Problems the Homeless have to Face in Montana

Homeless has been a large issue in the United States, although it is rarely looked at. Many see the U.S. as a prosperous land filled with hope for a greater future that they are allowed to provide for themselves. According to the webpage, Green Doors, an approximate 643,067 people are having a hard time reaching that sought after future due to the fact that they have no home. They live on the streets from time to time, while 17 percent of the homeless are chronically homeless, meaning they will probably live without a home for the rest of their lives. Montana doesn’t avoid this issue either; in fact we were ranked the 13 highest state with homeless in 2014 according to Laura Allen, who wrote the article, “Which States Had the Most Homeless?”. From 2014 to 2015 the percent of of homeless decreased by 2 percent in montana and has continued a steady decline into 2017. The last report stated an approximate 1,196 people were homeless in Montana according to the webpage, National Coalition of the Homeless. Montana has set up some significant programs, such as housing programs and programs that focus on the mentally ill. However, they still have some flaws and do not prevent the occurrence of the homeless population.

Programs have been developed to provide a new start to life. They provide care packages, medication, and even recommendations to help those in need of a job. Although their intentions are meant to better the homeless, many who go to the programs end up selling the medication and care packages. This creates a cycle no one can benefit from. In Billings, MT, there is a program set up to help the homeless, called the HUB. According to Leah Russell, an employee at the HUB, the program works with those who enter for about three days, and then give them a job recommendation and some supplies that will last that person maybe a week. This program doesn’t remove the people from the streets, it just gives them a couple of clean days with food. One way to fix this is to give the people more than just a recomendation for a job, but actually provide a workshop to help fill out applications and get ready for job interviews. These people need to be assigned more case managers to work with them and encourage them to continue to work for a better life, otherwise most tend to lose what they were given and get thrown back onto the streets. The case manager should work with them for at least a month to help set their clients up for a more prosperous life. The homeless search for help, but are currently not getting enough of it when their calls are finally answered.

According to The National Alliance to End Homeless, the most effective programs are the ones that give the homeless a permanent home. Some of these programs have a waiting list that can take up to a year of responding, meaning the homeless will have to wait a year or two before they have a chance of getting a home through this program. The housing programs also have strict guidelines to follow. Certain programs only allow single honorably discharged veterans to apply, others only allow a survivor of domestic violence from the past two years and who also have children. Some go as far as do providing houses for the single homeless person, but that can take an extended amount of very long time for someone to see a home.

Many programs have been developed to help the homeless find and keep a home. However, they are flawed and are making harder for those who need the help to actually find it beneficial. With a little more work towards these programs, this problem may be dwindle to smaller amounts of homeless wanderers and perhaps even extinguish the existence of the chronically homeless.