Homelessness is a public health problem. From rising housing costs, to discriminatory lending and leasing, natural disasters and mental illness, homelessness has many different causes and many similar effects: serious adverse consequences for physical and mental health across the life course. This chapter makes the case for homelessness as a public health problem, with chronic homelessness as scope of focus for this book. This chapter then introduces the main question of the book: if municipalities are the site of the U.S. homeless epidemic, what are municipal governments doing to address homelessness, and why? This chapter then outlines the role of governance structures in shaping municipal approaches to chronic homelessness, describes the governance system responsible for designing and delivering solutions to homelessness and chronic homelessness in the U.S., and the history of homeless policy in America. Finally, this chapter lays the roadmap for the book and subsequent chapters--
- | Author: Charley E. Willison
- | Publisher: Oxford University Press
- | Publication Date: February 24, 2021
- | Number of Pages: 256 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback
- | ISBN-10: 0197548326
- | ISBN-13: 9780197548325
