Homelessness Act

Homelessness Act of 2002

Brian Rowe
Wayne State
SW 4710
11/21/15

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International Policy
Homelessness isnt a problem indigenous to the United States it affects countries
across the globe. The United Kingdom had just over 200,000 households apply for
housing assistance in 2015 (Definition, 2015). However the total number of homeless
individuals is likely much higher because there is typically more than 1 person per
household. I analyzed the United Kingdoms Homelessness Act of 2002, which amends
the United Kingdoms Housing Act of 1996. I chose this policy due to the similarities
between these two countries, and these two policies. These policies made amendments to
each countries pioneering homelessness policies. I thought it would be interesting to see
how two seminar nations go about tackling the same social problem.
Allocation
The Homelessness Act of 2002 states that the only people ineligible to apply for
housing accommodations who are subject to immigration control (Homelessness Act,
2002). This means that if you are not a citizen of the on the United Kingdom. However
the local housing authority can declare ineligibility if they believe you are a member of a
household, guilty of unacceptable behavior, unsuitable to be a tenant of authority, and if
you are a person from abroad.
Advice and assistance on housing are provided to everyone in that district, free of
charge (Homelessness Code, 2006). However the people who receive the best
accommodations are those who are deemed priority need by the housing authority.
Priority need recipients include, pregnant women, a guardian with dependant children,
homeless due to emergency, 16 or 17 years of age, and care leavers who are 18 to 20

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years in age (Homelessness Code, 2006). It also includes vulnerable individuals due to
old age, physical and mental illness, disabled, at risk of exploitation, fleeing or
attempting to flee violence, service in the armed forces, and people who have served a
custodial sentence.
This policy does benefit the United Kingdom citizens, but there are other
volunteer sectors that benefit from this policy. Homeless people may need additional
services that are not covered (Homelessness Code, 2006). This brings in other
departments to help provide some additional services. These include non-profit and
charity organizations that benefit from providing their services by receiving tax breaks.
Social landlords help provide and manage housing for the people who receive services
form this policy. They also benefit from this policy because it provides them with an
endless amount of tenants to occupy their properties.
Considering that some type of services are provided to every citizen of the United
Kingdom at no cost I would say this policy emphasizes social effectiveness. Literally all
United Kingdom citizens can gain assistance in some way, which provides very many
beneficiaries.
Provisions
The Homelessness Act of 2002 provides better services for those who are
considered to be priority need. These include care services, education services, social
services, employment and training services, as well as stable housing. The act does
provide services for everyone, however the to really get help fast you need to fall into
priority need.

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Taking into account that priority need individuals receive better services I would
say that this policy emphasizes social control. People who fall into the category of
priority need do not choose to do so. These are people with mental illness, have
dependant children, or become homeless due to emergencies. Therefore providing
services based off that criteria is an exercise in social control.
Delivery
Each district provides services to their specific homeless population, or contracts
them to other local organizations. There are numerous local programs that people can go
to receive help combating their homelessness. Distribution of these services is local,
which makes the delivery method freedom on dissent.
Financing
The housing authorities are required to formulate a homelessness strategy that is
specific to their district. This strategy consists of a plan for the prevention of
homelessness and those who may become homeless. Once the government accepts the
plan it is then published, and funds are supplemented to the housing authorities. However
additional services that are not housing related are sometimes needed (Homelessness
Code, 2006). This is where non-governmental entities like grant making charities and
trusts provide services. Therefore funding is allocated federally and locally, which
emphasized local autonomy.
Comparing Policies Allocation

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When looked through the scope of allocation these policies differ from one
another. The Hearth Act placed more focus on cost effectiveness due to the emphasis on
repurposing existing programs to save money (Hearth, 2013). They also used competitive
care grants to reward communities that showed their services were effective. This creates
an unbalanced scale where some communities do not receive necessary funds to combat
homelessness.
The United Kingdoms Homelessness Act of 2002 has more of an emphasis social
effectiveness because services are provided to every citizen. Now services do differ
greatly based on these policies criteria, however every single citizen can receive some
type of help. This differs from the Hearth Act because you needed to meet a certain
criteria to obtain any amount of services, which emphasizes social effectiveness.
However these two polices do have a few things in common. They both reformed
previous policies in their respective countries, which broadened the measures eligibility
of services. Each policy also has an emphasis on families, which is displayed by the
amount of services that they receive. Despite these similarities the two policies still differ
in their allocation. The Hearth Act focuses more on cost effectiveness, while the
Homelessness Act of 2002 emphasizes social effectiveness.
Comparing Policies Provisions
In my paper for the Hearth Act I stated that it emphasized freedom of choice for
communities, but it socially controlled the individuals of each community. The same goes
for The Homelessness Act of 2002. Each district is allowed the flexibility to determine
the specific needs of their homeless population. However the citizens of the United

