Homeless People in Charlotte and America

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Recommended: Sociological approach to ending homelessness

The amount of homeless people in Charlotte and America is on the rise at an unbelievable rate. Our local government is under a lot of pressure to find a solution to this community issue, as it should. There are currently 2,400 people living permanently on the streets (Homeless Research Institute). Charlotte officials need to come up with innovative and creative plans to address this issue.
It isn’t enough to just move people out of homelessness, we have to prevent them from falling into it in the first place. A focus on prevention is essential in an attempt to end homelessness. These efforts should be aimed at the people that have the highest risk of homelessness. There needs to be programs implemented in high risk communities that give those in the highest risk of becoming homeless financial assistance that allows to keep there homes. There also needs to be single access point that can give information and refferals to the citizens at risk.
Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness is a call to action to the federal government and the nation as a whole to come together and collaborate on a plan that will organize and distribute the resources needed to deal with homelessness (USICH). This collaboration will in turn lead to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of homelessness and the most efficient ways to prevent it.
Increasing access to stable and affordable housing is imperative in combatting homelessness at a local and national level. Although there are already housing subsidies like Housing and Urban Devlopment Section 8, Welfare, State Rental Assistance and HUD Shelter Plus care program in Charlotte (HUD), many of them have prerequisites and requirements that rule out a large po...

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...to make sure they are putting their inhibitors into permanent housing rather than having the homeless people in these shelters using it as a permanent place to live. By implementing a housing first model the people in these shelters will be moved on to permanent housing quicker which allows more homeless to come in as the former homeless move out.
A large percentage of the homeless population are those who are re-entering society coming from the corrections system. It is often harder for them to find work and housing. One in five people who leave prison become homeless (National Alliance to End Homelessness). An effective way address this issue is implementing “re-entry housing” in Charlotte. According to the Coporation for Supportive Housing, a single re-entry housing unit can save $20,000 to $24,000 relative to the cost of release to shelter and re-incarceration.

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