What’s Being Done:

Solutions

The government has developed many programs to help curb the growth of the homeless epidemic there are housing programs for those already homeless and many services provided for those on the verge of becoming homeless.

The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and The Federal Housing Act help low and middle class families get loans to buy their own houses. Without this government assistance many of these families would never qualify for a bank loan and would not have a house or any other place to call home.

The Urban Renewal Project is another program established by the government designed to clean up inner city areas. Money is given to the cities' local government officials. It is then put toward rehabilitating the inner city slum areas. This makes it more bearable to live there. Urban renewal Programs are being put into action in all of America's major cities as well as about eight hundred smaller cities.

The 1949 Housing Act was designed in hopes of providing cities with money to create public housing facilities. The way this works is that the federal government gives low interest loans to "public housing authority agencies" to cover up to ninety percent of the costs for the building and construction of these facilities. The government then grants subsidies to these agencies to make sure they remain financially stable.

The Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (FDAA) provides temporary housing for victims of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods etc. They give people shelter for as long as they feel is necessary until they are back on their feet with a permanent place to live.

Food Stamps is a government program meant to increase the food buying power of low income families and to help dispose of the extra food raised by farmers each year. Food stamps can be obtained by families whose income is lower than a stated level. Stamps are used in retail shops to purchase food so that low-income families can eat properly.

Medicaid is another program that is helping thousands of families across the U. S. A. It is designed to help pay doctor and hospital bills for families with low incomes.