Maddy Glotfelty, Cassidy Novak, Grayson Milam , Quinn Dunne-Cartier, Christopher Poitras,

Charles Bridgham

11/17/2022

Understanding Homelessness

To better address homelessness, it is crucial as a society to first recognize the factors

most likely to inflict homelessness upon individuals. Homelessness is a causal nexus of

inhibiting factors imposed on individuals - a set of seemingly unrelated things that, when looked

at from a distance, may seem irrelevant but, when inspected, eventually lead to an increased

likelihood of homelessness, class instability, and a lack of class mobility. As a society, there is a

belief that one supports oneself above all others, and those who are insufficient in this task are

less than human (and we treat them as such). Those unable to achieve this prosperous lifestyle

due to circumstances beyond their control are cast away. These are the people society claims to

want to help, yet we are unwilling to address the root problems, the individual factors that most

often influence their direction towards the bottom caste of society. These are the homeless.

Homelessness is a complex problem caused by a multitude of factors to varying extents,

factors such as family dynamics and addiction, and is influenced, but not fixed, by systems such

as government support. In this paper, we attempt to address this complexity by answering the

question: what are the causes of homelessness, how is homelessness changing, who does it most

affect, and what can be done on a government and individual level to decrease homelessness?

We have found that homelessness is a complex problem caused by trauma, mental illness,

substance abuse, and housing prices that requires a complex solution involving the community.

To understand the causes of homelessness, it's necessary to understand the current size of the

crisis and how it has grown to this point.

 Grayson:

Figuring out the size of the homeless population in the past and in the present is a

tricky issue due to the lack of accurate data measuring the population size. Because of this issue,

looking at the proxy or indirect data that affect the homeless population is essential. What I’m

aiming for is to try to answer how the total number of homeless people has changed in Durango

over the past 20 years. Our main thesis of our research is trying to understand the causes of

homelessness and the best ways to help that community in need. This question might seem

irrelevant in order to answer the central thesis of our group, but it’s very important because it

provides the context behind the questions. Using my research on the growth or decline of

homelessness with the causes of homelessness, we can understand if those causes or problems

are getting better or worse. It can also help us learn whether the methods we are using to address

homelessness are effective or ineffective by studying if the percentage of homeless people has

been increasing or decreasing. If the population is growing, our methods are inadequate, and if

they are reducing, they are effective. After looking at several indirect sources of homelessness

change in Durango, I believe that there has been a significant increase in the total number of

people living in homelessness in Durango.

One of these indirect sources is a study taken by Manna soup kitchen in 2014 (seen in

first graph above), which recorded the total number of meals served from 2003 to 2014. In 2003,

their first recorded year, they served 28,000 meals. To put that number into perspective, the total

population of Durango was 15,063 in the year 2003. That is almost double the number of the

total population of Durango in 2003. Seven years after that study, another indirect study of

homelessness population was conducted on the total number of anti-homeless citations handed
out in 2010 (seen in second graph above). It was found that there were a total of 18 citations

given out: 12 obscene conduct, 3 obstructing public streets, places, or buildings, 3 aggressive

beginnings and 1 loitering citation. The goal of these studies were to record data each year,

whether it be meals served at Manna or anti-homeless citations handed out by the police and see

if there has been an increase or decrease in data.

 Once several years had passed of collecting data, it was quite clear that the total homeless

population had risen. In 2014, 11 years after Manna took their initial investigation, they recorded

that the number of meals served that year had risen to 70,000. That is a 42,000 increase in 11

years or a 250% increase. In 2014, 4 years after the initial citations study, similar results were

found, with a total citations being 48. That's a 30-citation increase from 2010 to 2014 or roughly

a 166% increase in 4 years. An interesting thing to note about the anti-homeless citation study is

that it peaked in 2013, with a total number of citations equalling 60, but dropped to 48 in the

following year. It’s obvious through this data that there has been an increase in homelessness in

Durango, but the real question is what is causing this sudden spike?

Multiple causes have happened locally that have impacted the rise in homelessness we

see today. One change in our community that caused the drop in citations in 2014 was the

election of a new LaPlata County sheriff, who brought along a new change in policy, which

caused law enforcement to be less harsh on those living in homelessness. Another recent change
in our community was the closing of purple cliffs, a temporary homeless camp established in

2019. Though it is too soon to understand the effects of purple cliffs closing, I believe it will

heavily increase the number of anti-homeless citations moving forward due to the homeless

population not having a legal place to sleep anymore. Another major cause in our community has

to be the increasing housing prices occurring locally and nationally. In 2021, the cost of housing

in La Plata county rose to $527,100 from $422,500 in 2020 or a 24.8% increase in one year. If

you're looking for accommodation in town, the prices rose even more from $499,000 in 2020 to

$650,000 in 2021 or a 30.3% increase in one year. This spike in housing prices caused the

working class in Durango to not afford houses they would previously have been able to afford,

even when looking outside of town. This caused a large population of the city to be unable to

afford comfortable living and led to some even having to turn to homelessness.