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Kingdom are controlled by the housing authorities decision of what category they fit into.
Citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom are controlled because the types of
services depend on the policies requirements. Providing better services to those who are
seen as facing a more difficult homeless existence displays the focus of social control that
both policies embrace.
Comparing Policies Delivery
These policies are similar in the way in which they deliver their services. The
Hearth Act has communities deliver services directly to their homeless population. This is
the same for the Homelessness Act of 2002 where districts delivery services directly to
their homeless population. Other organizations are involved in implementation of
services for the Homelessness Act of 2002, but they are all local entities. Each policy
places the responsibility on the communities to deliver services, which makes both
policies delivery method freedom of dissent.
Comparing Policies Financing
The Hearth Act is provided funds by the secretary of housing and Urban
development, which is a part of the executive branch of the federal government. The
money then gets passed onto communities who provide services for its homeless
population. The Homelessness Act of 2002 also has the Federal government provide
money to districts after a homelessness strategy has been finalized. Each of these policies
receives financial contributions federally and locally making its financing method local
autonomy.
My Policies Allocation

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My policy to fight homelessness is called the Combat Homelessness Act, and it

will emphasize social effectiveness. It is similar to the Homelessness Act of 2002 because
it provides services to anyone who meets the eligibility requirements. However there will
be no priority need and all homeless people will receive the type of services they need.
Eligibility will be the same as the United Kingdoms policy, which excludes services from
non-citizens and people with behavioral issues. However a person with behavioral
problems will be temporarily housed as they go through training specific to their
behavioral problem. They will remain in temporary housing until the training is finished,
or they will be asked to leave if progress is not being made. This policy will benefit all
citizens, and the numerous organizations that will be conducting these different trainings.
My policy will emphasize social effectiveness because efficient help will be provided to
all citizens.
My Policies Provisions
The Combat Homelessness Act will emphasize freedom of choice for the local
communities and the people who live there. Communities are going to provide the
services for all people who are homeless with no regulations based on the reasons you
became homeless. Things like pregnancy, mental illness, and old age will not allocate
better services to one person or another. Freedom of choice is emphasized because people
will be able to apply for services that are specific to their needs.
My Policies Delivery

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The Combat Homelessness Act will allow communities to provide services

directly to its population. Services are offered by the community for the people of that
community, which displays freedom of dissent for the delivery method.
My Policies Financing
Funding for the Combat Homelessness Act will be provided from the federal
government to each community. The amount of funding each community receives will be
based off the total homeless population, and the composition of their homeless
population. Composition will play a role in funding because this policy offers help to
people who are homeless for any reason. The cost of services for homeless addicts will
vary from homelessness due to old age. The government will distribute the necessary
funds to each community once they provide a detailed report to them. All of the funds are
coming from the federal government making centralization the method for financing.
Equality
The Combat Homelessness Act broadens services and eligibility for the homeless
population, which emphasizes equality. The only people to be declared ineligible for this
act are those who are not citizens. This policy includes all homeless people with zero
emphasis on the reasons they became homeless. Therefore this policy emphasizes
equality because all homeless citizens are eligible for services.
Social Work Values
The social worth polices most evident in this policy are social justice and dignity
and worth of a person. Social justice is emphasized because this policy provides an

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oppressed population with the access to services. Dignity and worth are displayed by the
American standard that everyone should have a permanent place to call home. It also
allows each homeless person the right to self-determination because they decide if and
what type of help to receiver.
Passing the Policy
The first thing I would do to pass this policy is taking a look at what interest
groups were interested in fighting homelessness. We would then work together and come
to an understanding on what this population needs. Once the plan is finalized we would
look for Michigan members of congress who are interested in helping the homeless
population. We would contact them and pitch our idea for a new federal policy, and then
we would work together to finalize the bill. This member of congress would then
introduce the piece of legislations and it would hopefully become law.
The challenges this policy will face are due to how expensive implementation
would be. Taxpayers could be against it due to the fact that it will raise taxes. I just dont
see such a costly policy being adopted by that many politicians. This would be a
nightmare for any politician who planned to run for office again. The people may also be
against it because a lot of housing would have to be built in order to house that many
people. People may not love the idea of an apartment building for the homeless in their
community. Arguments would be made about devaluing their homes, and they simple
dont want to live among the riff-raff. The amount of backlash a politician would
receive from such an expensive policy explains why policies emphasizing social effective
are rare in this country.

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References
Definition and Numbers of UK Homeless. N.p.: n.p., 2015. Web. 19 Nov.
2015. <www.crisis.org.uk/pages/homeless-def-numbers.html>.
Homelessness Act 2002 Explanatory Notes. N.p.: n.p., 2002. Web. 19
Nov. 2015. <http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/7/notes?
view=plain>.
Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities. N.p.: n.p., 2006.
Web. 19 Nov.
2015.<https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach
ment_data/file/7841/152056.pdf>.
HEARTH and Your Community. N.p.: n.p., 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.
<http://usich.gov/member_agency/department_of_housing_and_urban_
development/hearth/>.

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