A House Is Not Always a Home

After a tiring day attending classes at university and working a minimum wage job, an

exhausted student returns home for the night. Their driveway, however, is a busy road; the front

steps are piles of gravel and litter; and ‘home’ is an old car squeezed into a packed parking lot

alongside numerous others in similar situations.

Due to a multitude of reasons, a growing number of people are finding themselves

deprived of any other option but to sacrifice reliable housing. Homelessness is an extremely

prevalent issue today, and continues to hurt a diverse array of people, regardless of one’s

relationship with mental health, addiction, or any other stereotypical factor. A hard-working

student attending a prestigious university does not conform to the stereotypical homeless person,

but homelessness during employment or as a student are devastating realities for an excessive

amount of people.

The offensive stereotypes around the homeless population have created a stigma that has

reduced the urgency towards rehabilitation for the homeless. Instead, the issue is approached as

if hiding these vulnerable citizens from sight will resolve the problem altogether. I was shocked

to discover a petition to remove homeless people from a local park on Nextdoor, an app that

connects people in the same neighborhood. Rather than helping these powerless members of our

community, the petition merely served to dehumanize them further. I have experience

volunteering with Love A Child Missions, an organization that helps displaced mothers and their

children, and I am in awe of their perseverance to do everything possible to give their children a

happy life. Instead of shunning those in our community who need support, we should be

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uplifting them. In order to effectively and permanently reduce homelessness, all solutions must

actively seek rehabilitation, rather than merely hiding them from sight.

Finding permanent housing is an extremely long process, and the homeless population in

particular is hindered by countless barriers that elongate the process even further. Transitional

housing, which serves as temporary housing for no more than two years, is sometimes used as a

step prior to obtaining a permanent residence. Although, over the past few years, this form of

housing is much less commonplace. In order to find the quickest, most effective solution to

reducing homelessness, I aim to understand if transitional housing is effective in its purpose, or if

it merely serves as an obstacle that makes permanent housing impossible to reach, which is why

my question asks: ​How is transitional housing essential to rehabilitation for the homeless?

Serving as a temporary residence for individuals for an average of 18 months, transitional

housing creates an opportunity for struggling individuals to find work and amend their current

situations. These programs vary in “target populations, physical structure, service intensity,

admission thresholds, and conditions and durations of tenure” (Fosburg). Moreover, they all have

the same intended goal to “bridge the gap from homelessness to permanent housing by offering

structure, supervision, support (for addictions and mental health, for instance), life skills, and in

some cases, education and training” (Gaetz). In addition to providing a clean place to live and

stabillize oneself, transitional housing programs offer services that guide this process by

educating and supporting these individuals. Gloria Bertolozzi, who has worked with a housing

program in Contra Costa County called Hope Solutions for five years, explained that,

“historically, transitional housing was the way… homeless people [transitioned] into permanent

housing, but it’s an eighteen month cycle. Depending on the situation of the individual family

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who’s homeless, eighteen months may never be enough.” Highlighting one of the reasons these

programs are not extremely successful, Mrs. Bertolozzi illustrates how this type of housing is not

one-size-fits-all. However, it is still an available resource that provides supportive services and

shelter for people who would not have that otherwise.

Transitional housing programs are extremely useful in providing a clean space that helps

homeless people get off the street. This is beneficial towards their health, which is highly

jeopardized, seeing as “people living on the street are particularly prone to develop skin diseases

such as cellulitis, impetigo, venous stasis disease, scabies and body lice” (Hwang). This

emphasizes the critical need to reduce the numbers on the streets and within large, overcrowded

shelters. Additionally, the greater amount of time that somebody is homeless and exposed to

these dangerous conditions, the more prone they are to developing lasting health issues.

According to a cross-sectional study of homeless people in Marseilles, France, the prevalence of

“respiratory symptoms and signs… significantly increased with the duration of homelessness”

(Ly). After removing this vulnerable population from their hazardous environment, they will

need to receive any necessary treatment, but will also need to learn how to take care of

themselves and adjust to a structured lifestyle. The Transitional Living Program offers many

services that aid in the transition to independent living, including: “Money management,

budgeting, consumer education, use of credit,... educational advancement,... [and] individual

and/or group counseling and parent/child counseling” (“Transitional Living Program Fact

Sheet”). Overall, transitional housing benefits the homeless by preventing any further damage in

their health or safety that corresponds to living in an unsanitary and dangerous environment, and

by providing them with services to help them adjust and succeed in their new ways of living.

