Hi everyone and Happy Monday! 😀
In several Caribbean countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, there is a crisis of homelessness. With Privy Council and other judicial pronouncements that restrict the government from forcibly removing persons from the public streets, it is important to identify ways to address the needs of persons experiencing homelessness.
The article linked to below gives the example of Houston, Texas and how its mayor and public authorities are pulling together a cadre of service providers to address chronic homelessness.
Excerpt - "During the last decade, Houston, the nation’s fourth most populous city, has moved more than 25,000 homeless people directly into apartments and houses. The overwhelming majority of them have remained housed after two years. The number of people deemed homeless in the Houston region has been cut by 63 percent since 2011, according to the latest numbers from local officials. Even judging by the more modest metrics registered in a 2020 federal report, Houston did more than twice as well as the rest of the country at reducing homelessness over the previous decade."
The idea of "housing first" is food for thought for the public authorities in the Caribbean region where many policies seek to drive the homeless into shelters or other places they deem unsafe rather than into their own personal space.
Excerpt - "There are addiction recovery and religious conversion programs that succeed in getting people off the street. But housing first involves a different logic: When you’re drowning, it doesn’t help if your rescuer insists you learn to swim before returning you to shore. You can address your issues once you’re on land. Or not. Either way, you join the wider population of people battling demons behind closed doors."
Research will also provide insights into the root challenges being faced by individuals facing homelessness. Not everyone living in precarious circumstances is a drug addict. When we truly understand their needs, we can be more successful in our collective national efforts to help them.
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