tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/hud-36121/articlesHUD – The Conversation2022-10-04T19:31:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1917252022-10-04T19:31:45Z2022-10-04T19:31:45ZRecovery from a disaster like Hurricane Ian takes years, and nonprofits play many pivotal roles before and after FEMA aid runs out<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487890/original/file-20221003-14-gj3pmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=181%2C71%2C5086%2C3096&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The rebuilding in places like Matlacha, Fla., won't happen overnight.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXTropicalWeatherFlorida/66355fb223d34b6aaadc61999c9f4c31/photo?boardId=37be9465fcce45d283d5431cccb20a6a&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=300&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Gerald Herbert</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Massive <a href="https://www.npr.org/live-updates/hurricane-ian-path-south-carolina-2022-09-30">storms like Ian</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/02/1126462352/puerto-rico-hurricane-fiona-luma-energy-power-outages">Fiona</a> mark the beginning of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-takes-years-to-fully-recover-from-big-storms-like-sandy-118381">long and frustrating process</a> for anyone who loses their home and possessions.</p>
<p>Recovery usually takes years.</p>
<p>Everyone’s experience is unique, but I’ve noticed some common patterns <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tvPBT_MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">while researching disaster recovery</a>. Understanding this complex process, which includes dozens of nonprofit and government programs – along with what resources are available and how aid is distributed – can benefit survivors and those who want to help them.</p>
<h2>Initial relief</h2>
<p>At first, relatives, friends and neighbors may provide basic necessities like shelter, child care, transportation, food and water. They might assist with debris removal.</p>
<p>In addition, nonprofits, religious institutions and groups of volunteers flock to affected areas. They remove debris, <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/help-from-north-texas-headed-to-hurricane-damaged-florida/3085143/">place tarps on houses</a> and <a href="https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/non-profit-organizations-asking-for-donations-to-help-those-impacted-by-hurricane-ian/">clean flooded properties</a>.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63254-4_6">clusters of do-gooders</a> often <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2022/09/30/crisis-cleanup-hotline-helps-with-debris-removal-following-ians-aftermath/">respond to requests</a> via organizations that match disaster survivors with volunteers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265311797_Social_support_in_the_aftermath_of_disasters_catastrophes_and_acts_of_terrorism_Altruistic_overwhelmed_uncertain_antagonistic_and_patriotic_communities">Once this support dissipates</a>, everything gets much harder – including emotionally. </p>
<h2>Where rebuilding funds come from</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/flood-risk-ratings-translating-risk-to-future-costs-helps-homebuyers-and-renters-grasp-the-odds-186798">Homeowner and flood insurance</a>, supplemented by savings, are <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-111819.html">the most common sources of money for rebuilding</a> housing destroyed or damaged by disasters.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, <a href="https://www.nahb.org/blog/2022/04/building-materials-prices-start-2022-with-8-percent-increase">rising building costs</a> and housing values have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/realestate/homeowners-flood-insurance.html">exacerbated underinsurance</a> – leaving more people without the right kind of insurance or too little coverage. And <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/picks/heres-exactly-how-much-americans-have-in-savings-at-every-age-and-yikes-heres-what-they-should-have-01659384531">most Americans have less than US$7,000</a> saved up.</p>
<p>Replacing demolished homes <a href="https://www.carriermanagement.com/brand-spotlight/corelogic/reconstruction-often-costs-new-construction/">usually costs more than new construction</a>. Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that builds and renovates homes for people unable to afford them, <a href="https://www.habitatcd.org/news/cost-to-build">spends up to $100,000 per house</a>. That is likely less than an individual would pay because of Habitat’s ability to get discounted supplies and its reliance on volunteer labor.</p>
<p>Even those with insurance covering home reconstruction must document all losses and contact insurers right away – starting what could be years of paperwork for reimbursements and applications for several kinds of aid.</p>