In conclusion, I believe it is safe to say that there is a significant increase in the

percentage of homeless people in our community. It is hard to be sure about that statement due to

the only data available being data that indirectly affects the total percentage of homelessness. An

example of this in my research is that the increase in meals served at Manna can be assumed to

increase the number of homeless people in Durango. Understanding this growth in homelessness

is essential because it allows us to realize that the causes of homelessness are worsening and that

we need to act upon it more than ever. The increase in homelessness in Durango leads to the

assumption that even as more food and housing are provided, there are inhibitors to the exiting of

homelessness that are not being addressed.

Maddy:
 America purports to be a meritocratic society that values capability and merit, often

without recognizing those things that would inhibit one's ability to succeed in the caste system

that this ideology inevitably creates. Those unable to thrive in this system, who have more often

been exposed to certain adverse factors, are significantly more likely to be cast aside as the

perpetual machine that is civilization, consumerism, and capitalism continues to gain speed.

Those people society has cast aside in the omnipresent pursuit of more are the homeless, who are

often subject to trials beyond what most "successful" people often face. Homelessness is a highly

adverse and challenging subject to pin down, much less solve, as it results from hundreds of

individual factors. This said, here are some indisputable facts: homelessness is an acute and

persisting problem in America and will not be resolved until we begin addressing the cause

rather than attempting to patch up the effects. The importance of this subject, the necessity to

understand, does not just fall on the homeless, those of low income, and policymakers, but also

upon citizens in a democratic nation so that we vote for reform in the correct direction, not just to

patch up holes but to begin to fix the problem. In the end, individual factors influence

homelessness, and recognizing the largest of those factors and addressing them is one of the most

effective ways to decrease homelessness.

The individual factors of homelessness are often widely unresearched compared to

aspects of homelessness regarding income-support jobs and low-income housing and how those

factors affect homelessness. This is, therefore, where a large majority of funding is pushed. The

data below instead pooled credible research to determine individual factors affecting

homelessness and found that the umbrella factors with the highest correlations were

socioeconomic factors, adverse life events in childhood, negative life events in youth or

adulthood, social marginalization, psychiatric health problems, and physical health problems.
This is to say that a massive percentage of all homeless people have experienced one or more of

these factors, which are often outside their control. The scale on the x-axis of the data represents

the odds ratio (OR), which says that the number on the bottom that the point falls on is equal to

the percent times more likely that the individual is to experience homelessness due to this factor.

The lines connected to the individual factor data plots represent the confidence interval (CI) at

95%, meaning that there is 95% certainty that there is a correlation between having that

individual factor affecting you and falling within the percentage outlined by the lines, which

represent all outliers within that CI.

 (Nilsson - Individual-Level Predictors for Becoming Homeless and Exiting

Homelessness: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis)

The article "Individual-Level Predictors for Becoming Homeless and Exiting

Homelessness: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis" shows that the highest indicator of an

individual's likelihood of becoming homeless with the highest degree of certainty is a result of

"Adverse Life Conditions in Childhood," otherwise known as Adverse Childhood Experiences

(ACE's). In a quote from the article that supplied the above data, "Foster care experiences (3.7;

1.9–7.3, I2 = 95.9%) and physical abuse in childhood (2.9; 1.8–4.4, I2 = 87.7%) were strong risk

factors for becoming homeless, but also family problems other than abuse were associated with

increased risk." (Nilsson et al.) This means that children who experienced foster care are up to

7.3 times more likely to experience homelessness than those who did not, and even at the lower

end, they are 1.9 times more likely. Physical abuse says that, on average, children are 2.9 times

more likely to experience homelessness, and even children whose parents divorced or

experienced verbal abuse find themselves at increased risk. This is reinforced by numerous child

psychologists and social data researchers whose "findings indicate that experiencing ACEs in

early childhood was significantly associated with later behavioral outcomes from childhood to

adolescence. Exposure to multiple ACEs before the age of three was significantly associated

with the top-risk behavior group at age five." (Choi et al.) This indicates that emotional maturity

is impacted by ACEs which would cause reasonable and predictable dissension between victims

of these factors and society at large. ACEs, as an individual factor of homelessness, are a clear

indicator of an increased likelihood of social stratification and eventual destitution. And there are

other factors as well that have nearly as distinct correlations.

