What does it mean to be homeless?

1. What does it mean to be homeless?

2. HOMELESSNESS IN MILWAUKEE, WI PRESENTED BY: SHALON D. ATKINS MARCUS ARRINGTON KATHLEEN OLEWINSKI MARIBETH SWANSON

3. HOMELESSNESS vs HOMELESS • Homelessness is commonly considered a “condition” whereas Homeless is considered a “state” in which one exists. • Homelessness – “a temporary condition that people fall into when they cannot afford to pay for a place to live, or when their current home is unsafe or unstable.“ (http://www.suitcaseclinic.org/homelessness-defined/) • Homeless – “one who does not have his/her own dwelling or is not living in someone else’s home permanently and must resort to living in temporary placements.” (www.homeless.org.au)

4. ASPECTS OF HOMELESSNESS • Transitional – “occurs when a housing crisis (e.g., loss of job, domestic violence) temporarily renders an individual or family homeless.” • Episodic – “refers to circumstances in which persons have recurrent problems with housing.” • Chronic – “is defined by HUD as a situation in which a single unaccompanied person has been without a permanent residence for a period of more than one year or for more than 4 times in the last 3 years and suffers from a disabling condition (usually substance abuse or mental health issue) that is contributing to his/her homelessness.” (http://www.scribd.com/doc/14467583/homelessness-defined)

5. HOMELESS PERSON • “An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc. In addition, individuals who are staying in their own or someone else’s home but will be asked to leave within the next month are considered homeless. People in jail are not considered homeless.” (http://www.sfcall.com/issues%202001/11.26.01/homelessness.htm)

6. LAW AND LEGAL ISSUES • “Homelessness has been attributed to a variety of factors, with lack of affordable housing, low-paying jobs, unemployment, prison release, substance abuse, mental illness being some of the leading causes. Many issues are involved in legal disputes involving the rights if homeless persons, including the right of law enforcement officers to stop and question a homeless person, voting rights, and eligibility for free post office boxes, among others.” (http://definitions.uslegal.com/h/homeless)

7. Education Issues: Milwaukee Public Schools POLICY STATEMENT • The Milwaukee Public School District shall provide an educational environment that treats homeless students with dignity and respect. • Homeless students are provided with equal access to educational programs provided to other students, have an opportunity to meet state and district academic achievement standards to which all students are held, and are not segregated or discriminated againston the basis of their homeless status. • This commitment to the educational rights of homeless children and youth applies to all services, programs, and activities provided or made available.

8. DEFINITION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH • Under McKinney-Vento (McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C., ss. 11431-11436, sec. 25), (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/guidance.pdf) • homeless children and youth are defined as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence."

9. DEFINITION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH The term “homeless” includes children and youth who: • (a) are living with other persons due to the loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason, including children and youth living doubled-up with family or friends; • (b) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative, adequate accommodations; • (c) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; • (d) are abandoned in hospitals; • (e) are temporarily housed while awaiting foster care placement; • (f) have a primary night-time residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; • (g) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; • (h) are migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

10. RIGHTS OF HOMELESS STUDENTS All homeless students have a right to: • (a) immediate public school enrollment. A public school must immediately enroll students even if they lack health, immunization, or school records, proof of guardianship, or proof of residency; • (b) enrollment in: • 1. the school he/she attended when permanently housed (school of origin); • 2. the school in which he/she was last enrolled (school of origin); • 3. any public school that non-homeless students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend. • (c) continued enrolled in his/her selected public school for as long as he/she remains homeless or, if the student becomes permanently housed, until the end of the academic year;

11. RIGHTS OF HOMELESS STUDENTS • (d) priority enrollment in certain preschool programs; • (e) free breakfast and lunch; • (f) books and school supplies; • g) participation in all school-related activities, i.e., tutorial, instructional support, • Community Learning Centers, etc.; • (h) information regarding how to get fee waivers, free uniforms, and referrals to low-cost or free medical services; • (i) transportation to and from the public school of origin for the duration of homelessness, • (ii) including preschool children who attend programs that provide transportation to nonhomeless children; • (j) assistance with the dispute-resolution process if a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment in a school.

12. Local News • MPS Braces To Serve Record Number of Homeless Students • Superintendent Says It's A Problem No One Wants to Acknowledge • POSTED: 12:18 pm CST January 31, 2012UPDATED: 8:22 am CST February 3, 2012 http://www.wisn.com/news/30340779/detail.html

14. Close to Home • Top 25 Wis. Districts With Homeless Students • http://www.wisn.com/slideshow/education/30352226/detail.html

15. Focus on Health

16. Milwaukee Continuum of Care 2011 Point in Time Survey of Milwaukee’s Homeless Citizens http://milwaukeecoc.org/MilwaukeePointinTime2011.pdf

17. Point in Time Survey of Milwaukee’s Homeless Citizens (2011) • In 2011, 64% of homeless people reported having one or more disabilities or special needs. • Mental illness increased between 2007 and 2011, while alcohol and drug abuse both declined. • The incidence of medical condition/disability more than doubled in just 2 years. • Also significant is the 3x increase in the percentage of people with a developmental disability or learning disability. • And although the percentage is small, the proportion of HIV/AIDS tripled during this period.

18. Snapshot of Homelessness in Milwaukee

19. Disabilities and Special Needs Among the Homeless in Milwaukee Source: Milwaukee Continuum of Care. (2011, December). Point in time survey of Milwaukee’s homeless citizens. Milwaukee, WI: Author. http://milwaukeecoc.org/MilwaukeePointinTime2011.pdf

20. National Comparison • According to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, • 26% of sheltered homeless have serious mental illness, • 35% have substance abuse (alcohol and/or drug), • 4% reported HIV/AIDS.

