Rhetoric & Civic Life 2021 Issue Guide

Half a Million & Rising: It’s

Time to Talk About
Homelessenss Before We
Become One of the Stats

Deliberation by: Catherine Ackerman, Meysoon Quraishi, Hope Stegar, & Megan Marflak
 “Public deliberation is a means by which citizens
make tough choices about basic purposes and direc-
tions for their communities and their country.”
F. David Matthews

What to Expect
Deliberation describes the process of entering into discussion as a group to address a particular issue.
During today’s event, community-members will be presented with several approaches to solve the prob-
lem and are encouraged to share their views.

Furthermore, the goal of today’s forum is to learn about an issue, explore ways in which the issue can
be solved, and encourage civil discussion between people with different backgrounds, opinions, and life
experiences.

Throughout this event, we ask that you consider the benefits, drawbacks, and trade-offs each option
presents.

To conclude today’s session, we will summarize the issue and approaches, and as a group, we will reflect
on our discussion with the goal of identifying common ground and remaining points of tension.

Following the Event

After concluding, we ask that you complete a quick survey about today’s deliberation. Your answers will
provide us with valuable feedback regarding your experience during today’s event.

Additionally, based on today’s deliberation, we (your facilitarors) will write individual letters to policy mak-
ers, overviewing insights gained from today’s discussion and offering policy recommendations.

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Homelessness: The Facts
Homelessness has been an issue that has plagued the US for decades. Currently, in the United States over half a million people experiencing
homelessness. In Pennsylvania, at any given time there is over 15,000. Even as close to home as Penn State, around 55 students, as of 2018, do not have
shelter.

It is important to realize that without a home it is almost impossible to get one’s life back on track. Think about it this way, the top three reasons
for unemployment is lack of affordable housing, unemployment, and mental illness/lack of needed services. Due to lack of community support in
those areas, People in these conditions often feel stuck and with their current conditions are unable to maintain or attempt to get employment.

And with the ongoing global pandemic, mass unemployment has swept the United States. People are unable to live off the little money provid-
ed by the US government leading to the inability to pay rent. Efforts to change this fall short.

With the economy in a recession and unemployment on the rise, people who were once stable are closer to homelessness than ever. The
United States has created a society in which majority of the population is on the verge of homelessness whilst creating little to no effective
resources for those experiencing housing insecurity.

“We have come dangerously close to

accepting the homeless situation as a
problem that we just can’t solve.”
Linda Lingle

Image Citation: (Little) 3

Approach 1: Establish Community-Based Housing First Programs

Shockingly, in 2018, nearly 55 students at Penn State were identified as homeless (Chellapilla), and unfortunately, the recent
COVID-19 pandemic is only exacerbating student insecurity. This provides a massive problem, as, arguably, students (as
well as State College residents and others experiencing homelessness) cannot achieve their full academic and life potential
without a home.

What is a Housing First Program?

In contrast to conventional homeless aid, Housing First Programs provide residence for the homeless before they are
expected to find a job and address mental illness or addiction. Such programs are predicated on the belief that housing is a
basic human need and acts as the foundation for life improvement (“Fact Sheet: Housing First”).

Housing First programs typically follow two primary models: short-term housing and permanent supportive housing (PSH)
(“Fact Sheet: Housing First”). Short-term housing, also known as “rapid re-housing,” aims to quickly provide housing to dis-
placed individuals and families. The goal is to help subjects generate self-sufficiency so that they can remain housed in the
future (on average, 75 to 91% remain housed a year after entering a short-term housing program). Permanent supportive hous-
ing targets individuals experiencing chronic homelessness (due to mental health and substance abuse issues) and supplies
permanent rental assistance and other supportive services.

In many cases, these methods have proven cost-effective and successful at reducing homelessness in the long run.

In 2005, for example, Utah initiated a “centrally led and locally developed” Housing First model to combat homelessness
(Stoehr). By deploying this no-strings-attached method, Utah reduced homelessness by more than 90% over ten years.
Additionally, the program costs significantly less than traditional approaches to manage homelessness (like increasing police
presence and funding medical treatment). Utah’s Homeless Coordinating Committee found that “people are more likely to
chart new paths if they have stable housing and meaningful choices from which to start,” and that by providing a stable foundation,
individuals could obtain an education, job, and even better address issues of mental health and substance abuse (Stoehr).

Of course, initiating and maintaining Housing First programs requires a strong community effort. To establish a Housing First
program, a team must develop a vision and project goals, specify program eligibility, and further determine provided ser-
vices.

