Chapter 25

I have found this Chapter by R. Alan Walks entitled "Homelessness, Housing Affordability and the New Poverty" one of the most enlightening chapters because he approaches the issues from slightly different angles. His "Continuum of Homefullness to Homelessness" graph of housing options available within both the public and private market helps to clearly illustrate how when even one of the options are removed - such as the closure/conversion of SRO units - the rest of the system feels the impact. When SROs close, the next available options are very limited and often only temporary. It also helps to show people at the lowest end of the spectrum can literally get bumped down a notch. As rents rise, more are forced to move into low-income housing, and the previous tenants must vacate. Walks' definition of the "new poverty" (poverty, unlike previous decades, that is brought on by shifts in the economy and low paying service jobs rather than the traditional reasons of mental/physical abuse, drug addiction, lack of employable skills) shows us how widespread the problem of housing will quickly become. Other models compare the difference between personal reasons for homelessness (mental health, job skills) and external forces (land inflation, low vacancy rates etc). Personal reasons explain help us determine who are at risk, but external forces will decide how many will be affected.