(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Federal Policy on Homelessness Becomes New Target of the Right [1]
['Jason Deparle']
Date: 2023-06-20
The bipartisan approach that has dominated federal homelessness policy for more than two decades is under growing conservative attack.
The policy directs billions of dollars to programs that provide homeless people with permanent housing and offer — but do not require them to accept — services like treatment for mental illness or drug abuse. The approach, called Housing First, has been the subject of extensive study and expanded under presidents as different as George W. Bush and Barack Obama. President Biden’s homelessness plan makes Housing First its cornerstone and cites it a dozen times.
But Housing First has become a conservative epithet.
Republican lawmakers, backed by conservative think tanks and programs denied funding by Housing First rules, want to loosen the policy’s grip on federal dollars. While supporters say that housing people without preconditions saves lives by getting them off the streets, critics say it ignores clients’ underlying problems and want to shift funding to groups like rescue missions that demand sobriety or employment. Some even blame Housing First for the growth in homelessness.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/us/politics/federal-policy-on-homelessness-becomes-new-target-of-the-right.html
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
