CAPSTONE PROJECT- Must follow directions. Extremely important! See notes in red.

Proposed Interventions to Social Issues 7

Proposed Interventions to Social Issues

Christopher Malone

HHS 497

Instructor Michelle Wilson

February 6, 2017

Describe two to three examples of interventions, approaches, or techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective in addressing your social issue

There has been a lot of research placed into the ways that intervention can be done to solve the current homelessness issue that has been attacking the United States of America among other major issues that the youth are facing. In the U.S.A alone, there is an estimated population of 500,000 to 2.8 million homeless runaway and homeless youth and over 100,000,000 people worldwide. The research has shown that many runaways due to family conflicts, physical and sexual abuse, the inability for their families to take care of them and unwillingness of their parents. While physical and sexual abuse doesn't hold much weight when it comes to runaways, the associated trauma is placed as the main reason. Most of these runaways if not all end up residing in runaway shelters, living in the streets, squatting in abandoned buildings or taking refuge in friends' homes. While most focus is placed on family issues among other issues, delinquency still happens to be a contributor. A homeless youth is therefore referred to as any person that lacks parental, foster or institutional care. A homeless person, on the other hand, is any person that lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).

Homelessness exposes the people too many dangers and social dysfunctions among them being crime and violence; others include drug use and risky behaviors. Most of the interventions are targeted at the youths who have come from dysfunctional families and set ups. Among some, the programs that have been formulated include community-based programs and funded programs like go back to school drives among housing and employment opportunities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) operates the programs that are placed to intervene on the homelessness situation. It’s responsible for protecting the health and supporting delivery of human services that are essential to all American citizens. It has close to five programs dedicated to the homeless people (Burt M. L., 1999).

There are federal housing assistance programs that have been placed to help reduce homelessness. There are already housing vouchers and Section 8 vouchers which represent the biggest federal housing programs; the programs enable low-income households to rent modest market rate housing of their choice at flexible subsidies that they can pay using their salaries over time. They have been known to reduce homelessness and that the families that are enrolled in these programs are out of the shelter programs (Leavitt, 2007).

There is also the permanent supportive housing has also helped alleviate the homelessness menace. It has done this through supporting the housing models with important support services like mental illness, HIV/ AIDS among other illnesses. All these measures have proven cheaper when compared to emergency and institutional care. This has reduced homelessness in many states like the mist hit, New York. Other measures include permanent housing for the homeless people in a bid to reduce the number of homeless people on the streets. This places them at first consideration when compared to people suffering from mental illnesses and drug and substance people. All these are measures that HHS has taken including other sponsorship programs meant to curb the homelessness situation. Other measures include proofing the eligibility program to ensure that the needy people have their situation sorted out and that other people do not take a chance in their opportunity (Burt M. A., 2001).

Analyze elements pertinent to the best practices that you have identified

Through a framework set with targeted goals, the HHS identifies risks and preventative measures that ensure and prevent homelessness especially in highly populated. They also take great measures in ensuring that the develop tests and disseminate them to ensure that there is evidence of homelessness for the intervention programs to work properly. The chronically homeless people who are the people that have been homeless for long period of time, the homeless and at risk individuals are catered for by the HSS through the providence of essential services. Through divisions of the department that are in close contact with the state and local governments as well as the private sector, many homeless people can receive relieve. There are also mainstream programs that are aimed at meeting the people who meet criteria set forth by the HHS. They also receive other services like healthcare for them and their families, child support enforcement programs and mental health services as well. Even with all those improvements, there is still more to be done in terms of improving access to treatments and services, coordination across the services. Accountability and evaluation processes (Natasha, 2010).

A brief proposal of a model intervention

Being that there is still a huge percentage of people who are homeless and in need of support to enjoy the basic needs and social amenities that the rest of the world enjoys in terms of middle-class earners and high-end earners, there is a lot that has to be done. It’s very important that a survey is done to the poor families and the streets faced by issues like drug and substance abuse. This is the kind of environment where people may tend to be homeless due to financial constraints and other issues like family disputes and addiction.

After obtaining statistics, it’s important to take priority on the condition with the biggest population. It helps determine how to best help them. Most if not all homeless people face financial constraints as their major challenges. This means that resources should be pulled in from well-wishers, Private Corporation, and even federal states. The major intervention should revolve around looking into the modern design but economical materials building construction. This allows for many houses of modern nature to be built and thus taking many people of the streets. Secondly, there should be jobs availed to the people from the construction of the said houses, federal state jobs like customer services angst other which allows the people to have stable constant incomes that enable them to meet their needs. Lastly, other measures involve having the members pull in whatever financial resources they have to meet the emergent needs that they may face. This promotes self-reliance and community development which also contributes to family growth.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Burt, M. A. (2001). Helping America's Homeless: Emergency Shelter or Affordable Housing? Washington, DC.: The Urban Press.

Burt, M. L. (1999). Homelessness: Programs and the people they serve; Findings of the national survey of homeless assistance providers and clients: Summary. Washington, D.C: Urban Institute Press.

Leavitt, O. M. (2007). Strategic Action Plan on Homelessness. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Strategic Action Plan on Homeless, 1.

Natasha, S. P. (2010). A Review of Services and Interventions for Runaway and Homeless Youth: Moving Forward. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 1.