by Donna Carroll Batton

Created on: July 26, 2008

No, homeless shelters are not the answer to the homelessness issue. I'll explain why.

Many people believe the homeless population is made up of folks who have lost their homes due to misfortune or are homeless because of addictions. While this is true in some cases, it's not the cause in most. If it were, homeless shelters would probably be enough to house these folks until they could get their lives back together again. Most homeless shelters have staff and resources to help residents accomplish this goal.

However, misfortune and addictions account for only a small percentage of the homeless population. The greatest number of people living on the streets of America today is the direct result of "deinstitutionalization." This is a big word, coined in the 1970's, during the era of institutional reform. When it was discovered that mental institutions were full of people with a great range of mental illness, often living in deplorable conditions and many treated as criminals, a wave was underway to release these unfortunate folks and return them to society; a noble idea in its conception. However, those who began this "reform" didn't follow through with resources and support systems to take up the slack left when these poor souls were released to walk the streets.

I speak from experience, being a retired Adult Protection Worker for the county in which I lived. I was appointed by either the county or Social Security to be Representative Payee for a caseload of over forty clients. It was my job to receive client's SSI and/or SSD checks into a county account for each client. Out of their monthly checks, I would pay their rent and utilities and whatever other bills they had. What was left (usually not much) I would divide up into weekly "personal allowance" checks, which client's could use the way they wished. Ninety percent of my caseload was made up of people with mental illness, schizophrenia taking first place.

Dealing with clients who would stop taking their prescribed medications or use alcohol and/or drugs while taking it, was challenge enough. But, always, the biggest problem my fellow caseworkers and I faced was finding and keeping adequate housing for them. These were the folks who were "freed" from their bondage in the institutions and now absorbed into the community. Many of these clients also received counseling from various mental health centers. We frequently networked with these and other medical personnel in obtaining the best help for our clients.

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