Fighting Homelessness

In the Google News under the Greater Sacramento section, I found a news article regarding the fight against homelessness. The New organization to take over the fight against homelessness article indicates that the “Current Funding at The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance will run out June 30, 2011” (McIntyre, 2010, para. 2). Sacramento’s goal is to transition the Homeless Continuum of Care to a new joint nonprofit Joint Powers Agency. The new division will “set policies, procedures, provide a forum for multi-jurisdictional meetings and coordinate public-private sector collaboration” (McIntyre, 2010, para. 6). This private/public partnership will provide more funding opportunities. This concept is “being modeled after the success of Safe Passages in Oakland and the Community Shelter Board in Columbus, OH (McIntyre, 2010, para. 9).

Homelessness is not just a problem in Sacramento; it is a problem everywhere that needs to be addressed. The disciplines that can be used to solve this problem are sociology, economics, psychology, education, and statistics. Sociology is “the social nature of societies and of human interactions within them” (Repko, 2005, p. 50). The sociology discipline can give us insight to the social behaviors of the homeless and the non-homeless. It can be used to determine how we can work together as a society to fix this issue. Economics is the “production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services and their management” (Repko, 2005, p. 50). The economics discipline can help us determine what caused the individual to become homeless and what financial funds are available to build shelters for the homeless population. Psychology is “the nature of the human mind and internal causes of behavior” (Repko, 2005, p. 50). The psychology discipline can be used to help us determine if it’s a mind or behavior issue that causes the individual to choose to be homeless. Education is teaching or learning skills. The education discipline can be used to help educate people about the homeless and to educate the homeless to possibly gain employment. Mathematics is “the logic of numbers, statistics, mathematical modeling, computer simulations, theoretical counterpoint to sensitivity analysis” (Repko, 2005, p. 49). Statistics can be used to determine what the cause was that made the individual homeless. Below are some articles that I located for each discipline that discusses solving the homeless problem.

For Sociology, I found an article titled Sociology/ Homeless People.  In this article, Carpinelli (2009), a sociologist/politolog who deals with research works from economic and social view points. Within this article, Carpinelli discusses different scenarios in regards to the homeless and how society views and reacts to such lifestyles. Specific topics discussed include why a person may become homeless, the different labels that are given to a homeless person (e.g. derelict, hobo), and what services her country provides to the homeless. She explains that a homeless person is more complex than the labeled stereotypes. She also discusses how the homeless have evolved through the years and how a homeless person is more complex than society deems them to be. 

For Economics, I found an article titled Suddenly Homeless in America. In this article, Maide (2010) discusses how the economy crisis is bringing hardships to many families and other causes that may force people to become homeless over the next two years. The article further discusses the importance of getting involved to assist the homeless by volunteering, supporting, donating, and educating others on the homeless family crisis. 

For Psychology, I found an article titled APA Task Force Report Outlines Actions Psychologists Can Take To End Homelessness. The article from American Psychological Association (2010) discussed the importance of addressing the psychosocial factors that relate to homelessness. It introduced a task force that was formed to identify and address those leading factors that may lead to homelessness. The task force also conducted web-based surveys that can be used by psychologists to further assist with this problem.

For Education, I found two articles that I liked and decided to include both of them. The first one is titled We must think outside the box to solve homelessness. This article, written by Edwards (2010) discusses that it is the responsibility of everyone to address the homeless issue. It can’t be left to one agency. It provides listing of local shelters. It lists the different agencies tat are involved in a forum to address issues surrounding homelessness. The other article is titled How Do Special Interest Groups Affect Homelessness? written by Cochran (2008). This article discusses how the National Coalition for the Homeless works with the homeless and the public. It ensures that the homeless are aware of their rights. It attempts to bring homeless education into the classrooms.

For Statistics, I found the Economy Byte: Working Poor at Higher Risk Homelessness, written by Blasco (2010). This blog talks about how the working poor has a hard time during this recession. It looked at three elements: housing costs, doubled housing situations, and income. It indications that these three elements are risk factors for homeless. 

References

American Psychological Association. (10, February 23). Apa task force report 
          outlines actions psychologists can take to end homelessness. Retrieved 
          from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180069.php

Blasco, A. (2010, December 8). Economy byte: working poor at higher risk 
          for homelessness [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blog.end
          homelessness.org/?p=2625

Carpinelli, C. (2009, January 30). Sociology/homeless people. Retrieved from  

          http://en.allexperts.com/q/Sociology-1644/2009/1/Homeless-People-1.htm

Cochran, S. (2008, November 13). How do special interest groups affect 
          homelessness. Retrieved from http//www.ehow.com/how-does_
          4596445_special-interest-groups-affect-homelessness.html

Edwards, G. (2010, August 12). We must think outside the box to solve 
          homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.bozemandailychronicle.
          com/opinions/article_cbf43a00-a5a1-11df-aa78-001cc4c002e0.html

Maide, J. (2010, March 26). Suddenly homeless in america. Retrieved from 
          http://ezinearticles.com/?Suddenly-Homeless-in-America&id=3989723

McIntyre, Z. (2010, December 14). New organization to take over the fight 
          against homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.sacramentopress.com
          /headline/42267/New_organization_to_take_over_the_fight_against_
          homelessness

Repko, A. (2005). Interdisciplinary practice: A student guide to research 
          and writing. (Preliminary ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.

DISCLAIMER: This blog is an assignment for an Interdisciplinary Studies course at National University. It is not a real blog.