Program Matters: What about people who aren't chronically homeless?

Jeannine Short, Sr. Director of Programs and Operations

 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) categorizes homelessness as either 1) chronic—defined as unaccompanied homeless individuals with a disabling condition who have been homeless for at least one year, or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years; or 2) non-chronic--the adverse.

 

Since 2003, HUD, along with four other federal agencies, have implemented initiatives with the very specific objective of creating permanent housing opportunities for chronically homeless persons. At an estimated cost of $52 million, the overarching aim is to get the chronically homeless housed as quickly and permanently as possible by providing rental subsidies and supportive services.

 

While HUD has done well to expand its definition of chronic homelessness to include families that have at least one family member with a disabling condition, it still excludes homeless families who do not meet this criteria. Too, with the release of the recent NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability), HUD’s intent to allocate the majority of its available funds to programs that serve the chronically homeless is becoming increasingly evident.

 

The future plight of non-chronic homeless families is unclear at this point, but communities would be wise to begin strategizing now. Perhaps applying the principles inherent to HUD’s mandate to create coordinated homeless services systems is the answer. Perhaps not. 

 

What is clear, however, is that non-chronic family homelessness is a reality that will not simply go away.