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Daily Archives: December 11, 2015

Chronic Homelessness: Background, Research, and Outcomes

CRS – Chronic Homelessness: Background, Research, and Outcomes. Libby Perl, Specialist in Housing Policy. Erin Bagalman, Analyst in Health Policy. December 8, 2015.
“Chronically homeless individuals are those who spend long periods of time living on the street or other places not meant for human habitation, and who have one or more disabilities, frequently including mental illnesses and substance use disorders. In the 2014 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness, more than 84,000 individuals met the definition of chronically homeless, down from more than 120,000 in 2008. In part the decline is due to the federal government’s plan, announced in 2002, to end chronic homelessness within 10 years. The target date has since been extended to 2017. Among the federal programs focused on ending chronic homelessness are the HUD Homelessness Assistance Grants, the HUD and Veterans Affairs Supported Housing Program (HUD-VASH), and several HUD demonstration programs. One of the reasons that federal programs have devoted resources to ending chronic homelessness is studies finding that individuals who experience it , particularly those with serious mental illness, use many expensive services often paid through public sources , including emergency room visits, inpatient hospitalizations, and law enforcement and jail time. Even emergency shelter resources can be costly. In addition to potential ethical reasons for ending chronic homelessness, doing so could reduce costs in providing assistance to this population . For years, ending chronic homelessness was thought to be a multi- step process, with individuals receiving treatment for addictions and illnesses, perhaps while living in transitional or temporary housing, before being found capable of living on their own. However, the strategy for ending homelessness has changed, largely due to research pioneered by housing providers. Instead of requiring chronically homeless individuals to be “housing ready” by first addressing issues thought to underlie homelessness , the new strategy allows chronically homeless individuals to move into permanent supportive housing without preconditions. Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is not time-limited and makes services available to residents. A particular PSH, called Housing First, focuses on resident choice about where to live and the type and intensity of services and does not require abstinence or medication compliance. Housing First has been embraced by HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs as a way to end chronic homelessness.”

Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment. Benjamin Edelman, Michael Luca, and Dan Svirsky. December 9, 2015 “Online marketplaces increasingly choose to reduce the anonymity of buyers and sellers in order to facilitate trust. We demonstrate that this common market design choice results in an important unintended consequence: racial discrimination. In… Continue Reading

A History of US Public Libraries

Digital Public Library of America – “For many Americans, their fondest memories revolve around a library card. From searching through the stacks, to getting a return date stamped on the back of a new favorite book, libraries are a quintessential part of how Americans learn and engage with their local communities. Since this country’s founding,… Continue Reading

Healthcare industries are projected to become the largest employer in 2024

BLS – Employment Projections: 2014-24 “Healthcare occupations and industries are expected to have the fastest employment growth and to add the most jobs between 2014 and 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. With the increase in the proportion of the population in older age groups, more people in the labor force will… Continue Reading

Corporate Governance Study 2015

“Over the past decade, the stability of the corporate world has been tested by accounting scandals and the 2008 financial crisis, among other things. These events eroded relations between boards and shareholders, and stressed the need for high corporate governance standards to restore trust. Among shareholders today, corporate governance is considered an integral part of… Continue Reading