Why is ‘Housing First’ such a tough sell?

The data is in.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR) indicates that "Housing First" is effective at preventing and reducing homelessness.

This begs the question: Why is "Housing First" such a tough sell?  

Should the homeless use social media and blogs?

Yesterday morning, I received an e-mail from friend and fellow blogger Mark Horvath of InvisiblePeople.tv.

In short, he wrote:

"If you have a second can you write a few sentences as to why we (homeless people) should be on social media and/or blogging?"

I found the request intriguing for a number of reasons. And, as often is the case with me, it started an entire chain-reaction of thoughts racing through my mind.  

Defending Against The Stereotypes

This past weekend, I read two superb articles on the TIME website.

Both were penned by Detroit area high-school students. Both dealt with stereotypes. And both students experienced feelings of having been discriminated against for who they were – namely: themselves.  

Sacramento Homeless Veteran Gets A Second Chance

A little over a week ago, I read an article in the Sacramento Bee that made me feel both sad and happy at the same time.

It was about a Veteran who had battled alcoholism. It was about a man who had been homeless up until just recently. It was about new friendships having been built. And, it was about a family reunion.

The article told of 68 year-old Richard Nary who – as the article worded it – had "… burned all his bridges."  

Think The Homeless Are Just Bums And Derelicts? Think Again.

The stereotypes most often associated with homelessness permeate our social mindset. As a result, is difficult for many people to imagine that some of our nation’s homeless are actually victims of circumstances.

We’ve grown accustomed to thinking of the homeless as derelicts, bums, drunks, drug addicts, and etcetera. Reflexively – and without challenging our own perceptions – we tend to blame a person’s homelessness on themselves. And, because of that, we are all too often unwilling to provide anything more than the absolute bare minimum of resources and assistance to our homeless.

This offering of "table scraps" is just enough to keep the homeless alive – and hopefully, out of sight – but does nothing to actually help them get off the streets.