Cycles of Risk
People who grew up in precarious home environments are more likely to raise children in similar contexts, although that’s not necessarily their intention. The risk factors associated with homelessness are especially dangerous in this way; they get passed down generationally. Studies have found a strong relationship between the amount of childhood maltreatment and family dysfunction that homeless parents experienced and the amount that their children were experiencing. Poverty has also been also associated with child maltreatment, indicating that young people are growing up exposed to the same risks their homeless parents did.
For example, women who were abused as children are more likely to become targets for violence as adults through no fault of their own. If they have children with abusive partners, then their children are at risk for poverty, abuse, residential instability, foster care placement, and many other predictors of future homelessness, creating a cycle of risk that’s extremely difficult to break out of.
The Toiletries Delivery is enabling a couple of our HACA members to build, test, and develop a toiletries delivery service that fills the gaps they see in the existing homelessness system. This process is helping us understand how we can proactively enable people experiencing homelessness to help themselves by developing opportunities for them to help their community.
The Toiletries Delivery is enabling a couple of our HACA members to build, test, and develop a toiletries delivery service that fills the gaps they see in the existing homelessness system. This process is helping us understand how we can proactively enable people experiencing homelessness to help themselves by developing opportunities for them to help their community.
People with high capability are able to self resolve with the help of light services; those with high vulnerability are prioritized for housing. People in the middle are not receiving housing or enough services, leading to deterioration. They only receive support once they’ve deteriorated to the extreme.
Examples of prioritizing the most vulnerable:
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Coordinated Assessment selects people for housing based on a vulnerability score.
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Court Case Management provides the most frequent offenders with case management, treatment and housing.
Low Vulnerability
High Vulnerability
Walking Wounded:
This group of people receives minimal services and does not receive enough support to stabilize or self-resolve. People have to deteriorate enough to qualify for intensive services.
This group of people is prioritized for housing, case-management, recuperative care beds, and other intensive services.
Listen to Tina talk about Vulnerability and Homelessness:
Check out these other pages to learn more about why it's important to place humans at the center of system-design and and Leaders in Change: