Homelessness

In 2004, the United Nations sector of Economic and Social Affairs defined a homeless household as those households without a shelter that would fall within the scope of living quarters due to a lack of or a steady income. They carry their few possessions with them, sleeping in the streets, in doorways or on piers, or in another space, on a more or less random basis.

Origins

Homelessness is common throughout history, being very common in Ancient Greece and ancient Rome, with the people who weren’t considered “citizens” and had no right to own property. But we’re going to focus on modern homelessness, its causes, consequences and solutions. It is believed that the origin of homelessness is traced back during colonial America. As early as 1640, the English “vagrants” were listed as outcast individuals and the police were after them. The homeless people were regarded as “Sturdy beggars” in the mid eighteenth century, and they were found in every corner of the colonial towns. During the American Revolution, the homelessness increased like never before. Many individuals soon after the war were forced into homelessness due to insufficient needs. By the depression of 1857, most of the growing cities were full of homeless people but there was no effort to intervene from the government.

In other countries the process of homelessness was quite similar, in Brazil the process had similarities but was mainly because of the rural exodus into the big cities, leading to many people without jobs and therefore, no basic necessities. This led to a massive growth in homelessness in Brazil and without the sufficient help of the government, it continues as a big problem.

The current number of homeless people in Novo Hamburgo is around 500, and 90% of them live in the central part of the city. In order to solve this problem, the city hall has created a help center called “Centro POP/SAS Rua”, their goal is to welcome homeless citizens and try to introduce them back into the community, not just by giving them food and shelter, but teaching them how to put themselves back into the job market and therefore out of the streets. Today, they help around 240 citizens that are homeless.

During the quarantine period, the city hall has organized many shelters in order to protect homeless people who can not social distance and afford safety equipments such as masks and hand sanitizers, since they live on the streets. However, since the homeless population is so extensive, many are not able to get a spot in these shelters and face some bad situations on the streets, where the food sources are scarce because the focus is on supplying the shelters. The shelter’s problems are not related to the quantity of food, but to the quantity of volunteer workers available since the quarantine started, which reduces the range of impact those shelters and help centers have.

NOVO HAMBURGO

Data from Novo Hamburgo

Released on the 08/24/2020

ps://www.feevale.br/Comum/midias/381f0435-88af-4ecb-85d5-df358a020b6a/CARTILHA_final.pdf

Web documentary "Invisible"

Em um mundo onde a velocidade parece ficar cada vez mais rápida, pessoas vêm e voltam, luzes acendem e apagam, seria correto chamar de imperceptível o que nossos olhos fingem não ver? Neste web documentário feito por acadêmicos de Comunicação Social, reflete-se sobre a essência e experiências de pessoas em situação de rua, que enfrentam não só a violência física, mas também o julgamento e o pré conceito.

In a world where the speed seems to get faster and faster, people reinforced and come back, lights turn on and off, would it be correct to call imperceptible what our eyes pretend not to see? In this web documentary made by Social Communication students, it reflects on the essence and experiences of people on the street, who face not only physical violence, but also judgment and prejudice.

How to overcome the problem of homelessness?

To address homelessness, communities should take a coordinated approach, moving from a collection of individual programs to a community-wide response that is strategic and data driven. Communities that have adopted this approach use data about the needs of those experiencing homelessness to inform how they allocate resources, services, and programs. The following are key elements of a coordinated systems approach:

-Helping people move through the system faster to housing;

-Reducing new entries into homelessness by consistently offering prevention and diversion resources upfront; and

-Improving data collection and quality and providing accurate information on what kind of assistance consumers need.

Establishing a plan helps communities set goals and conceptualize what they should prioritize. A plan can include goals, a process and timeline for meeting those goals, and mechanisms for evaluating progress. Planning also brings providers, government officials, Continuum of Care leads and funders together to address topics such as how to identify needs of the population, decide on the structure of coordinated assessment, integrate prevention and shelter diversion resources, map out existing assessment and intake processes and sketch out preliminary needs assessment and screening tools.

To end homelessness, a coordinated systems approach is needed. This approach requires using local data to inform decisions about how to most effectively allocate resources, services, and programs to best address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the community. The last part of the plan would be to pressure the government to take action and help the needy at least for a limited time with job applications and housing assistance.

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