Lack Of Habitable Housing And Health

Improved Essays
Lack of affordable and quality housing is an important contributing factor of health issues and a major public health concern. A study on housing and health has shown that poor housing conditions are associated with several health conditions such as asthma, lead poisoning, and mental health (Krieger & Higgins, 2002). In the United States, 2 million people visit the emergency room for asthma, 1 million children have lead levels high enough to affect their intelligence, and behavior. Additionally, the lack of quality and affordable housing has caused mental distress over the fear of being homeless (Krieger & Higgins, 2002). The fear is valid as in Pinellas County alone, there were 11, 105 homeless people in a one-year period (Homeless leadership …show more content…
They build affordable, quality homes in neighborhoods that needs a little help. They realized the importance of decent, affordable housing and are aware of the problem in Pinellas. They know that with ownership it would help families regain their dignity, improve health, and physical safety Furthermore, it helps improve the community and generates taxes for Pinellas County (Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas, n.d.). The one problem with this program is the fact that they can only help the population that has a decent job with a decent income. This criteria do not allow for someone facing homelessness obtain a home.
HUD, and several local business partnered to provide mixed financing to 184 apartment homes. The property is income-based rents and smoke free living that allows pet. The apartment has central air conditioning with humidity control, a Community Center with a library, business center, computers, Internet access, and a fitness center. The facility also has a youth center with a basketball court (Patch,
…show more content…
Pinellas County should consider a program that can assist with free education for the people making minimal wage due to lack of education and/or lack of English language. Another way Pinellas County can help alleviate the housing problem is by having a program that can house people with mental illness, & substance abuse disorders with supportive services to help them thrive. In addition, there should be a place anyone can go to free of charge to learn how to cope and address the problems of life before it becomes a

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Business in Healthcare Associated with Homelessness People experiencing homelessness are often correlated with having health issues and eventually, these health concerns can also cause homelessness. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council estimated that 70% of Health Care for the Homeless clients do not have health insurance because of low incomes and insufficient resources for health services (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2012). Those individuals already experiencing homelessness are three to six times more likely to become ill because of the lack of good nutrition, good personal hygiene, and first aid that are essential to achieving optimal health. Housing provides consistency and these individuals with the opportunity…

    • 1044 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    HUD VASH Program

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On May 20, 2010, A Special Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies, was called, and the various governmental entities and agencies were given the opportunity to present their various points, evidence, and stance on the issue of zero funding in 2011 for the HUD-VASH program. Statistics were provided, various Senators spoke…and in the end, the zero funding of the HUD-VASH program was overturned. In 2011, the HUD-VASH program received $50 million, equating to 7,500 vouchers. Every year since 2011, the funding has been resumed at $75 million and the program has been able to issue 10,000 new vouchers each year ("Housing our heroes: an examination of the progress in ending…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, is influenced by multiple policy actors, various interest groups, and sub-committees. These actors provide the education, research, and support needed to keep the policy flourishing and to also to make sure it is running efficiently. The Section 8 program began in 1974 by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for funding this subsidy program yet there are many aspects that come into play to help this policy stay in effect. First of all, HUD is a government agency that has the responsibility of funding the Section 8 program.…

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Homelessness In Sacramento

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Housing programs are very crucial for low-income people and if these people cannot get the support they need, many people will end up on the streets with no where to go. Housing programs are striving for insufficient funding at the federal, state, and local levels. One program that is dealing with budget cuts is the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which means outstandingly reduced resources in Sacramento. A major loss to the Sacramento community was the ending of the Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP), funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Sacramento’s HPRP focused on rapidly transitioning households out of homelessness and preventing at-risk households from entering homelessness” (Sacramento Steps…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the world, homelessness is an ongoing problem that affects millions of people on a daily basis. Many people face an intense struggle to survive harsh conditions and stay alive. It is a constant effort to break out of the homelessness despite the fact that the society turns against the homeless population. Homelessness is a societal issue that cuts through every race, age, and cultural background; however, the lack of affordable housing is a common issue homeless people share. Societal issue, such as homelessness affects micro, mezzo, and macro levels of social work.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Care Corps Research Paper

