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President Obama’s Council Crafts Plan to End and Prevent
Homelessness
By Torri Blanchard
Sojourner’s Truth Reporter
On June 22, cabinet members and
administration officials from the United States Interagency
Council on Homelessness, (USICH) presented President Barack
Obama and Congress with Opening Doors: Federal Strategic
Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which is the
nation’s first inclusive tactic to not only end, but also
prevent homelessness.
“It is simply unacceptable for
individuals, children, families and our nation’s veterans to
be faced with homelessness in this country,” said President
Obama.
The primary goal of the plan is to end chronic homelessness
amongst veterans by 2015, in addition to ending homelessness
amongst youth, family and children by 2020.
“It’s simply unacceptable for our country to have such a
vast amount of homeless citizens,” says Rev. Julian Davies
of Toledo’s University Church echoing the president’s
sentiments. “Nevertheless, this is a very noble and possible
goal.”
According to the plan, USICH, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor (DOL),
Health and Human Services (HHS) and Veterans Affairs (VA),
among others – have all joined together to manage affects of
and response to homelessness. The 19 member agencies will
work to create a partnership at each level of government to
record the effectiveness of Opening Doors.
As a result, the nation will have
accurate information to measure the success rate of the
strategic plan.
“Without a doubt, our government is
tackling the issue of homeless in a way that makes sense,”
says Davies. “Because of all the involvement from the
different levels of government, there will be proven data
that will let America know if the plan is working. If for
some reason the plan isn’t working, our government will have
numbers and information that will allow them to return to
the drawing board and correct what is wrong.”
In order for the government to reach
its 2020 goal, it is imperative that the following tasks are
achieved, which include:
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Increasing economic security
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Increasing leadership, collaboration, and civic
engagement
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Improving health and stability
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Retooling the homeless response system
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Increasing access to stable and affordable housing
According to Shaun Donovan, USICH
chairman and HUD Secretary, “No one should be without a
safe, stable place to call home.”
It will be a priority for community
organizations throughout the country to assist and play
instrumental roles in assisting the government throughout
the years. Homelessness is an issue that has the potential
to be prevented with the support and assistance of others.
“For those of us who are working U.S.
citizens, we can use our tax dollars towards the plan,” says
Davies. “The 2015 and 2020 goals are both very possible,
especially with the diverse amounts of agencies that have
come together to tackle the complexity of this problem.”
With a positive outcome from all of
the collaboration and hard work, the Council believes
America will see that partnerships not only make an economic
difference, but they also make a difference in the lives of
those who are need.
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