Homeless Prevention and Rehousing

Homeless people are those without access to safe, affordable, sustainable housing. They are often unable to secure employment that pays enough to pay their rent or mortgage and may also experience poor health due to living in unsanitary conditions. This can further make them vulnerable to losing their housing, especially if they have children to care for.

Although homeless numbers have increased in recent decades, there are many success stories that demonstrate how a combination of leadership, multidisciplinary collaboration, adequate resources, and targeted interventions can help to reduce the number of those experiencing homelessness. Moreover, it is becoming more widely recognized that prevention of homelessness through targeted intervention at critical times like military discharge, aging out of foster care, and release from prison has the potential to significantly reduce the homeless population.

The term homelessness can be defined differently by different organizations such as the Institute of Global Homelessness, United Nations Habitat, and FEANTSA but they all agree that it is a state of not having a safe, secure place to call home, whether or not that includes rough sleeping. They can also include those who are unable to access the shelters provided for the homeless, such as women’s or children’s homes, and those who are staying with family or friends, e.g. ‘couch surfing’, for fear of being asked to leave at any time and those who are living in substandard accommodation that poses a serious risk to the physical or mental well-being of the occupants, such as squalid rooms, flophouses, or single room occupancy hotels (SROs), typically located on Skid Row in large urban areas.

It is estimated that about two million people in the United States experience homelessness on a given day and more than half of them are families with children. While there are some individuals who slip into homelessness because of a change in their circumstances, such as an unexpected job loss or the death of a loved one, homelessness is largely caused by a lack of affordable housing.

Despite the best efforts of government and nonprofit organizations, the problem is complex and a long-term solution requires commitment from all sectors. The government must commit adequate funding and resources to rehouse those who are living in inadequate housing, and private individuals and corporations can support these efforts by donating funds and providing volunteers.

The right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right that must be protected by all States. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has made clear that States must ensure the realization of this right by taking all necessary measures to prevent and eradicate homelessness. Failure to do so would be a violation of the right to life guaranteed by Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This obligation is further reinforced by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Optional Protocol to this Covenant. In addition, the Committee has pointed out that the use of public funds must be prioritized to ensure that those who are homeless or in a situation of homelessness are rehoused as quickly as possible.