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<h2>FEMA’s role</h2>
<p>Survivors can get up to <a href="https://news.wgcu.org/2022-09-30/federal-disaster-declaration-for-hurricane-ian-impacted-counties-opens-door-for-fema-financial-assistance">$37,900 for home repairs</a> beyond what their insurance covers from the <a href="https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a>. FEMA also may provide up to $37,900 in individual assistance funds to meet other needs.</p>
<p>Known as IA, these funds can pay for things like child care, funeral expenses, medical costs and furniture after most federally declared disasters. Eligible expenses must be directly linked to the disaster and not covered by insurance or savings.</p>
<p>Survivors <a href="https://www.floridadisaster.org/info/">apply online or at disaster resource centers</a>, which operate in local community centers, gyms or arenas. These temporary offices are one-stop shops where residents learn about and apply for government and nonprofit recovery programs. </p>
<p>I have seen this process frustrate or overwhelm survivors. They find FEMA paperwork grueling because of the details, records and time required.</p>
<p>Even if you qualify for the maximum $37,900 <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/11/15/2021-24755/notice-of-maximum-amount-of-assistance-under-the-individuals-and-households-program">available in 2022</a>, it is unlikely to fully cover rebuilding costs. And most applicants receive less than that.</p>
<p>Some survivors get only a one-time $500 payment from FEMA to cover what it calls “<a href="https://www.fema.gov/news-release/20200220/bhrany-drwryat-myn-aant">critical needs</a>.”</p>
<p>After <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02692-8">Hurricane Harvey struck Texas and Louisiana</a> in 2017, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/29/houston-hurricane-harvey-fema-597912">claimants received an average of about $4,000</a>. In addition, <a href="https://texaslawhelp.org/article/appealing-a-fema-decision">FEMA regularly denies claims</a>. In those cases, FEMA asks disaster survivors for additional documentation if they wish to appeal. Survivors can also appeal to FEMA to increase the amount they were awarded.</p>
<p>Survivors don’t repay FEMA’s individual assistance program if they <a href="https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/after-applying">follow all guidelines</a>, such as not using housing funds to get a car. They can also apply for a <a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance">Small Business Administration</a> loan to help cover recovery costs for their home or business. </p>
<p>FEMA individual assistance and SBA loan programs usually stop accepting new applications 18 months after a disaster. </p>
<p>People with adequate insurance coverage and enough savings – and who qualify for FEMA grants and Small Business Administration loans – often rebuild their homes as quickly as within six months and generally within two years.</p>
<p>Those ineligible for FEMA’s aid, or those who need more help than it offers, can turn to nonprofits.</p>
<h2>Nonprofits step in</h2>
<p>Many nonprofits aim to support many disaster survivors’ needs, such as housing, mental and physical health care, transportation and employment. They also help survivors file FEMA appeals.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nvoad.org/all_resources/project-comeback-texas-hurricane-harvey-dcmp-final-report/">Several national nonprofits</a> are experts at disaster case management, helping survivors apply for available services and funding. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/mennonite-disaster-service-accepting-volunteers-to-help-with-ian-recovery-in-florida/ar-AA12mVc7">Others assist with repairs</a> or complete home rebuilds.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.disastercenter.com/agency.htm">Faith-based nonprofits</a> like United Methodist Committee on Relief, St. Vincent de Paul, Lutheran Disaster Response and INCA Relief USA are among those providing or supporting disaster case management. Mennonite Disaster Services offers much-needed rebuilding and repairs small and large. These organizations stay in affected areas for years to walk survivors through recovery.</p>
<p>I study what are called <a href="https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research/nonprofit-coordination-and-managing-donations-hidden-keys-to-recovery">long-term recovery groups</a>. They coordinate and collaborate with local and national nonprofits to reduce the burden on disaster survivors so they don’t need to shop around for help at dozens of different organizations.</p>
<h2>HUD’s role</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315714462-14/understanding-disaster-recovery-adaptation-michelle-annette-meyer">Local and state governments</a> also play a big role. One way is through distributing the funds that originate with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbg-dr/">Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery</a> program.</p>
