An Auburn Professor’s Role in Ending Homelessness
Have you ever walked down the street of your home town or even another and seen a man, woman, for family sleeping on the street? How does it make you feel? At any given time, there are around six hundred thousand homeless, or those without a permanent home.
Some reasons that the problem of homelessness exists and ceases to improve is that housing costs continue to rise while the wages for lower skilled workers remains the same. However, the most prominent cause is simply poverty. These people constantly face depravation and a threat of harm, causing them to spend more time in the hospital or the local jail. Most are victims of violent crimes and a handful lack the medical care that they need. Sadly, the fastest growing group of homeless people is families. They now make up one third of the homeless population.
Although shelters provide the much needed housing and care for the homeless, they are only temporary. The main step in solving this problem is to involve the local government. The homeless usually qualify for public assistance, so public agencies need to get involved. Also, a “gap analysis� would be beneficial to determine the character of the homeless and potentially homeless, the services most needed, and how best to provide those services.
There are many organizations such as the Alpha Project that serves many homeless in need and provides them with the care they deserve. This organization has recognized the problem that homelessness creates and is seeking to turn it around.
Likewise, a social work professor at Auburn University, Doctor Carole Zugazaga has also recognized this problem. She made the decision to take the semester off from teaching to do research on the problem of homelessness for Alabama. The state provided her with a grant so that she could take on this research project. The study mainly focuses on homeless women with young children and the effects of growing up in this environment. After all of the research is done and the evidence gathered, experts will look at the findings and use the information to create new policies for Alabama.
Although the semester has just begun, Dr. Z looks forward to the difference that her research will make in the lives of those that are homeless.
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