Homeless Perspective

HOMELESS SHELTERS: SO MANY AND NO STANDARDS FOR DESIGN OR CARE IN SIGHT FOR MANY MORE THAT ARE COMING!
So many homeless shelters have come online in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, in their rush to build shelters to satisfy conditions of the courts, it appears that many jurisdictions are placing more intention into the municipal benefit of restoring authority to enforce anti-camping laws than they are placing on the benefit of positive outcomes for the persons experiencing homelessness that the jurisdictions have been litigated to serve. The lack of official standards for environmental design and care have created a myriad of problems that are deemed stressful by some shelter clients and in some cases has created conflict between shelter clients and shelter staff stemming from variations of policies, procedures, rules, and regulations from one shelter to the next. Shelter clients have also reported gaps in access to resources and services from one facility to the next leaving them to "shop" for a shelter that best suits their individual needs. Still, many other prospective shelter clients would prefer living on the streets than in homeless shelters for a plethora of reasons.
It seems that in their rush to restore authority to enforce anti-camping ordinances and further criminalize acts of homelessness, jurisdictions have correctly identified the consumers of homeless shelters without correctly identifying and responding to the needs of the consumers which is a transactional failure in any venture in a capitalist society.
It's crazy to see so much fuss over such a temporary fix as these shelters that continue popping-up all over the state, especially when we know the solution to ending homelessness is permanent housing. It will take time to bring the stock of necessary units to a level that can meet the needs of persons experiencing homelessness in California. In the absence of a sufficient amount of housing we need to find ways to not only help homeless persons to survive, but also to thrive and prosper. Everyone knows that shelters suck, but we are stuck with shelters today and the ones that are coming in the future so, we need to find ways to make them work in favor of the homeless clients that would use them.
Homeless shelters must be standardized in environmental design and higher standards of care must be brought forth moving forward. Trauma-Informed Design and Care is the key to transforming today's homeless shelters into places of healing and progress towards future self-sustainability. No one needs to write a book on how to do this, SAMHSA has already established the guidelines and provided plentiful information regarding Trauma-Informed Design and Care.
READ THIS ARTICLE AND THE NEXT TO GET UP TO SPEED WITH TRAUMA-INFORMED DESIGN AND CARE AS IT RELATES TO HOMELESSNESS AND HOMELESS SHELTERS AND OTHER FACILITIES.
THIS NEEDS TO BECOME A STATE LAW

Adhering to a Trauma-Informed Design and Care Approach Should be Included in California Legislation Concerning Homelessness By: Joe Colletti PhD February 22, 2021 -- Requiring a Trauma-Informed Design and Care ApproachShould be a Condition to Receiving Homelessness Funding Adhering to a Trauma-Informed Design and Care approach should be a legislative requirement for receiving State of California funding to implement solu...

"Schools are required to identify and provide services for homeless students under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Once families are identified, schools can offer free school supplies, transportation, food, clothing and links to agencies that can provide housing, health care and jobs, using federal and state grant money or school district funds earmarked for high-needs students."

California Schools Report Fewer Homeless Students, Alarming Advocates By: Carolyn Jones January 27, 2021 -- After years of steadily rising numbers of homeless youth in California, schools saw a significant drop during the last school year in the official tally of homeless students — leading some advocates to warn that thousands of students may have gone uncounted du...