 While ACEs are perhaps the most influential factor in future homelessness, factors have

compound effects upon each other, meaning that the more factors you experience that have this

effect, the more likely homelessness becomes. While ordinarily, the compounded nature of the

individual factors affecting homelessness would make creating and displaying the interactive and

intricate data necessary to generate these compound factors extremely difficult, using Fuzzy

Logic (FL) and Fuzzy Logical Maps (FLM) as a researcher involved in the research "Analyzing

the impact of social factors on homelessness: a Fuzzy Cognitive Map approach" called them,

displaying this delicate social effect is possible. "FCMs allow scientists to construct virtual

worlds in which some of the complex and interdependent concepts of a scenario can be captured

and their interactions or causal relationships modeled. Knowledge representation in these maps

has an acquisition-processing trade-off. FCMs, by providing a fuzzy graph structure for

systematic causal propagation and ease in processing fuzzy knowledge, are applicable in soft-

knowledge domains such as the social sciences." (Mago et al.)The researchers assigned a weight

based on whether the factor had a positive (increased homelessness) or negative (decreased

homelessness) effect on the simulated circumstances and to what extent, all based on data

collected previously. Then iterations of the simulation were run where the concept value of the

different factors was set to different initial values, and the weight of the adverse v. support

factors used weight assigned to determine the outcome (see below).

(Mago et al.)

In the FCM above, the initial value of the data set is put to values that ensure the data will

result in homelessness, which allows the viewer to see the different effects that each value has.

Interestingly, the factor that most closely mirrors homelessness is family breakdown, which is

both an ACE itself as well as an indicator of ACEs. This strongly supports the previous sources

that state that homelessness and ACEs have a strong correlation. Beyond that, the FCM displays

the interaction between the other factor and the effect that government assistance has on

homelessness which is clearly very limited. Government assistance is shown here to be very

reactive, as it is entirely focused on providing solutions rather than prevention, which is shown in

the curve the line of government assistance traces, with dropping assistance while homelessness
is low, and then a gradual increase in order to combat the homelessness once it is already high—

addressing the effect rather than the cause. This is especially clear in the case of addiction in

relation to homelessness, where addiction if directly treated, that is to say, if treatment were

readily available, would allow for the transition out of homelessness to be significantly

smoother. Addiction is second most congruent with homelessness, behind family breakdown,

meaning there is a significant correlation between the two. By supplying readily available

support systems, systems that would allow for the initial value of the concept values to drop,

homelessness would potentially grow at a rate that was a combat table.

Perhaps the most functional form of prevention of homelessness is access to education. In

the FCM (shown below), in which education was provided to everyone, as well as a stable social

network support system, which is (often provided through education), homelessness would drop

drastically, as well as family breakdown and addiction. The most effective tool society has to

combat homelessness is access to higher education. If everyone were given the opportunity to

have free education and were encouraged to go to college through this availability, income

would rise, family breakdown, addiction would drop, and homelessness would be decreased.

While this is not a comprehensive solution, it is a promising start.

 (Mago et al. - Analyzing the impact of social factors on homelessness: a Fuzzy Cognitive

Map approach)

Access to education is the single most significant indicator of future success regarding

income. A considerable percentage, almost half, of all earners below the bottom 40% have a high

school degree or less. (The Cost of Economic and Racial Injustice in Postsecondary Education.)

Education is shown to decrease systems of abuse in familial relationships, often passed down

generationally, and reduce the likelihood of severe/ crippling addiction in individuals. It also

helps to supply social network support, which is another huge factor in reducing homelessness.
 By increasing access to higher education for lower-class individuals, society would

decrease homelessness and subsequently help the economy as a whole. Multiple individual

factors influence homelessness negatively. The most negative of which are ACEs and addiction.

These individual factors can have a compound effect, and while American culture often

overlooks these people and sees them as the people who were unable to keep up in the

meritocracy, it is rarely entirely without outside influence. Rarely are the homeless only affected

by one factor, all too often having an almost compound effecteffect as a result of poor

circumstances. While I cannot say a solution with certainty, providing affordable available

higher education would have the opportunity to significantly decrease homelessness. To

accurately understand and address homelessness, there must be a societal shift that allows the

population to recognize the humanity exhibited in homeless people, a society that is too often

overlooked. We need to stop looking at the bad apples, never do you witness the fruit of a tree or

system so disfigured and find the answer there. Instead, you must look to the roots, the causes,

and address the problem to fix it. In the end, the higher the lowest rung of society reaches, the

higher organization will reach.

Cassidy:

Homelessness affects people regardless of race, age, and gender. For my research, I

choose to focus on the effects of homelessness on men, women, and children. I was determined

to answer the guiding question: How are different demographics (men, women, and children)

mental health, housing opportunities, and overall situations affected by homelessness? My

group's thesis aims to understand homelessness and spread awareness about how every person

can help. I wanted to examine our thesis through a finer lens focusing on how different people

are affected. The trials and tribulations that homeless women go through are much different from

those experienced by men and children.