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Approach 1: Establish Community-Based Housing First Programs

Potential Action Trade-Offs

Students could consider joining Project Cahir to propose and Efforts to establish Housing First Programs at Penn State
coordinate campus and small-scale Housing First programs. (Project Cahir) could decrease funding for textbooks,
toiletries, and resources for students facing financial and
Penn State’s Project Cahir is an initiative aimed to mitigate housing insecurity. Additionally, securing funds may require
poverty and battle homlessness within our community. fundraising and grant applications.
Currently, the organization provides employment opportu-
nities, scholarships, and individualized resources (like food,
toiletries, and textbooks) for students facing homelessness.

Students may also aim to spread awareness of communi- Volunteering for organizations like Housing Transitions could
ty-based organizations like Housing Transitions to better be time-consuming and require intensive student com-
support those in our communities facing homelessness. mitment. This option also requires individualized effort to
educate others about Housing Transitions and encourage
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the State College Borough student and community-member involvement.
has increased support for Housing Transitions to support .
the rising homeless population and residents facing finan-
cial insecurity. Housing Transitions has instituted several
Housing First programs but is in regular need of donations
and volunteers. In this uncommon time, organizers need
increased community support.

Vote in Pennsylvania primaries and support local policymak- Placing trust on leaders does not necessarily ensure
ers who will initiate both short-term and permanent support- success and reduces targeted community focus. Addi-
ive Housing First Programs. tionally, initiating state-wide programs could further shift
focus away from mental health (the primary cause of
With government officials’ support, we can secure great- homelessness).
er funds and mitigate poverty and homelessness on a
larger scale.

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Approach 2: Rethinking the Distribution of Taxpayer Dollars

Current Federal Assistance Programs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Homeless Assis-
tance Grants program received $2.777 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2020. [2] A
great majority of this money is spent on housing programs across the na-
tion. This Grant program awards Homeless Assistance Grants of federal tax
money to state and local governments that administer housing and services
at the local level. One example of these programs is The Emergency Solu-
tions Grant (ESG), which funds street outreach, homelessness prevention
and diversion, emergency shelter, and rapid re-housing. Another example
would be The Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which funds permanent
supportive housing, rapid re-housing, transitional housing, coordinated en-
try, and pilots like the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.

Many lobbying groups such as The National Alliance to End Homelessness called
for a $323 million increase in the 2021 fiscal budget in order to keep up with ris-
ing evictions, especially under the extraneous circumstances with the pandemic.
However, in 2021, the budget was actually cut by $4 million.

Additional Resources
• Breakdown of Grants by State and/or County: https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/
• Data Collection Explanation: https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/Using-ArcGIS-to-Help-Reduce-Home-
lessness.pdf

Potential Action Trade-Offs

Allocate more money into the Department of Housing and Urban In the national budget, adding to one budget often requires
Development’s grant programs you to take from another. Due to how Congress and the
government as a whole works, it is unlikely that we will add
According to The National Alliance to End Homelessness, to the budget of one social service without taking from an-
since 2007, homelessness has decreased by 15 percent. other. Social services are often not seen as “necessary” as
Many chalk this decrease up to a mix between federal and things such as the Department of Defense which has one
local legislation, claiming that increasing federal funding for of the largest budgets.
the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s grant
programs.

Unless the fiscal budget is increased for the Department

Reroute the current money given to the Department of Hous- of Housing and Urban Development, we will have to
ing and Urban Development to the root problems of home- decrease funding for temporary housing.
lessness rather than just temporary housing.

Most of the money from these grant programs are used

to fund temporary housing and very little funding goes
towards the root problems of homelessness such as
mental health issues, drug addiction, etc.

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 Approach 3: Solving the “Revolving Door” of Homelessness

Image Citation: (Jones) 7

Approach 3: Solving the “Revolving Door” of Homelessness

What is the “Revolving Door” of Homelessness?

Homelessness and incarceration are tied very close together. The “revolving door” is a concept that describes this connection,
explaining that being incarcerated and released makes formerly incarcerated people more likely to be homeless, that being homeless
makes people more likely to be incarcerated, and that being homeless makes formerly incarcerated people more likely to be rearrest-
ed and reincarcerated. Through this concept of the “revolving door” of homelessness, we can see that homelessness could
result from criminal involvement and that people who are homeless are criminalized for being homeless. Incarceration and
homelessness combine as a 2-for-1 risk factor. Approximately 25-50% of the homeless population has a history of home-
lessness. The “revolving door” analogy symbolizes a cycle from incarceration to homelessness that is exceedingly difficult to
break due to certain factors such as stigmatization, police barring them from federal housing assistance programs, as well
as basic challenges to find employment thanks to their criminal records.

