Public Policy Commons^™

Making The Homeless Disappear: Redefining Homelessness In Massachusetts, Sue Marsh

New England Journal of Public Policy

While unemployment rocked Massachusetts, housing costs remained at record levels, and the federal government continued its inattention to housing and human service programs, the numbers of homeless families sheltered by the commonwealth of Massachusetts declined. This article examines the changes over the last decade in the way Massachusetts provides shelter to homeless families. What has in fact changed for homeless families, Marsh contends, is whether the state of Massachusetts considers them homeless. An increasingly complicated and burdensome set of rules has become a highly effective gatekeeper that keeps the commonwealth's shelter expenditures down and homeless families out.

Tents Along The Merrimack: Homelessness And University-Community Cooperation, Mark D. Levine

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents historical, institutional, and ethical contexts for a university and an industrial, ethnic community's cooperative effort to address local hunger and homelessness. A large portion of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell's students are of working-class and local origin. Neighborhood social problems are in effect their own, and community service may be considered a variant of self-help. Attention is paid the special importance of developing a sense of community across traditional boundaries on and off campus and to the establishment of permanent mutually beneficial structures.

Aids And The Homeless Of Boston, James J. O'Connell, Joan Lebow

New England Journal of Public Policy

Homeless persons with AIDS and HIV infection face significant health hazards during the daily struggle for survival on the streets and in the crowded shelters of our cities. This article offers a historical perspective on the evolution of the AIDS epidemic within the homeless population of Boston and examines the demographics, risk behaviors, and survival statistics of that epidemic. The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program is presented as a model of service delivery that offers quality health care to homeless persons with AIDS while addressing the special needs of those bound by the immediacy of the next meal …

Winter, Edward Baros

New England Journal of Public Policy

Poem by Edward Baros.

The Manufacture Of Dependency: Shelterization Revisited, Kostas Gounis

New England Journal of Public Policy

Emergency shelters have been the most comprehensive and enduring response to homelessness in the United States, with New York City leading the way since the early 1980s. Shelters have emerged as a hybrid between a degraded type of "public housing" and a new form of "institutionalization." The persistence of shelter dependency, or "shelterization," is an intractable problem that frustrates policymakers and service providers. Popular among certain circles of professional pathologists is the view that shelterization is a form of "adaptation" to the violent, anomic, and generally antisocial environment of the shelter. This explanation of shelter dependency is theoretically flawed and …

A Single Man And Christmas, Steve Johnson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Steve Johnson is a resident of Fifty Washington Square, Newport, Rhode Island. His work has appeared in In the Heart of the City, a literary magazine produced by the residents of Fifty Washington Square.

Homelessness In Boston: The Media Wake Up, Ian Menzies

New England Journal of Public Policy

Why did it take the media so long to "discover" and report on the dramatically rising rates of hunger and homelessness throughout the nation? Did that failure make it easier for presidential counselor Edwin Meese to declare in December 1983 that allegations of hunger in America were "purely political" and that people who go to soup kitchens do so because the food is free, statements matched a short time later by President Ronald Reagan's claim that people who sleep on grates do so "by choice." In this article, Menzies tells the unfolding story of how hunger and homelessness finally became …

The Story Of My Life, Betty Reynolds

New England Journal of Public Policy

Betty Reynolds is a resident of Fifty Washington Square, Newport, Rhode Island. Her work has appeared in In the Heart of the City, a literary magazine produced by the residents of Fifty Washington Square. She loves "to write short stories and poems."