When comparing the homeless lives of men and women, many factors change. For

example, “Homeless women had a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety disorders and

depression compared to men, who were more likely to suffer from psychotic disorders.”

(National Alliance to End Homelessness)The following chart shows us data collected in Paris,

France, about the prevalence of mental illnesses in different genders.

(National Library of Medicine)

 Looking at the second row down, titled Psychotic disorders, we see that, on average,

15.4% of men struggle with this opposed to only 9.1% of women. Men also struggle with

delusional disorders, addictions, alcohol dependence, and regular consumption of illegal drugs

more than women. The narrative switches when talking about anxiety disorders, PTSD,

depression, and nonsevere mood disorders, where the issues are more prevalent in homeless

women. The amount of homeless men significantly trumps the number of homeless women

regardless of location in America at large. "Nationally, 21.5 men and 8.3 women experience

homelessness per 10,000 people in the general population." (Laporte, et al.) Research also shows

that there is not much of a difference in wages earned from panhandling. Although men and

women make similar amounts from panhandling, most of the time, that is not enough to support

oneself, let alone a family.

Homeless women struggle to find safe places to sleep due to the dangers of abuse and

sexual assault, and some women even resort to prostitution as a way to obtain money. Another

issue homeless women face is a "lack of preventive care such as prenatal, mammograms and

other tests. The rate of unintended pregnancies is higher in homeless women who have no access

to contraceptives. As a result, there is a much higher rate of abortions, abnormalities and adverse

birth outcomes." (Career and Recovery resources). Not having access to primary healthcare is

dangerous and sometimes fatal. Getting out of homelessness is a struggle for women because

"more than half of the homeless women do not have a high school degree which makes them less

likely to attain a stable source of income." (Career and Recovery resources) Many homeless

women are single mothers fleeing from households with unsafe conditions like domestic

violence. Neither option is ideal or safe, but women are stuck on the streets to avoid severe

physical abuse.
 A condition primarily in men that inhibits the ability to exit homelessness is their pride

and inability to ask for help. "The pressures placed on men in our society to be tough, strong, and

macho make it hard for some men to admit that they have mental health problems" (SAMHSA).

Being unable to get assistance with mental health issues results in prolonged homelessness, as

these problems are responsible for unemployment and lack of motivation. Being vulnerable as a

man can be interpreted as a weakness that can be taken advantage of, especially in homeless

communities. When perceived as weak, they are subject to robbery and physical altercations, and

it makes it challenging to join larger homeless communities.

Homelessness also impacts children by impacting their education, health, safety, and

development. "1 in 30 American children experience homelessness. They live with or without

their families, in shelters, cars and abandoned buildings." (Doorways), and 51 % of those

children are below the age of 5. A side effect of being a homeless child is the illness. "Homeless

children are sick at twice the rate of other children. They suffer twice as many ear infections,

have four times the rate of asthma, and have five times more diarrhea and stomach problems."

(Doorways) Living in unsanitary and unstable conditions with no affordable access to medical

attention leads to struggling immune systems as development continues. Not only is physical

health in danger, but the mental health of children is also under pressure. "Ten percent to 26% of

homeless preschoolers have mental health problems requiring clinical evaluation. This increases

to 24% to 40% among homeless school-age children—two to four times higher than low-income

children aged 6 to 11 years. By the time homeless children are eight years old, one in three has a

major mental disorder." (Doorways) Experiencing these struggles at a young age affects the

mental health of a person for the rest of their life. Children who were growing up homeless also

struggled with getting an education. "Approximately 87% of school-age homeless children and
youth are enrolled in school, although only about 77% attend school regularly. Some schools

don't allow homeless children to register without school and medical records or without a home

address." (Doorways) Not only do homeless children struggle in school, but some can't even

attend due to a lack of transportation, fees, and records. Inadequate nutrition, child care, health

care, unsafe neighborhoods, and under-resourced schools adversely impact many children of the

lowest socio economic caste in America, the homeless. Children who are born into these

unfortunate situations struggle to shift their class, but families living on the street have more

knowledge and motivation to escape the streets.

However, there are still a copious amount of homeless families nationally, "An estimated

171,575 people in families — or 55,739 family households — are identified as homeless."

