For decades, a number of laws, policies, and programs have been used to reduce and/or end homelessness. Housing (housing first, rental vouchers, rent assistance, public housing), safety net (Medicaid, SNAP), shelters, and safe areas have not affected the rising homeless rates in America’s cities.
Despite a plethora of federal government bills, laws, executive orders, policies, and programs homelessness continues to escalate.
The cry for housing first, affordable housing, rehabilitation, increased resources/supports, and building more shelters has not worked.
The belief that homeless people are drug addicts, alcoholics, or mentally ill is true to some extent. However, the percentage of homeless people that fall into one or more of these categories is difficult to measure. Additionally, the degree to which homeless people fall into a category is unknown.
For example, the severity of drug addiction, alcoholism, or mental health disorders is not documented. To truly know the percentage of homeless who are in need and the severity of their needs requires a needs assessment.
Another requirement is to determine the percentage of homeless people who commit theft, vandalism, major crimes, assault, and murder. To randomly assert that homeless people are criminals and should not live on city streets is wrong.
To obtain the data needed to categorize homeless groups, the severity of their needs, and their involvement in crime, cities develop high risk registries and take a prevention approach to homelessness.
Most cities in America keep a database on people using safety net programs like Medicaid, Medicare, ACC, SNAP, school nutrition, energy assistance, and SSI. Data is also available on domestic violence, family conflict, crimes, and incarceration, educational data like attainment, dropout, run away youth, unaccompanied youth, and disabilities.
A homeless prevention program would use high risk indicators, results, data sources, and resources/supports to identify individuals, families, children before they become homeless.
Federal, state, city, and local government programs, agencies, organizations, community services, and nonprofits, could be used as data sources and resources/supports before homelessness occurs.
The value of a homeless prevention program lends itself to identifying targeted indicators, the effect of the indicators, data sources, and identifying programs and agencies that provide assistance.
By-products of a homeless prevention program include a reduction in safety net usage, health services, labor, crime, incarceration, drug addition, alcoholism, and physical and mental illness, social services, school dropout, increased educational attainment, and skill training,
Additionally, the negative attitudes that the public has against the homeless would decrease. Beliefs that the homeless take advantage of government programs, are not willing to work, influence city safety, and increase crime rates would be reduced. More importantly, homelessness would be reduced.
Leon Swarts 8/12/2025