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 Yet, transitional housing is flawed in its system; while it provides housing for a highly

vulnerable portion of the population, it does not effectively work towards permanent

rehabilitation and permanent living conditions for the majority of its participants. The success of

the program relies heavily on outside circumstances, seeing as “transitional programs reward

those who do well by requiring them to move on, and they can only be effective if affordable

independent housing is available to move to afterwards” (Kraus). By providing support for a

limited time, and then offering absolutely no advancements to those who have made progress, it

is difficult to ensure that the progress will not be eradicated. Once the eighteen month program is

completed, as Mrs. Bertolozzi explained, “it’s not even like you go back and stand in line for

transitional housing, you have to go back in line to ground zero.” Moreover, moving on to

permanent housing is extremely difficult due to the imbalance of supply and demand within the

housing market. This is a monumental issue in the Bay Area, largely due to “land use

regulations… [that are] restricting housing supply in a robust and booming urban economy”

(Kakar). As a result, the entire purpose of transitional housing programs loses its efficiency,

since there is no reasonable end goal for the participants of the program. According to Margot

Kushel, the director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, “For most people,

affordable housing alone ends homelessness” (qtd. in Lumsdaine). Evidently, there is a dire

problem within the housing market, and transitional housing programs do not have the structure

to fix the damage that has been created. Mrs. Bertolozzi describes transitional housing as a

“hamster wheel; it’s self-perpetuated for the person in the system… you can’t get out of it.” If

transitional housing programs are to be beneficial to the rehabilitation of the homeless, they must

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ultimately lead to permanent housing and stabilization, which is impossible without an adequate

amount of affordable housing units.

Successful rehabilitation requires permanent housing because, for most of the homeless

population, the amount of support and stability required to permanently rehabilitate exceeds an

eighteen month limit. Some of the leading causes of homelessness are a “lack of affordable

housing, poverty, unemployment, low wages, mental illness and the lack of needed services, and

substance abuse and the lack of needed services” (“Homelessness in America: Overview of Data

and Causes”). It is unlikely that eighteen months will allow an individual or a family to

completely recover from these factors and become sufficiently independent, which will require

them to return to their previous condition or seek out another program. Unfortunately, moving

between various transitional housing programs creates difficulty in maintaining a job or

receiving adequate care. Similarly, some of the leading causes responsible for youth

homelessness are “severe family conflict, …[abandonment] by family or guardians, … leaving

foster or institutional care,... families experiencing homelessness, or severe residential

instability” (Wilkins). Despite the counseling and support offered in transitional housing

programs, eighteen months does not allow most people suffering from one or more of these

circumstances to have a comfortable amount of time to understand and accept their situation,

become motivated to rehabilitate, and then become sufficiently independent.

Moreover, an extremely large portion of the homeless population is subject to factors that

are simply impossible to overcome in the eighteen month time period of transitional housing.

Although it provides supportive services, the programs are unable to reverse the damage of

factors such as social discrimination and prejudices, which is why a year and a half will not

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suffice for the majority of the program’s participants. For African Americans, “decades of social

isolation have created a closed opportunity structure that frequently results in a life-time of

poverty” (Belcher). Further discrimination is faced by the LGBTQ+ community, as evidence

gathered by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services suggests that “racial and ethnic

minority youth, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) are

over-represented” in the homeless population (Wilkins). In order to help these people rehabilitate

and, even more, succeed, they require more than just permanent housing; in order to become

independent, they need a tremendous amount of support. By supporting these individuals and

providing permanent housing, they will finally have an opportunity to recover from years of

hardship. This highlights the critical need for supportive services, which extends to the larger

population of the homeless, as well. Data collected by the U.S. Department of Housing and

Urban Development in 2012 found that 38.6% of sheltered adults were disabled (“Homelessness

in America: Overview of Data and Causes”). By offering permanent housing with supportive

services to individuals hindered by influences outside of their own control, they will have the

necessary time and support to efficiently rehabilitate.

