The epidemic of homelessness in the United States could be wiped out if the federal government created more affordable housing opportunities, more jobs and provided more mental health and substance abuse services to get people off the streets and into a stable living environment.
That was the message from the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, which on Thursday wrapped up a San Francisco conference on homelessness."We need housing. We need jobs. We need services. At the same time, we need to respect the dignity of homeless people," said Jim Scheibel, mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota and chairman of the task force.
The conference, hosted by San Francisco's Mayor Jordan, was attended by some 100 people, including five other mayors, federal officials, local bureaucrats, service providers and formerly homeless people.
Participants mapped out a plan to combat homelessness in the nation, which they hope to present to President Clinton and Congress.
An estimated 300,000 to 3 million Americans are without permanent shelter.
Among the group's recommendations:
- Increase the number of housing subsidy vouchers by at least 100,000 nationwide.
- Raise the minimum wage to give workers earning a poverty-level salary a better chance to avoid becoming homeless.
- Provide homeless people who have problems with drugs, alcohol and mental health "treatment on demand." Now, programs often are full and those who need them must often wait months to get in.
- Protect the constitutional rights of homeless people.
Marsha Martin, who heads the Clinton-appointed Interagency Council on the Homeless, assured the group that its message would be carried to the nation's top policy makers.
"We have a president who is very clear that we must prevent homelessness and end it in our nation," she said.
Jordan said he hopes the president and Congress will come through. "I'm appealing to the federal government to make it happen," said Jordan.