Linking Human Services and Housing Supports to Address Family Homlessness: Promising Practices in the Field.

摘要

Recent reports have brought national attention to the prevalence of family homelessness and the need to coordinate across all levels of government to prevent and end family homelessness. In June 2011, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), the sixth in a series of annual reports on the extent and nature of homelessness nationwide. The report documents a 29 percent increase in sheltered family homelessness between 2007 and 2010. Today, an estimated 168,000 familiesrepresenting 567,000 persons in familiesuse an emergency shelter or a transitional housing program at some point during the year. The toll of homelessness on children living with their families is troubling. Homelessness can adversely affect childrens mental health and behavior, school attendance and educational achievement, cognitive and motor development, and general health. A year prior to the 2010 AHAR release, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released the nations first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The plan sets an ambitious agenda for addressing homelessness, stresses governmental collaboration at all levels, and encourages using programs targeted to homeless families (as well as other homeless subpopulations) and mainstream resources to help families achieve housing stability.