About
In the U.S., homelessness is typically rooted in serious personal problems for which there are no quick fixes. However, it is compounded by systemic problems, such as the general lack of affordable housing in America today, as well as social bias and stigma that makes it harder than necessary for homeless individuals to put their lives back together and re-enter normal society.
The hope is that this site can provide information for both individuals and agencies interested in making headway against the societal piece of the problem. The intent is to provide a gold standard of solutions grounded in the realities of what causes homelessness while honoring the fundamental humanity and dignity of homeless individuals. Anything less tends to make the problem more entrenched, not less entrenched.
It is a high bar to meet, and that's part of why the site is being developed so very slowly. Many well meaning programs have design flaws that interfere with individuals achieving real solutions. There are relatively few gold standard examples to draw upon.
This is a sister site to the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide, a resource for homeless Americans, but especially those in San Diego County, California. The mission of that site is to help homeless individuals keep their freedom and personal agency alive while they try to solve their own problems.
Homeless individuals are hard pressed to survive, much less solve their own problems. They need help. As a minimum, they need society to meet them halfway. This site aims at dismantling institutional and social barriers that make life artificially and unnecessarily harder.
The author of this site has about six years of college, including an incomplete Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Resource Management with a Concentration in Housing. As part of that concentration, she took an online class at San Francisco State University called Homelessness and Public Policy, which required her to do an internship at a local homeless shelter. After the class was over, she continued to volunteer at the shelter for several more months. Years later, while homeless herself, she started the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide and also this site.
The hope is that this site can provide information for both individuals and agencies interested in making headway against the societal piece of the problem. The intent is to provide a gold standard of solutions grounded in the realities of what causes homelessness while honoring the fundamental humanity and dignity of homeless individuals. Anything less tends to make the problem more entrenched, not less entrenched.
It is a high bar to meet, and that's part of why the site is being developed so very slowly. Many well meaning programs have design flaws that interfere with individuals achieving real solutions. There are relatively few gold standard examples to draw upon.
This is a sister site to the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide, a resource for homeless Americans, but especially those in San Diego County, California. The mission of that site is to help homeless individuals keep their freedom and personal agency alive while they try to solve their own problems.
Homeless individuals are hard pressed to survive, much less solve their own problems. They need help. As a minimum, they need society to meet them halfway. This site aims at dismantling institutional and social barriers that make life artificially and unnecessarily harder.
The author of this site has about six years of college, including an incomplete Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Resource Management with a Concentration in Housing. As part of that concentration, she took an online class at San Francisco State University called Homelessness and Public Policy, which required her to do an internship at a local homeless shelter. After the class was over, she continued to volunteer at the shelter for several more months. Years later, while homeless herself, she started the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide and also this site.