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Care-Corps Currently, over half a million people are homeless in the U.S. right now. What most of us don't understand, is the grind that homeless people go through everyday for their daily needs. Lots of us take a bed, a soft blanket, a warm house for granted. This is something homeless people don't have, but a great program in Fremont, Nebraska has provided these services for them. Care-Corps provides: housing, life skills program, food, hygiene products, medicine, prevention program, counseling, and provides a plan for a client to get healthy, happy lifestyle.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Habitat for Humanity, along with church groups, community groups, and thousands of volunteers, have helped to build or restore over 600,000 homes and have assisted over three million people worldwide. Their main goal is to give everyone a nice place to live and they do not require their…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Epidemic of Homelessness in America Imagine the limitations of providing adequate housing for you, and your family while living paycheck to paycheck. Where a sick day, or the cut back of hours at work could leave you with the inability to pay rent. Unfortunately, this is a hardship that millions of Americans who live below the poverty line face on a daily basis. Now, imagine someone suffering with mental illness, or drug addiction on their own, who are obviously in desperate need for the resources that could enable them to become functional in society.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. Identify the disparity: Homelessness and mental illness in veterans 2. Summary of the article: Disparities in Housing Status Among Veterans with General Medical, Cognitive, and Behavioral Health Conditions studied the risk factors associated with homelessness and the existence of medical and mental issues within the veteran population. The study found that although medical issues such as diabetes and lung issues complicated the issues of homeless and wellness, mental health was a stronger predictor of homelessness and increased mortality.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Homeless people are more vulnerable to health-related issues such as, mental disability, post-traumatic stress syndrome, people with drug or alcohol addiction, and diabetes. Homeless is a social, economic, and public health problem that is increasing in the U.S. In the article, “Homelessness: reducing health disparities” by James D. Plumb, provides facts, and evidences, of how homelessness connects with health disparities. To understand the point of collaborative approach for the homeless, it is helpful to understand the meaning of homelessness and what happened to them, that got them to the spot to where they are. In the article, Plumb mentions that “..the homelessness and poverty are linked.”…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Homeless Veterans Analysis

    • 1578 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The “Housing First” program is an approach to ending homelessness, developed in New York City, where instead of putting the homeless into shelters, they are immediately put into permanent housing as quickly as possible with voluntary support service provided to them. The housing first allows people to easily be placed in a house despite mental illnesses which has been known to bar the people who need help the most from receiving it, “people experiencing homelessness are provided with permanent housing directly and with few to no treatment preconditions, behavioral contingencies, or barriers.” (endhomelessness.org). This has proven to help both those who are homeless due to a sudden crisis and those who are prone to chronic homelessness due to mental illness, by giving them a second chance with a home, which is just the push they need to improve their lives. It may sound like an expensive solution, but it has also been proven to be a less costly way to end homelessness, since instead of taxpayer money being spent on medical services on the homeless who are vulnerable to sickness and injury.…

    • 1578 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Homelessness In Healthcare

    • 1508 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The United States is full of great things and even more great opportunities, but she also has her fair share of shortcomings. One of the main topics in the news today is the cost of healthcare in the United States, still spiraling out of control for many. There are a multitude of reasons for this, but one of the many is the issue of homelessness in the country. Whenever an economic recession occurs more people are added to the lists of the homeless due to job loss or foreclosure of property. Other risk factors are medical conditions, inadequate job skills, lack of education, domestic violence, addictions, and mental illness (Olivet, Paquette, Hanson, & Bassuk, 2010).…

    • 1508 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Public Housing Failure

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Public Housing in the United States has by many been considered to be a major failure. It has generally failed to provide its residents with a safe environment to live, and outside of the buildings often plagued with violence, segregation, lack of upward mobility, the failure to maintain the buildings for its residents, and unemployment have led to failure in the public housing system. While changes are being made to improve public housing and root out problems such as racism, and corruption within the housing authority, overwhelmingly the history of what was supposed to be a revolutionary way of living for urban poor, has been a failure. Due to the decline of the city at the time public housing arose, racism, and the failure of the federal…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The steadily increasing rate of homelessness in Chicago is a social justice issue that is difficult to ignore. It is nearly impossible to walk down Michigan Avenue without noticing the countless shivering, hungry people begging for spare change. But the people we see on our everyday route to school and work are only a very small portion of the thousands of people suffering throughout the city. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council defines homelessness as “…an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other instable or non-permanent situation”(1). Chicagoans may think they know about the issue of homelessness…

    • 2068 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Belize struggles to satisfy basic characteristics of a developed nation. It is identified as a developing country because its standard of living is unfortunately low, people live under inadequate housing conditions and it lacks industrialization. The poverty level of the people of Belize is a sure indicator of the lack of growth in Belize’s economy. According to Prime Minister’s State of the Nation speech 2014, approximately 43% Belizeans are living below the poverty line. A poverty line or level is the level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to governmental standards.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays