:: Solutions to the Homeless Problem ::

:: Friday, October 21, 2005 ::

ICH Leads Local Officials to Experience Homeless Life


Dear Philip Mangano,

Here is the comment of Clyde Hendrickson who has been homeless citizen for many years sleeping under tarp next to railroad in Saint Petersburg FL area.

He knew and used 211 services for years, but, apparently, it is not helpful to homeless citizens like himself.

Also, even the shelter beds there are only for about 12% of the homeless citizens; therefore, he has to sleep outdoors.

What is the Homeless Solutions from ICH on this? Do homeless people like Clyde Hendrickson need to sleep outdoors for another 10 years to wait for ICH's End Homelessness in 10 Year solution?

My Homeless Solution is that ICH leads all local homeless issue involved officials to sleep in outdoors under tarp or bridge or in woods like true homeless citizens for a night or two whenever ICH outreaches to hold meeting with local governments, charity organizations and agencies. That way, ICH and all involved officials will feel want to end homelessness in 10 days, not 10 years.

How do you think?

Cheng

--- Clyde Hendrickson wrote:

> Dear Mr. Cheng,
....
> About the 211 service, we have had that here for years.
> I also have link to it on my website. They are good for
> locating assistance except where there is no assistance.
> They can't make anything happen, just tell you about it
> when it does. Florida in general has beds/shelter for only
> about 12 percent of homeless, and assistance goes to
> those in most desperate need first. Single white males are
> not a high priority.
....
> --
> Clyde Hendrickson
> St. Petersburg, FL
:: Mr Cheng 3:24 PM [+] ::
...

Empower Business to Provide Housing to Homeless or Working Poor


Dear Professor Culhane,

I read your message from USA Today, and I felt again you may be one of the most qualified person to be able to solve homeless issues all together at federal policy level, and if that happens, you would deserve a Nobel Price.

After more pilot on my Homeless Solutions, it has become very clear that there should be a federal policy to empower business to provide housing to their homeless or working poor employees. Job and housing has proved to be chicken and egg type of situations for homeless. Homeless got a home can not last for long without a job, yet homeless got a job can not keep without a home.

If there is a policy that empowers business, using tax credit or HUD money or the like so that every employee is guaranteed a home like Section 8 Program that employee only has to contribute 1/3 of the pay to the housing cost as soon as hired. The 1/3 housing cost can be deducted pre-tax like employee contributed health insurance that go to rental initially.

Mayor Reid of San Francisco spent weeks in most shelters and came back asked me why there were almost NO Chinese homeless in shelter, given the fact that SF has large Chinese population. I told him, it was because almost all Chinese restaurants owners provide lunch and dinner to employee and a bed in a house at night. So, as soon as hired, the person not only save room and board cost and can save about $1,000+ a month to build up initial personal capital for future development.

I have to admit, discovering this homeless solution is no less exciting than solving any other open questions when at Berkeley, and we always want to and are qualified to do Nobel Prize level of work.

How do you think?

Cheng
p.s. Btw, section 8 tenants are very discriminated by landlords and realtors with my first hand experience helping so many cases. However, if prospective tenant endorsed by "employor", then landlords and realtors would be more than happy to serve. This is very similar to medicaid patients are discriminated by, say, dentists, yet patients with corporate medical insuraces are very welcome by most dentists.

------------------------
Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist who studies homelessness, says that a new federal policy for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina could be extended to thousands of other homeless families. FEMA is offering cash advances of $2,358 to cover three months' rent anywhere in the nation for hurricane survivors. If they don't readily find permanent housing, the government help could be stretched to 18 months.

Short-term rental vouchers are "something homelessness activists have been calling for, for a long time," Culhane says. "Emergency rental assistance would help the vast majority of people avoid homelessness altogether."
:: Mr Cheng 6:25 AM [+] ::
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Help Homeless to Contact United Way


Do you have problem to pay rent? Is your electricity to be shut off due to no money to pay the bill for months? Are you sick and not able to pay for the prescription? No problem, you need to contact United Way as soon as possible because United Way help people facing homeless these three major area, among others.


So, what is the problem for desperated people to contact United Way? Many people under desperated situation do NOT have the resouces to contact United Way. Why not call United Way? No phone, Why not go to United Way office to meet them? No car, no bus money. Why many desperated people say United Way does not help, yet United Way said they do in their report? Well, because, they do not have enough resources to wait for the bureautic process of United Way to eventually obtain the help. By the time, they have been evicted and become homeless, the promised help may not arrive in time or not reachable.


So, how do you do to help homeless people? or people as risk to become homeless? You can provide some seed resources to facilitate contacting United Way just like what we did to help An at risk single parent family to apply for rent assistance for September. It took almost a month to eventually got the rent, but it worths.


United Way will act like your agent once you contact them, they will NOT give you help right away, they will call their partner agencies for you, and asked each to help you a bit, e.g. if you need $700 rent to avoid being evicted with your eviction letter from court, one church may pay $200, another may pay $150, yet another may pay $200, and United Way may pay the last $150 and late fee $50. Knowing that, applicants need to keep a good relationship with them and be very proactive to keep contacting them to find out the status and landlord to make sure rent is paid in time ...etc.


United Way may refer many other resources to the applicant like another single parent with 2 kids we supportthat was referred to social service to apply for food stamps and got them later; this is several hundreds dollars help each month, and the food stamps these days is, in fact, a debit card that is charged each 3rd of the month and can be used at supermarket and grocery store like anyother debit card or credit card, so others would not be able to distinquish to upset you.
:: Mr Cheng 4:47 AM [+] ::
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