Rural Homelessness In The Upper Valley, David Shumway

New England Journal of Public Policy

Rural Homelessness in the Upper Valley is about the problems and advantages small shelters in the Upper Connecticut River Valley have in working with the homeless. Unable to compete with urban shelters in pursuit of federal and state emergency shelter funding, Headrest, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, demonstrates that its smallness has been turned into offsetting advantages. The quality of Headrest's case management with homeless clients and sincere efforts to network and interact cooperatively with other social service providers, ecumenical groups, and other members of the community have led to significant new community initiatives. Details of recent Upper Valley successes in …

The Pendulum Swings: How Changes In Federal And State Policy Have Affected The Status Of Homeless People With Mental Illness In Ohio, Kim Bryant

New England Journal of Public Policy

Public policy in the problem areas of homelessness and mental illness has been reactive, rather than proactive, for the past thirty to forty years. As a result of this approach, federal and state policies have swung, like a pendulum, from one extreme to the other, taking the homeless mentally ill population on a most difficult ride. Public policies concerning these issues must become proactive, even if it means a complete overhauling of federal and state social service systems. Only with proactive policies will mentally ill individuals, and all people, have the housing, food, and health care they need, and the …

Streets Are For Nobody: Marybeth, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, November 1988, Long Island Shelter. (No contact with Marybeth after she left the shelter.) Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak, "Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Streets Are For Nobody: Judy Silva, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, April 24, 1990, Chelsea. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak," Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Streets Are For Nobody: Pat Gomes, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, July 2, 1990, Cambridge. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak," Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Streets Are For Nobody: Awilda Cruz, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interviewed by Melissa Shook, July 29, 1989, Shepherd House, Dorchester. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak, "Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Streets Are For Nobody: Marie, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, September 11, 1988, South End. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak," Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Streets Are For Nobody: Margaret Mullins, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, February 1989, Long Island Shelter. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak, "Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Streets Are For Nobody: Mary, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, June 24, 1990, Castle Island, South Boston. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak," Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Mentally Ill Persons In Emergency And Specialized Shelters: Satisfaction And Distress, Russell K. Schutt, Stephen M. Goldfinger

New England Journal of Public Policy

Emergency and specialized mental health shelters represent different service philosophies and are meant to appeal to different segments of the homeless and homeless mentally ill population. This article describes the different characteristics and needs of users of emergency and specialized mental health shelters for homeless persons in Boston. Service satisfaction is described in relation to these characteristics and needs as well as in terms of shelter type. Implications are identified for social and mental health service policies for the homeless.

Streets Are For Nobody: Caroline, Melissa Shook

New England Journal of Public Policy

From an interview by Melissa Shook, July 7, 1988, Boston. Reprinted, with permission, from "Streets Are for Nobody: Homeless Women Speak," Boston Center for the Arts, 1991.

Framing And Claiming The Homelessness Problem, David A. Rochefort, Roger W. Cobb

New England Journal of Public Policy

Despite a recent upsurge of interest in the issue, homelessness is a problem of long standing in American society. This article traces how several forces catalyzed the problem's re-entrance onto the political agenda in the 1980s. It then reviews the ongoing debate over homelessness causes and cures as a struggle for problem ownership that has complicated the choices of public policymakers. The final section examines various descriptive attributes that figure into the dispute over how to define homelessness and influence the nature of the public policy response to it.

My Name Is Edward, I Am An Alcoholic, Edward Baros

New England Journal of Public Policy

A personal story by Edward Baros, a resident of Fifty Washington Square, Newport, Rhode Island. His work has appeared in In the Heart of the City, a literary magazine produced by the residents of Fifty Washington Square.

Triangulation In Monument Square, S. B.

New England Journal of Public Policy

A personal story by S.B., a member of the Portland (Maine) Coalition for the Psychiatrically Disabled.

Down And Out In Boston, Jack Thomas

New England Journal of Public Policy

Jack Thomas is a reporter for the Boston Globe, in which this article first appeared, on February 12, 1992. Reprinted with permission.

