Essay - Florida's Homeless Introduction and Demographics Causes Resources -Federal, State, Local...

Florida's Homeless

Introduction and Demographics

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Resources -Federal, State, Local

Needs

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Florida's *****

The state of Florida is faced with a serious crisis in which there is no e*****sy solution. The state ***** currently failing to provide adequate shelter and affordable housing for its rapidly increasing homeless population.

***** to the Department of Children and Families' most recent ***** Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in Florida, approximately 67,600 people are ***** on the streets ***** Florida on any given night. ***** same report reveals that *****re are 228 shelters throughout Florida ***** have a total of 8,561 available beds ***** homeless people, ***** an additi*****al 11,122 beds are ********** by transitional housing facilities. This means that the state of Florida is currently able to serve less than 30 percent ***** its ***** on a temporary basis. Permanent housing opportunities are even harder to come by.

Florida's homeless populati***** includes parents, children, elderly people, veterans and people who suffer from drug, alcohol and mental health problems.

According to a recent article in the Christian Science Moni*****r, at the economic boom at the end of ***** 1990's made many politicians and organizations hopeful that the end ***** homelessness ***** America was near. But with the rapid change in ***** economy for the worse, national leaders are instead predicting a dr*****matic rise in homelessness, which may be similar to the ***** seen at the end of ***** 1980's.

Things ***** be even worse now than in the 1980's, as statistics show that a larger percent of the homeless are families with children. While the state ***** Florida continues to add ***** programs and ********** funding, the demand ***** shelter and homeless-prevention services ***** to increase.

***** National Coalition for the ***** cites two major trends ***** are responsible for ***** rapid ***** in ***** over the past 15-20 years: a growing short*****ge of ***** rental housing ***** a simult*****neous increase in poverty. In ***** United States, a serious lack of affordable ***** and the inadequacy of housing assistance ***** ***** made a ***** contribution ***** ***** current housing crisis *****nd the homelessness problem.

In addition, Housing and Welfare Reform authors ***** that ***** in today's economy, "Families receiving TANF ***** or working at low-wage jobs are unlikely to be able ***** rent housing on their own without paying a significant portion of their incomes."

The U.S. Department of ***** and Urban Development (HUD) operates three major federally-funded programs that provide housing assistance to low-income *****: public housing, Section 8 certificates and vouchers, and ***** 8 project-based *****. Some states also run small programs providing housing assistance.

Since housing ***** is not an entitlement, there are many more eligible families than families *****d assistance, and waiting lists for ***** assistance are very long in many areas. Census data indicate that ***** are 5.3 million unassisted families with "worst case housing needs"; these are families that live in subst*****ard hous*****g or pay over half their income in rent.

Data from the 1995 American Housing