We can accomplish a lot more by unlocking their potential than we can by locking them in jail cells or ignoring their needs. Moreover, the report points out, the cost of assistance is substantially less than the cost of jailing the homeless to get them off the street. They also need health care, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, education and job training. The homeless are among the nation's poorest individuals with incomes averaging just half the federal poverty level. Four in ten said they went without food one or more days in the previous month because they had no money compared with 3 percent of other poor Americans.
Health problems are common as well.
Not surprisingly, more than half had no medical insurance. But the report also found that when the homeless receive housing assistance and needed services, three out of four of those living in a family group and three out of five living alone end their homeless status and move on to even better living situations. So there is hope. It gives us the information we need to improve our programs by tailoring them to the needs of these people. The agencies which helped fund the study are the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Justice, Labor and Transportation as well as the Social Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.