Potential Action Trade-Offs

States could consider creating clear-cut systems to help re- Employers are reluctant to hire people with previous
cently-released individuals find homes: improved systems criminal records, which can contribute to homelessness.
help formerly incarcerated people understand housing This attitude can be problematic in the long run for those
options before their release like finding short term and who have been recently released from prison. Although
long term housing, and receiving financial support, etc. they get tax reductions for employing ex-felons, compa-
nies still avoid hiring people with criminal records.

End criminalization of homelessness: cities & states could Ending the criminalization of homelessness doesn’t
end aggressive enforcement of quality-of-life ordinances. necessarily end the stigmatization of it. Homeless people
can be discriminated against for their circumstances
Arresting homeless people for actions that they take for when trying to find a job, or when just trying to find help.
their own survival pushes them through the revolving
door of homelessness & incarceration, reducing their
chances of successful reentry & of finding housing

Focus on Housing First Programs to help disrupt the Housing First programs can take away certain resources
revolving door of homelessness and incarceration within communities. As said previously, within the Penn
State community, this can decrease funding for certain
student resources as well as create a greater need for
outside funding.
Concluding Notes

More than half a million Americans alone experience homelessness today. This number is only increasing

as the years go on and is extremely exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Homelessness isn’t only an

issue that adults face either; nearly 54,000 family households are affected by homelessness as of 2019.

And maybe unbeknownst to you, college students aren’t yet out of the reaches of homelessness either.

At Penn State alone, in your own backyard, nearly 55 students were identified as homeless in 2018. This

statistic alone proves that we’re all closer to homelessness than we think. In the three approaches dis-

cussed today, we talked about:

• Housing First Programs, which provide residence for the homeless before they are expected to find a

job and address mental illness or addiction on the grounds that housing is a human right.

• The distribution of taxpayer dollars, which could be used to benefit temporary housing or directly to

root problems of homelessness.

• The “revolving” door of homelessness and how this cycle of incarceration to homelessness is extremely

difficult to break.

We all hope to one day eliminate homelessness, but the process of doing that is multi-faceted. The first

step is acknowledging that it affects us all.

Post-Deliberation Considerations:
• Discuss common ground
• Discuss remaining points of tension

Relfective Questions:
• Did you find one approach to be more effective or convincing?
• What solutions did you wish to explore in more depth?
• What did you learn about homelessness today?
• What are some ways you can contribute to a solution?

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Post-Deliberation: An Overview of Each Approach

Approach 1: Establish Community-Based Housing First Programs

Benefits:
• Gives individuals a base or foundation to “chart new paths” and establish self-sufficiency (Stoehr)
• Can act as a foundation for recovery from behavioral health problems
• Conserves community resources by reducing the homeless population in emergency rooms, prisons, and shelters
(“Housing First”)
• Saves taxpayer dollars (Stoehr)

Drawbacks:
• Programs do not require individuals to address mental and behavioral health issues (the primary cause of homeless)
and thus do not guarantee recovery (“Housing First”)
• Little to no barriers to entry
• Success of programs have not been tested on a national level (“Kober, Eric, et al.”)

Big Questions:
• Is housing a human right, even for individuals with untreated disabilities, or those unwilling to seek help with mental
health?
• PSH is viewed as a long-term solution to chronic homlessness: Are we willing to allocate resources to long-term solu-
tions– is this sustainable?
• Should we aim to lift chronic homeless patients out of PSH housing?
• Should this method be deployed by communities or on a national level? Why, or why not?

Approach 2: Rethinking the Distribution of Taxpayer Dollars

Benefits:
• According to The National Alliance to End Homelessness, since 2007, homelessness has decreased by 15 percent. Many chalk
this decrease up to a mix between federal and local legislation, claiming that increasing federal funding for the Department of
Housing and Urban Development’s grant programs.

Drawbacks:
• A very small amount of this money goes towards preventative measures nor do they attempt to fix the root problems of
homelessness. Mental health, addiction, and an increase in the cost of living will continue to cause homelessness to rise
unless being addressed.
• Additionaly, these housing grants can only be helpful when there is a supply of housing. Currently, in many of the major
cities where homelessness is occurring, there are very few vacant areas for the government to acquire.

