Comparing Homeless Rates in the U.S.A. with the World. Solutions and Differences.

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The number of unsheltered people in the United States compared with other liberalized democratic nations is startling. With the United States consistently being ranked year after year as an economic and GDP per capita superpower, how has the nation neglected to tackle the homeless crisis? For this purpose, it is more beneficial to compare the U.S.A. with similar democratic and liberalized governments. How has the United States homeless population grown overtime while other nations have succeeded in reducing the population. Is the reasoning for this strictly political policy, or is this due to financial and cultural reasons?


How does the United States tackle homelessness?


The Department of Urban and Housing Development is the main federal agency that attempts to eliminate the homeless crisis. This department is funded through congressional budgeting and provides federal housing assistance to the homeless. In 2021, the department received 47.9 billion dollars, however this was 8.6 billion dollars less than the previous year. This number has been decreasing steadily throughout the years. Although this is a large amount of money, the department evaluates their needs for the nearly 580,000 homeless people across the United States and shows signs of being underfunded. Simultaneously, the lack of funding for social programs throughout the United States exacerbates problems of drug addiction and mental illness. Along with a large housing crisis throughout the nation, the underfunding of housing and social programs is a large reason for the spike in homelessness throughout the last decade.


How does Australia combat the homeless crisis?


Australia introduced the Supported Transition and Engagement Program in 2018. This program provides housing for the homeless with addiction counseling and health care. This has cut the homeless population in half throughout the nation and continues to see a reduction in numbers. The government has also provided subsidies toward communal shelters and feeding programs in an attempt to grow local support to reduce the homeless population. These programs have proven to be very successful since their introduction in 2018 reducing homelessness significantly.


How does Italy tackle its homeless crisis?


The Italian government has provided assistance programs that are similar to Australia. Large funding for homeless shelters, mental illness facilities, and addiction counseling, have proven to significantly reduce the homeless population throughout the country. Funding for these programs are also extremely successful during the winter months as temperatures can drop below freezing causing death. The funding has been highly sought after for a majority of congress members as they have seen the positive impact it has had throughout society. 


How does England combat its rise in homeless population?


Homelessness has been on the rise throughout England due to a housing shortage and high prices. During the pandemic, the English government mandated that local councils provide emergency housing for the homeless population. This policy has remained in-place and has proven to be successful dropping the homeless percentage by 44 percent. As homelessness has been on the rise in recent months, the government allocated 2 billion dollars toward the homeless crisis. Rent caps and freezing private rent sectors throughout the economy has also been proposed by congress members. This 2 billion dollar allocation is sought to be used for drug counseling, staff for mental illness centers, and housing assistance. 


Conclusion


When comparing other nations to the United States, it is clear to see funding discrepancies. The lack of funding toward social and housing programs in the United States has allowed the homeless population to grow overtime. Currently the United States has one of the largest homeless populations when compared to other liberalized democratic nations throughout the world. Solutions to tackle homelessness in the United States would be to emulate policies from other nations that have successfully reduced their homeless populations. This has been done through adequate health care, mental illness care, addiction counseling, and housing assistance programs with proper governmental funding. If the United States can implement proper policy with proper funding, it is likely the homeless population would decline especially as examples around the world have proven that this can be obtained.   


By: Keegan Wesley


Citations


World Population Review. Homelessness by country 2023. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/homelessness-by-country 

USAFacts. (2023, May 23). How many homeless people are in the US? what does the data miss? https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-homeless-people-are-in-the-us-what-does-the-data-miss/ 

The New York Times. (2022, November 30). A snapshot of homelessness policies around the U.S. and the world. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/us/homeless-policies-new-york-world.html 

U.S.G.A.Office. Homelessness. https://www.gao.gov/homelessness

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). https://www.hud.gov/

Budget in brief (2020, February 6) - hud.gov. https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/CFO/documents/BudgetinBrief_2020-02_06_Online.pdf 


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