21. Disability Status and Shelters • Disability status was correlated with where homeless people had stayed; e.g., shelter, in the past year. • Salvation Army Lodge, Guest House, and the Rescue Mission Safe Harbor and Joy House all served a comparatively higher proportion of disabled homeless people. • At the Guest House, among our visits, 80% of homeless people who stay there are disabled. http://www.guesthouseofmilwaukee.org/

22. Homelessness and Health • A health problem can lead to a downward spiral. • People experiencing homelessness have complex health problems. • Access to care is difficult for impoverished people. • Healing and recovery are nearly impossible without a home. • Solutions exist. Source: National Health Care for the Homeless Council. (2010). Homelessness & health: What’s the connection? Retrieved from http://www.nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Hln_health_factsheet_Jan10.pdf

23. Downward Spiral . . . • Over half of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are the result of health issues. • Increasingly, this pattern affects families and people who have never before experienced extreme poverty.

24. Complex Health Problems • Without homes, people are exposed to the elements, disease, violence, unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, stress, and addictive substances. • Rates of illness and injuries are 3-6x the rate of other people. • Conditions are frequently co-occurring, with a complex mix of severe physical, psychiatric, substance use and social problems. • Resolving health problems is critical to resolving homelessness.

25. Lack of Health Insurance • Like 47 million other Americans, the majority of homeless people do not have health insurance or the ability to pay for needed care. • In extreme situations, many turn to emergency rooms although ERs are costly and inappropriate for ongoing care. • Federally funded Health Care for the Homeless projects provide primary care, but these 214 health centers reach less than a million homeless individuals annual out of the 3-4 million who desperately need care. • Outreach teams and mobile clinic vans are used to bring the homeless into care.

26. Outreach Community Health • In Milwaukee, Health Care for the Homeless is now known as Outreach Community Health Centers. The administrative offices are still located on 7th and Capitol. • They provide substance abuse services, case management programs, community services, outreach, HIV services, and housing programs. • The outpatient clinic on 2nd and Capitol provides Behavioral Health, Primary Care, a Pediatric Clinic, HIV Rapid Testing, and a Pharmacy. • St. Ben’s Clinic provides Primary Care for Homeless Adult clients only, on N. 9th Street. • Other primary care sites include Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic, Angel of Hope Clinic, and Salvation Army Clinic. • Dental Care is provided at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Dental Clinic on S. 13th Street. Source: Outreach Community Health Centers. (2012). Welcome to Outreach Community Health Centers. Retrieved from http://hchm.com

27. Serving the Homeless Milwaukee’s Experience

28. What are their needs • Shelter • Food • Education & Training • Child care • Coordinated services • Healthcare

29. Causes and Effects • Addictions • Experience in the criminal justice system • Abuse • Mental health • Family breakdown • Job loss • Economic instability

30. Who is serving them? • Coalition of homeless • Non-profit • Faith-Based • Public Agencies

31. How • Funding sources • Non-profit structures • Staff • Volunteers-Individual • Volunteers-Groups

32. What is the current trends in serving? • Housing First Initiatives • Continuum of care networks • Building strengths-comprehensive case management

33. How to serve ethical practice • Respectful of clients – They’re just people too. • Respectful of boundaries of the facility • Respectful of staff who work in this environment daily • Respectful of what they are attempting to do to meet current needs • Respectful of what the organization can do.

34. Realize we are all part of this issue Housing - Income - Social Supports It’s Complex • Education • Social/Behavioral Skills • Foster Care-Aging out • What we instill in students-who become adults • Recognize it is also a system’s issue, economic challenges of our world...

35. Salvation Army’s Annual Campaign • http://www.cbs58.com/features/making-milwaukee-great/Salvation-Armys-Christmas-Campaign-137560793.html

36. References Beyond the homelessness myth. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.homeless.org.au/ Guest House. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.guesthouseofmilwaukee.org/ Homeless law & legal definition. (2012). Retrieved from http://definitions.uslegal.com/h/homeless/ Homeless people: Who, how many, and why it matters. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.sfcall.com/issues%202001/11.26.01/homelessness.htm Homelessness defined. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/14467583/homelessness-defined Homelessness defined. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.suitcaseclinic.org/homelessness-defined/ Milwaukee Continuum of Care. (2010). 10-year plan to end homelessness. Milwaukee, WI: Author. Milwaukee Continuum of Care. (2011, December). Point in time survey of Milwaukee’s homeless citizens. Milwaukee, WI: Author. MPS braces to serve record number of homeless students. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.wisn.com/news/30340779/detail.html National Health Care for the Homeless Council. (2010). Homelessness & health: What’s the connection? Retrieved from http://www.nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Hln_health_factsheet_Jan10.pdf Outreach Community Health Centers. (2012). Welcome to Outreach Community Health Centers. Retrieved from http://hchm.com Tomazic, J. (2012). Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign. Retrieved from http://www.cbs58.com/features/making-milwaukee-great/Salvation-Armys-Christmas-Campaign-137560793.html Top 25 Wis. districts with homeless students. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.wisn.com/slideshow/education/30352226/detail.html United States Department of Education. (2004). Education for homeless children and youth program: Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Non-regulatory guidance. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/guidance.pdf

37. Personal Reflection: What would you do if this was someone you know? What if it was you? Pair-Share: What can we do together now, to make a difference? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIxScJ5rlY&ob=av2n