Big Questions:
• Do we think the government should be giving more/less money to these programs?
• Should the government be putting this money towards helping aid the causes of homelessness?
• Is there a better way to distribute the money?
• Do we need more or less oversight?
Approach 3: Solving the “Revolving Door” of Homelessness

Benefits:
• Criminalizing homelessness is costlier to taxpayers than helping homeless individuals avoid incarceration completely.
• “For every dollar invested in helping individuals who were homeless and involved in the justice system, $13 in savings in
crime and justice system costs resulted.”
• Homelessness is a public health crisis, helping resolve this issue only benefits the community and society.

Drawbacks:
• Employers are reluctant to hire people with previous criminal records, which can contribute to homelessness. This at-
titude can be problematic in the long run for those who have been recently released from prison. Although they get tax
reductions for employing ex-felons, companies still avoid hiring people with criminal records.
• Ending the criminalization of homelessness doesn’t necessarily end the stigmatization of it. Homeless people can be
discriminated against for their circumstances when trying to find a job, or when just trying to find help.
• Housing First programs can take away certain resources within communities. As said previously, within the Penn State
community, this can decrease funding for certain student resources as well as create a greater need for outside funding.

Big Questions:
• How can we ultimately end the “revolving door” of homelessness?
• How can we focus on the incarceration to homeless cycle in our own communities?
• Should we see prison reform programs that benefit those who have been recently released from prison? How should
these programs help formerly incarcerated people re-enter society?
• How can we end the stigmatization of homelessness?

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Carter, Ethan. “Housing First Profile: Salt Lake City, UT.” Activate Care™ Blog, blog.activatecare.com/housing-first-utah.
Couloute, Lucius. “Nowhere to Go: Homelessness among Formerly Incarcerated People.” Prison Policy Initiative, www.pris-
onpolicy.org/reports/housing.html.

“Fact Sheet: Housing First.” End Homelessness, National Alliance to End Homelessness , Apr. 2016, endhomelessness.org/
wp-content/uploads/2016/04/housing-first-fact-sheet.pdf.

Federal Funding for HOMELESSNESS PROGRAMS. 11 Feb. 2020, endhomelessness.org/ending-homelessness/policy/fed-

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“From Prisons to Communities: Confronting Re-Entry Challenges and Social Inequality.” American Psychological Associa-
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“Incarceration and Homelessness.” National Health Care for the Homeless Council, nhchc.org/clinical-practice/home-
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housing-first/.

Kober, Eric, et al. “Housing First Is Not the Key to End Homelessness.” Manhattan Institute, 21 Apr. 2020, www.manhat-
tan-institute.org/housing-first-effectiveness.

Little, Charmaine. “Reopened Economy Accused of Keeping Homeless at Risk amid COVID-19.” Urban Reform, 9 Aug.
2020, urbanreform.org/stories/544023706-reopened-economy-accused-of-keeping-homeless-at-risk-amid-covid-19.

National Health Care for the Homeless Council. (November 2013). Incarceration & Homelessness: A Revolving Door of Risk.
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ate] Nashville, TN: Available at: www.nhchc.org.

Stoehr, John. “The Answer to Homelessness.” The American Conservative, http://www.theamericanconservative.com/arti-

cles/the-answer-to-homelessness/.

Ullman, Michael, editor. National Homeless Information Project, 2016, An Analysis of the Allocation of Federal Homeless
Funding, www.nhipdata.org/local/upload/file/Analysis%20of%20Homeless%20Assistance%20Allocation%20-%20FINAL(2).
pdf. Accessed Mar. 2021.

“Homelessness Assistance Programs.” HUD Exchange, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, www.hudex-
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Housing Transitions. “Donate / Volunteer.” Housing Transitions: From Crisis to Stability, Housing Transitions, 2016, housing-
transitions.org/donate-volunteer.

Project Cahir. “Project Cahir – Penn State Students United Against Poverty.” Penn State Project Cahir, The Pennsylvania
State University, 2021, sites.psu.edu/projectcahir.

Reese, Quincey. “State College Borough, Partner Agencies Adapt Homeless Aid, Prevention Efforts during Pandemic.” State
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agencies-adapt-homeless-aid-prevention-efforts-during-pandemic/article_83751458-1728-11eb-a317-17b8d3adaa2b.html.

“Using ArcGIS to Help Reduce Homelessness.” HUD Exchange, The Department of Housing and Urban Development, Oct.
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