any given night.”
“By raising awareness about effective homelessness prevention and intervention programs, this special issue can help local organizations make informed decisions about the approaches that will work best in their communities.”
We have more abandoned houses than we do homeless families. Still, the rates of homeless families continue to rise. The world has enough resources to house everyone, as well as feed and clothe them.
I believe we can effectively eliminate homelessness by providing homeless people with either education, job training, or job placement services, depending on each individual’s current skill level. Additionally, we need to make sure these people have ample access to food, clothes, shelter, and healthcare, while they get job training and placement services. We cannot reasonably expect a person to effectively work on their job skills while homeless, hungry, and sick.
If we offer these services as loans, then we essentially can eliminate homelessness at no financial cost to us. Additionally, not offering unconditionally free services to poor people will undermine voluntary paupers and create a sense of self-responsibility in the would-be homeless people.