(National alliance to end homelessness) This is due to the lack of affordable housing, with prices

that are constantly rising, insufficient wages for working parents, and a lack of employment. A

majority of the families we see on the streets are young, uneducated single mothers with young

children. Having a family improves your likelihood of obtaining support from shelters, food

banks, vouchers, food stamps, and more. The responsibility of having a family leads to needing a

lot of help; many factors contribute to families seeking help "lost job or work hours, conflict with

family members they are staying with, an unanticipated bill or violence within the home – leads

families to seek help from homeless service programs." (NATEH)Service programs like "Rapid

re-housing provides help with housing search, financial assistance, and case management

services to help families quickly transition out of shelter and back into housing of their own."

(NATEH) Although this process is marketed as fast and easy, it is genuinely outdrawn and

tedious. The amount of people competing for housing prolongs the process and makes rapid re-
housing difficult, so the families are stuck being homeless for months, waiting for housing to

become available.

Men, women, and children are all subject to the hardships of homelessness and their

accompanying side effects. Despite gender and age, they all suffer from mental, physical, and

societal issues. However, the specific problems vary. Different demographics have different

experiences that shape the way they react to homelessness. Mental illness, housing inequality,

safety issues, long-term trauma, education, and job opportunities present differently in different

populations. Improving access to education and psychological and physical health institutions is

an essential step toward giving people in poverty a steady foundation. Developing quicker,

cheaper, and more efficient housing specifically for unhoused people gets people off the streets

and into homes enforcing safety and well-being. Born into this life or not, no one deserves to be

treated like a burden, to grow up, and to live stuck in an inequality spiral that oppresses and

depresses. We need to find ways to create a future of happy humanity where everyone is

comfortable, cared for, and compassionate. Conducting research on how to house more people

and provide sufficient food and education will help us reach this goal. Getting people out of

homelessness starts with empathy; we need to realize it is a difficult thing to change

unproductive perspectives and habits that have surrounded and unhealthily supported them their

entire lives, such as substances that act as comfort during challenging times.

Clay:

1 in 3 people without a home abuse a substance of some sort. Our main issue is the

struggle of homelessness for the people of the town and mainly for the people in the city who

struggle with the life of not knowing where their next bed will be or their next meal will fill their
stomachs. Our main issue is the struggle of homelessness for the people of the town and mainly

for the people in the city who struggle with the life of not knowing where their next bed will be

or their next meal will fill their stomachs. Everyone should find this necessary because also the

homeless endure the struggle of living on the streets or in shelters without a solid roof over their

head. However, the people who live in the town who may not be in the same situation have to

experience the struggle of abuse and people taking advantage of the abuse, which can cause

violence and lower the housing income in areas. I mean, substance abuse can have a significant

effect on a person's life and decision moving forward as well as the struggle with a gain when

you aren't allowed to work because of your blood reading which causes you to lose your home,

which causes depressive life which can often revolve around drugs this is not always the case

may I make this clear. I believe the more prominent drugs like alcohol and marijuana are most

likely to be abused and the addictive properties of drugs like methamphetamine or cocaine are

also heavily used besides the price of a single dose. Due to the causes of mental illness and

physical injuries, the use of drugs can be very prominent within the groups of people who obtain

mental illness or undergo bodily injury that causes the use of prescription painkillers, which can

cause severe drug abuse.

Throughout this part, I will talk about how the loss of resources when homeless can raise

the risk of an overdose of illicit substances. I'm trying to see how being homeless can make you

more prominent to using illegal substances or does homelessness make for using such

substances. "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

points out that people who are homeless have a high risk of overdose from illicit substances.3

One study found that homeless people had a higher risk of opioid overdose, with an adjusted risk

rate of 1.8% for homeless vs. 0.3% for low-income people who had housing.5" (American
Addiction Centers).This data piece speaks of how the issue of being lost causes a 1.8% markup

of the risk of an overdose of illicit substances when you are without a home. This is important

because although the effects of homelessness and drug abuse are prominent, they build off each

other. With the words ahead, we now know that being homeless and experiencing drug abuse,

you also have a 1.8 percent higher chance of overdosing than others. I believe this is prominent

because with the deaths of the homeless being more apparent, we must involve the use of drugs

in some of these deaths.

The data given in this paragraph claims that 25 percent of the homeless survey said drug

abuse was the cause of their homelessness. This is a colossal factor depending on the size of the

sample; this can tell a lot about how the use of drugs can strip everything away from you,

including the comfort of knowing you have a place to sleep. "Berg also pointed to a 2006

Connecticut study where about 25 percent of homeless people surveyed named drug use as the

prime cause of their homelessness." (Voice of San Diego). The data shows that the 25 percent

surveyed said substance abuse was the leading factor in their homelessness. This is a significant

factor in my questions and how substance use affects homelessness; now, I must figure out

whether homelessness causes drug abuse. This builds on the fact that the use of drugs when

homeless can raise the risk of overdose because when you are in a depressive state and are using

drugs, it's almost necessary when sleeping outside. Then the issue of not having the right

resources or being far away from people who could help in a situation like that.