Housing And Services For Homeless And At-Risk People: Newport's Experiment, Mary Ellen Hombs, David A. Mehl

New England Journal of Public Policy

Large and small communities alike have diverse groups of people in need of housing and services: mental health patients, single homeless adults, individuals with substance abuse problems, the elderly, the mentally retarded, the unemployed, and people with low or fixed incomes. Even with unlimited resources to create necessary solutions, most communities would subscribe to the conventional wisdom of segregating people according to their major needs and managing the resulting environment with a combination of behavioral regulation and casework. In Newport, Rhode Island, an ambitious nonprofit housing organization decided to break those rules and provide a continuum of secure housing choices …

The New England Shelter For Homeless Veterans: A Unique Approach, Ken Smith, James M. Yates

New England Journal of Public Policy

It has been estimated that veterans comprise one third of the homeless population. To combat this national disgrace, many small veterans' groups have been formed nationwide to serve their homeless "brothers" in such settings as shelters, group homes, and outreach centers.

A Boston group, the Vietnam Veterans Workshop, based its New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans on the simple but powerful concept of veteran helping veteran. The shelter created a program to accomplish three important functions: providing the basic necessities of a bed, a meal, clothing, and a hot shower; rehabilitating the veterans by offering various activities to comfort and …

Ending Homelessness Among Mentally Disabled People, Steven A. Hitov

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines some of the many shortcomings of the mental health system operated by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) and explores the impact of that system on single homeless individuals who suffer from some form of serious or long-term mental disability. To afford that discussion context, however, the article first briefly examines those forces which have, and have not, significantly contributed to the large number of mentally disabled homeless persons. It suggests certain changes, including a shift in departmental focus from hospitals to community services and the creation of a housing subsidy system exclusively for DMH clients, …

Foreword, Raymond L. Flynn

New England Journal of Public Policy

Imagine a hypothetical disaster befalling America's cities. A bomb, perhaps; or a ferocious hurricane; or an earthquake. Two to 3 million Americans lose their homes. We know that, daily, the evening news and the major newspapers would feature stories on the number of people victimized by the disaster. Many Americans would volunteer to help their neighbors in need, and many community agencies and local governments would come to the rescue, but the public would rightly expect the federal government to play a leading role in repairing the human and physical damage. The president and Congress would act swiftly to declare …

Build Homes Not Bombs: Get A Better Economy To Boot!, Richard Krushnic

New England Journal of Public Policy

Our nation has a rare opportunity to shift resources from military to civilian activities for the next few years. A budget pact is supposed to prevent transfers of funds from the military to domestic programs during fiscal years 1992 and 1993, but the pact is cracking in light of the sudden collapse of the Soviet military and the dismemberment of the Soviet Union. While jobs are lost when funds are shifted out of the military, the funds don't disappear - they are used for alternative federal expenditures, paying federal debt, or tax reduction. Many alternative expenditure patterns are available to …

The Last Thing We Need Is Another Shelter, Jessica Segré

New England Journal of Public Policy

Segre suggests that family homelessness is merely the latest and most devastating example of America's lack of commitment to children and families. The history of human services for children is presented to show that, both at the community and at the policy levels, this population and its needs have been neglected, subjected to fragmentation, and consistently downgraded on our lists of priorities. The societal values that have led to this situation are discussed and revealed as still reflecting an individualistic, frontier outlook, which is, however, becoming an anachronism. The need for a child/family policy is stressed, as is the urgency …

The Kindred Bonds Of Mentally Ill Homeless Persons, Richard C. Tessler, Gail M. Gamache, Peter H. Rossi, Anthony F. Lehman, Howard H. Goldman

New England Journal of Public Policy

While the unraveling of the kinship bond has long been suspected to play a role in the epidemiology of homelessness, the connection between kinship and homelessness has been little studied. Based on a normative analysis of the role of family structure in response to adversity, this article explores the impact of the amount and quality of kinship ties on episodes of homelessness experienced by discharged psychiatric patients in Ohio. Survey data derived from personal interviews with both former patients and their kin indicate more strain in relations with kin of the homeless than the nonhomeless. The strain in the kinship …