How can we provide shelter and hope for our cities’ unhoused?

Summary

The number of homeless individuals and families had been on the rise in big cities across the United States with 582,462 homeless people reported in the US as of December 2022. 60% of the homeless are male and 25% are families with children. Many urban centers, including New York and Los Angeles, are struggling to manage the situation, with millions in state funding failing to make a tangible impact on the issue.

The efforts to combat homelessness include government-funded programs, powerful religious groups and nonprofit charitable organizations who have sought to provide shelter, food, healthcare, and other essential services to the homeless population. While these programs have made some impact and the total number of homeless is lower than it was during the past decade, the scale of the problem often exceeds both the available resources and funding, making it challenging to implement comprehensive and sustainable solutions.

Assignment

In this project, we will be looking to address where these cities have gone wrong and how we can all do better for the homeless in our communities. Our objectives will be centered on how best to provide immediate aid to these unhoused people through food and shelter, as well as long term work and rehabilitation programs to get them back on their feet and off the streets.

As a part of this assignment, you will be tasked with gathering data about the needs, challenges, and priorities for engaging with the homeless problem. You will look into the current solutions being put into place by the government and charities and try to evaluate which are working and which are worthless for seeing to the needs of our homeless population.