This is talking about the problem of being homeless, causing the peer pressure problem to

come into effect when groups use drugs together; it is often prominent for others to feel

pressured to be "apart." This will go into the fact that homelessness may be an ample cause of

drug abuse within these communities. "Drug use amongst people experiencing homelessness
takes various forms: injection, smoking, snorting, and huffing are likely the most common,

usually as either the cause of or a response to life on the street. In some cases, individuals may

begin using drugs to feel a part of or accepted by a community or partake initially to strengthen

social bonds. People struggling with untreated mental illnesses may use street drugs as self-

medication." (Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness). This is a complicated piece of data to use

because there weren't many numbers. Still, from the ruff institute of global homelessness, the

problem of being in groups using substances often causes people to be pressured to use the same

drugs to be part of the group. This is prominent in the homeless communities as people like to

stick to gatherings because many people are willing to hurt others for the necessary resources.

This builds on the fact that being homeless can cause a higher urge to do drugs if others are

doing so and the struggle with mental illness when living such a life.

Why does the lack of resources for the homeless and people because of their lives often

turn into a drug lifestyle with adding a 1.8 markup risk of overdose on illicit substances? What

do the everyday man and women experience to survive the harsh lifestyle of not knowing their

next meal and home? A man who studied a group of people without a home discovered that 25

percent of them were in active illicit substance and alcohol abuse.

A man in need of a group to count on in the rough lifestyle of being without a home often

causes little pressure to involve in illicit substances and alcohol abuse; to be "with a group" is

also a cause for some when living in such a lifestyle. (the data is hard to tell without physical

information being shown, just a piece of evidence from a resource.) From the data and research I

have obtained, I believe there will always be a two-way part to this problem.

First, it clearly shows that drugs and alcohol often strip everything away from you,

including your ability to have a solid place to sleep every night and a well-untreated meal to
better your health. However, the numerous other problems which cause homelessness can cause

a seriously depressive lifestyle which can cause substance abuse. It is a complex topic to find a

reliable source and cause of this severe problem, but it is hard to pinpoint the cause and effect of

all people.

I believe the crisis of drug abuse and alcoholism is intense, and it must be changed

immediately; we as communities often experience the impact of it; seeing homeless sleeping on

the sidewalk and our children watching these people struggle every day is just not okay. Then the

effect the use of drugs causes homelessness and mental illness is not more but just as serious, and

it must be changed for better attention and support for the homeless. I understand it is

unattractive to see people going through these scary, scary effects of the drugs used today, but

underneath is a human with a soal it may not look like it, but their anger and lack of mental and

physical control do not make them a person who is having the worst struggle ver, and it is

sickening to see these people get spit on and looked down upon when nobody knows what is

going on in their brain.

With this being said, the use of support for the homeless, regardless of their situation,

they deserve the help they need, and if the people aren't willing, that is on them; there is no

judgment, but the ones who want and need the help they deserve can benefit our country with

bettering our under income neighborhoods join the regular class. I need to find the places that are

trying to expand the use of drug abuse for everyone to be safer and hopefully to help them get off

of whatever they're on. I believe we may need a bit of funding for our government; however, the

severe problem is that drugs are ruining income, not just for the citizens but for parts of cities

and small towns. Well, we plan to figure out how to reach out to the public colleges and art
pieces that appeal to the eye but also help those find the help and support they need mentally and

physically.

Charlie:

Another crucial side of aiding the homeless is through financial aid. According to

endhomelessness.org, a minimum of $3.6 billion is needed by 2023 from federal funding. This

money would be divided into many different outlets in this crisis, including, but not limited to,

youth homelessness, elderly homelessness, homeless veterans, food and supply drive, and

domestic violence homelessness resources. To get a grip on the need for federal funding, more

than half a million people are homeless on any given night in the USA (National Alliance to End

Homelessness). This connects to the bigger picture by building knowledge of the financial pieces

to further understand our overall goal of understanding homelessness. Understanding the

government funding devoted to the help of the homeless population shines a light on a self-

perpetuating system.

When looking at the funding provided by the government, it is essential to see not just

how much money is going to this cause but how much isn't. In a country with heavy government

funding, we have a lack of dollars put toward this percentage of our population. 0.15 percent of

all Americans are considered homeless. 6.8 trillion dollars were spent by the US last year. A total

of 51 billion was spent on homelessness in 2021, and while that seems like a tremendous amount

of money, this is only 0.75% of the total paid. For reference, an estimated $800.67 billion was

spent on the military in 2021. When approximately 0.727% of the US population is in the

military, $334,170.42 would be spent on each person serving in the military. Compared to the

$103,186.64 per homeless individual, there is a stark contrast. This money, of course, does not
go directly into the hands of the military or homeless individuals but is spent on infrastructure,

resources, and many other things.