Effective and permanent rehabilitation is crucial, as the lasting implications of

homelessness are heavily detrimental. As a homeless citizen, it is common to find oneself

“marginalized, isolated, and discriminated against. Additionally, [the homeless] are highly

vulnerable to violence and victimization, and re-traumatization becomes a distinct possibility”

(“Trauma”). This demonstrates how critical it is for effective rehabilitation, rather than being

trapped inside a transitional housing program, which does not guarantee any successful

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advancements. Similarly, the most common causes behind homelessness indicate the dire need

for support and counseling:

Poverty, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing are commonly recognized causes

of homelessness. These risk factors can be exacerbated by personal vulnerabilities such

as ​mental and substance use disorders​, ​trauma and violence​, ​domestic violence​,

justice-system involvement, sudden serious illness, divorce, death of a partner, and

disabilities. (“Housing and Shelter”)

These factors entail consistent support for those who are struggling in order to fully rehabilitate

and begin working with and contributing to the community. Moreover, the homeless population

battles against a multitude of hardships that require a safe and clean place to live in order to

rehabilitate, especially since “homeless people are at increased risk of dying prematurely and

suffer from a wide range of health problems, … [and] also face significant barriers that impair

their access to health care” (Hwang). This requires a stable lifestyle and resources, as well as

enough time and help to rehabilitate from this lasting damage. Because they are such a limited

resource, transitional housing programs do not prevent people from falling back this stage again.

Moreover, these programs are unable to be used to the same extent that permanent

housing with supportive services allows, seeing as “homeless mothers in emergency-shelters and

transitional-housing [have] significantly less contact with friends and relatives, [can] count on

fewer people in times of need, and [receive] less help from their families...than housed mothers”

(Letiecq). Rehabilitation requires tremendous adjustment, which is a strenuous battle when one is

constantly being moved from various transitional housing programs in unfamiliar areas. Mrs.

Bertolozzi describes how tasks that seem simple are actually quite difficult for those who do not

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have experience with them, as she stated, “It takes a village to help teach these adults what it

takes to run a household. Some have never run a dishwasher,... Some people have never paid a

bill or written a check, ... So, that’s where social services comes in.” She highlights the

importance of social services through this process in order for people to be able to fully

rehabilitate.

In addition to supportive services, consistent resources are important to gaining stability,

which is why transitional housing programs are insufficient in providing the needed resources.

Tatiana Nunez, who works for the Bay Area Crisis Nursery, a nursery that shelters young

children whose parents are unable to take care of their children, explained the impact that

consistent resources have on struggling families. Recounting the average time that children tend

to stay at the nursery, she stated, “When the kids come here, they continue to come back

throughout the years — just coming back over and over again.” This shows how homelessness is

an issue that is extremely difficult to overcome, and the necessity for resources that are

consistently available. As a result, she explained how the Bay Area Crisis Nursery provides

long-term care, instead of being a single-use resource, as well as their work with connecting

families to other “resources that don’t run out. As long as we keep giving them those types of

resources that can always help them when they’re struggling, then they have something to fall

back on.” Because the causes of homelessness are impossible to relieve in a short amount of

time, the transitional housing program does not offer effective support by serving as a lasting

resource. Instead, families and individuals who are overcoming homelessness need to rely on

resources that will continue to be available to them throughout their lives.

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 Ultimately, the homelessness crisis requires an effective solution that permanently

rehabilitates these vulnerable people. Alongside current events such as the widespread outbreak

of the Coronavirus and numerous wildfires, the world has become especially unsafe for the

members of our community without reliable housing. While transitional housing programs are an

excellent resource for the least vulnerable portion of the homeless population, they do not

provide any means of stability or rehabilitation for the chronically homeless. In order to ensure

that these individuals have an equitable opportunity to gain housing and a stable income, they

require permanent housing with supportive services. By guiding the rehabilitation of the

homeless through permanent housing, not only will the streets be cleaner and safer, but these

individuals will have the opportunity to contribute to their community in a positive way.