Social and health issues dramatically influence homelessness. It’s hardly a surprise that a teenager aging out of care on one hand, and a senior citizen with a fixed income on the other, may share a vulnerability to homelessness. But communities have been slow to realize that a ‘one size fits all’ solution to homelessness cannot solve the problem.
A classic example is no more complicated than community recognition that some of its citizens are so vulnerable they believe, and/or actually have, good reasons to fear homeless shelters. Some would rather sleep curled up in an alleyway than face a beating, real or imagined, in a homeless shelter. This basic fact of life continues to bewilder citizens everywhere.
Different folk need different support solutions, so it’s encouraging to see a community become aware of, and determined to mitigate, some of the crises that uniquely vulnerable people must face.
This is particularly true when life piles on the misery. Consider: young adults (invariably inexperienced) attempting to cope with a disability and who have recently been shown the door from incarceration or some other institutional setting. What a crushing burden to bear!
What can be done about it? Albuquerque, New Mexico has recognized the problem and has a plan to deal with it. Read more in the ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL: New Day’s Young Adult Housing program teaches life skills