After having learned about how much total money is spent on this issue, it is necessary to

then research where this money is being spent. According to a study in 2015, there was an

estimated $8.5 billion provided by nonprofits and federal funding. This shows that while there

are multiple billions of dollars allocated for housing, this is not enough due to the apparent fact

that 0.15% of Americans remain unhoused.

In a study done by DATALAB, I found this exciting graphic displaying the allocation of

federal support in Colorado in 2021. This showed that $28,636,498 was spent on food and food-
related aid, while only $4,100,553 was spent on housing. My interpretation of this is a lack of

long-term and permanent solutions. It is important to note that food stamps and other federal aid

for food assistance do not only benefit homeless people but many lower-income individuals and

families. With that said, however, the amount of money for food is roughly seven times the

amount used for housing.

From the data that I have seen, I believe that the amount of money provided by the

federal government is not enough, and the money that is spent could be used more efficiently for

long-term solutions. I would be very interested to see this firsthand in our community and learn

where our local money is being channeled. I believe it would also be worthwhile to look at the

housing options available to homeless people and how they could be improved. Understanding

homelessness cannot be fully achieved without first understanding the financial pieces on a

federal level, not just an individual one.

Quinn Dunne-Cartier

The designation of this federal spending is critical because appropriate support is what

aids the unavoidable economic impact of homelessness. Every year in the U.S., 3 million people

spend nights without shelter, and while part of this can be blamed on addiction and mental health

issues, a much broader problem also exists due to wages being unable to keep up with housing.

This leaves whole families and hardworking adults at risk of homelessness like never before, and

the gap between housing prices and average wage continues to grow. One way or another,

America is feeling this economic hit of homelessness and pays for it currently through the

criminal justice system, hospitals, and other emergency resources. An alternative option is to

cater to the problem instead of just shoving it away by funding more shelters and resources that
keep people off the street for the night. The issue with this complex problem is it requires a

multistep solution, shelters must be used as an intermediate tool to stabilize homeless

individuals, but permanent housing is the long-term solution that must receive more investment

to drop homeless rates for good.

One of the most critical questions in our country right now is what are the most effective

long-term solutions for homelessness. Issues have arisen because policymakers have been

focusing on immediate action instead of looking for long-term solutions and asking instead,

"what can we do about homelessness right now?" This question has led to positive outcomes like

increased shelter support or more negative consequences like street sweeps and mass

incarceration, but the key point missing in all of these solutions is they are impermanent, and

instead of solving the issues will simply manifest a repetitive cycle. A proven solution that

disrupts this cycle is an investment into housing and putting more resources into keeping people

housed. Currently, most of this is done through federal funding of section 8 vouchers which

guarantees supportive housing for those who receive them. The problem is as the poverty rate in

America increases, the demand for affordable housing does, too, but the numbers don't look

favorable. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tracked 6.5 million low-

cost rentals with 6.2 million low-income renters in 1970 compared to 2010; there were 9.9

million low-income renters competing for 4.8 million low-income housing opportunities(Monga,

Griffin). More housing, as well as more assistance with keeping people housed, is the only way

to reverse this slippery downward slope, but that could require cuts in funding for other

competing solutions, so the question remains, what is the most effective balance of long and

short-term solutions?
 Short-term resources are essential in rehabilitation, but at the same time are not going to

get people off the streets for good. The unsheltered homeless are the group that has the most

detrimental effects on an area due to the lack of control of governments and the unavoidable

impact of people creating homes in urban environments. One of the harsher strategies for dealing

with this is police sweeps, where all homeless people are rounded up and put in jail. These

strategies actually end up being more expensive than shelters and other short-term resources

through law enforcement and city maintenance costs, as well as stripping the persecuted

individuals of opportunities to find long-term housing, unlike less costly shelters set up for

preparing homeless people to be housed again. The Los Angeles police department reported

spending 53.6 million to 87.3 million dollars on interactions with the homeless in 1 year, while

the department of sanitation said just over half a million dollars spent on cleanup during the same

time period. (The Impact of homelessness on economic competitive) While all of this was

happening, the Housing for Health program in Los Angeles recorded its sample of chronically

homeless individuals within the shelter system moved into supportive housing and found for

those individuals; public service costs were cut by 60% from $38,146 to $15,358. (The Evidence

Behind Approaches that Drive an End to Homelessness) This drop illustrates fewer hospital

visits, jail time, and the creation of impactful shelters in public spaces. This is a small sample

proving shelters can actually save money for communities when paired with supportive housing

by eliminating the expensive impacts of unsupported homelessness and then eliminating shelter

costs by getting more people housed permanently. This proven method, applied to the enormous

costs of homelessness given earlier, is a straightforward solution benefiting both the homeless

and the communities and the economy as a whole.

