ing and what people with low incomes can afford to pay for it, a growing number of people are excluded from having an adequate and secure place to live. “Local housing policy...like national policy, has been criticized as a cause of homelessness, becauseof (1) the redevelopment and conversion of poor urban areas and low-income housing intomiddle-class neighborhoods and commercial areas, and (2) a failure to provide new low-income housing”. (Greenblatt/Robertson, 9) For some, this is a temporary situation, for some an occasional situation, but for many it is a long-term situation. Government and homeless peopleDuring the Reagan Administration, homelessness was viewed as a problem that did not necessitate federal intervention. In 1983, the first federal task force on homelessness was created to provide information to local communities on how to obtain surplus federal property. However, The task force did not address homelessness through policy actions. (Blau, 109-132)In the following years, advocates around the nation demanded that the federal governmentacknowledge homelessness as a national problem requiring a national response. As a result, in 1986, the Homeless Persons' Survival Act was introduced in both houses. The act contained emergency relief measures, preventive measures, and long term solutions to homelessness. However, only small pieces of this proposal, were enacted into law. The first, the Homeless Eligibility Clarification Act of 1986, (Hombs, 67) removed permanent address requirements and other barriers to existing programs such as Supplemental Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Veterans Benefits, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. Also in 1986, the Homeless Housing Act was adopted. (Hombs, 67) This legislation created the Emergency Shelter Grant program and a transitional housing program, which were administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD. (Blau, 16)In late 198...