 Housing is a viable strategy that provides long-term relief, unlike criminalization and the

shelter system. Rapid rehousing is one strategy that ensures families at high risk of becoming

homeless receive funding to stay housed, and those who are lost quickly become rehoused. By

using this strategy, incarceration and medical expenses are avoided, and economies feel less of a

blow from homelessness in the long term. Due to this proven preventative measure, 38 states

have elected to invest more in rapid rehousing, and bed capacity nationwide has increased by

59.6% from 2014 to 2015. (Monga, Griffin) This reflects the rapid rehousing double-edge effect

of not only ending homelessness by housing people but also opening beds in shelters allowing

more people to be served, effectively speeding up the decrease in homelessness. Another strategy

that targets a slightly different demographic in the homeless population is permanent supportive

housing which focuses resources on those with uncontrollable circumstances that leave them

unable to permanently house themselves. This strategy has also been proven to cut costs for

communities in hospitals, jails, and other emergency resources for the same reason, when people

are housed expensive, unnecessary solutions to homelessness are avoided. Due to this,

permanent supportive housing also saw an increase in 38 states, with capacity growing by 6.3%.

(Monga, Griffin) The reason for rapid rehousing, significant uptake, and permanent rehousing

less drastic increase is that fewer people require consistent support, and, once rehabilitated, most

people can fend for themselves entirely. Rehabilitation and ensuring a supported, easy transition

when people are shifting communities between the homeless and the housed is the most crucial

time, and it is commonly found once people are adjusted, they fight to stay housed and require

less support. This is where significant saving for the communities comes because people are not

consistently calling on the more expensive emergency resources. Permanent housing does

require consistent resources from communities, but it is still the cheaper solution to the less
supported system and deals with a small section of the homeless population that has no other

option than consistent support. Both of these strategies tackle homelessness and, when

implemented correctly, have been proven to reduce the cost of homelessness for communities.

Both of these solutions can be implemented independently of each other, but the most

extraordinary effect comes when they are used together, ensuring people have somewhere to go

for the night and can then find opportunities for long-term rehabilitation that eventually allows

them to reenter society and require no more funding. One of the obstacles to reentering housing

is the switch from living on the street to living in a home, but shelters and middleman resources

protect homeless individuals from the dangers of being unhoused and can prepare homeless

people to be housed. Short-term solutions still have their place by keeping the homeless

population documented, and supported communities are proven to be less dangerous, and crime

is not as necessary to survive. Those in shelters also are perfectly poised to be rehoused because

covers are good places housing opportunity providers can go to connect with potential

candidates. Housing then comes in and solves the problem permanently. Evaluations of those

who suffered from chronic homelessness but became housed showed a 75%-85% retention rate

among single adults and over 90% housing retention rates in families. (The Evidence Behind

Approaches that Drive an End to Homelessness) These numbers are huge, showing that a

majority of homeless individuals put effort into staying housed once they have received support.

Ultimately the goal of both these solutions is for individuals to grow independent of them, and

when used cohesively, this has been proven to be possible.

As the research has demonstrated, homelessness is a complex problem that requires a

multifaceted approach. Both short-term and long-term solutions have their place on the path to

recovering America's lagging reputation in homelessness and, when used correctly together, have
been proven to work and keep people housed and contributing to society. The tricky part to all of

this is the limited funding forces a balance of housing-first approaches and the necessary

middleman resources that ensure people can access supportive housing at all. But when done

correctly, even communities suffering heavily from homelessness can be kept safe while

homelessness is high, and then the issue can be weaned away by getting more people housed for

good. Creating a specific data-driven strategy for this by using what we've learned about

homelessness could provide communities with a roadmap toward ending this complex issue.

Conclusion:

There has been an increase in homelessness in Durango and at large in America, an

increase that we can address by building the amount of government funding directed towards

housing, affordable and available addiction rehabilitation, access to education (which decreases

ACEs), as well as mental and physical health support. The most effective uses of money are in

providing low-income housing and education for homeless people, housing for the short term,

and education for the long time. Further research would lead us to ask what would happen in the

next five years in regards to homelessness if nothing happened versus if all of these actions were

implemented and how that would affect homelessness beyond this five-year period.

There are multiple potential solutions outlined throughout this paper, and while it is

widely recognized that not all of them will be addressed, addressing any one solution is better

than addressing none. Homelessness is rarely a choice but is more often the result of a society

that was built to decrease social mobility for those people who hit bottom, and that is, therefore,

what needs to change culture.

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