<p>Priorities and eligibility for CDBG-DR aid vary for each place and disaster, and this source of assistance helps more than just homeowners. Examples include issuing <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=tvPBT_MAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=tvPBT_MAAAAJ:YFjsv_pBGBYC">forgivable loans to landlords to rebuild rental housing</a>, rebuilding public housing, <a href="https://www.rebuild.nc.gov/homeowners-and-landlords/homeowner-recovery-program">buying out properties in floodplains</a> and providing funds to pay for the elevation of homes to make them less likely to be flooded in the future. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/why-does-disaster-recovery-take-so-long-five-facts-about-federal-housing-aid-after-disasters">This funding tends to take a long time</a> to access. In 2022, six years after Hurricane Matthew struck South Carolina and North Carolina, <a href="http://resilience.colostate.edu">I participated in a study</a> that found some survivors were still awaiting a response to their application for funds that would pay for either housing elevation or a buyout. </p>
<h2>Some never reach the finish line</h2>
<p>Some people never return and rebuild after a disaster.</p>
<p><a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LAORLE0POP">New Orleans’ population is smaller</a> now than before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. The city has <a href="https://www.datacenterresearch.org/data-resources/who-lives-in-new-orleans-now/">become more white and Hispanic</a> – indicating that many Black residents never returned.</p>
<p>Permanent displacement happens even in small towns after smaller-scale disasters. A research partner and I found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X211002910">12% of the houses in the town of West, Texas</a>, weren’t rebuilt within three years of a tragic fertilizer plant explosion that upended life in that community of 2,800 in 2013.</p>
<p>People who recover first are usually <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlo7lESKWIo">wealthy and white</a>. Those facing many hardships even before a disaster occurs <a href="https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research-counts/a-place-to-call-home-planning-for-equitable-post-disaster-housing-recovery">are more likely to never</a> fully recover, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-hurricane-ian-and-other-disasters-are-becoming-a-growing-source-of-inequality-even-among-the-middle-class-191637">because of inequities</a> at each step.</p>
<p>FEMA has <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/29/1004347023/why-fema-aid-is-unavailable-to-many-who-need-it-the-most">found inequities in its own aid processes</a>, confirming what <a href="https://homeland.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2021-10-27-HRG-Testimony-Peek.pdf">scholars have pointed out</a> for years. </p>
<p>Among homeowners, <a href="https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research-counts/beyond-damages-social-equity-in-allocating-disaster-assistance">those with high incomes</a> in predominantly white communities get more aid than others. Small Business Administration loans hinge on creditworthiness, privileging those with high credit scores and incomes. <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/contactus/menlo/seminars/1347">People over 65</a> may refuse to take on loans because they live on small pensions or Social Security benefits. </p>
<h2>Who gets less help – or none at all</h2>
<p><a href="https://today.tamu.edu/2022/02/10/disasters-can-wipe-out-affordable-housing-forever-unless-communities-plan-ahead-that-loss-hurts-the-economy/">Renters</a> get little of this aid, even though rental properties are the slowest to be repaired and rents rise after disasters because of high demand and low supply.</p>
<p>People who live in mobile homes, as <a href="https://constructioncoverage.com/research/states-investing-most-in-manufactured-housing-2022">many do in Florida</a>, have trouble finding aid to replace demolished housing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000357">Mobile home parks are slow to reopen</a> after disasters, if they don’t close for good.</p>
<p>Survivors who are <a href="https://www.americaadapts.org/episodes/undocumented-workers-wildfires-and-climate-change-with-dr-michael-mendez">undocumented immigrants</a> or were <a href="https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research-counts/preparing-the-whole-community-including-homelessness-in-disaster-planning">homeless before disasters</a> are left out of most government disaster recovery programs.</p>
<p>While nonprofits do make low-income survivors a priority, they work fastest with the <a href="https://www.wmpllc.org/ojs/index.php/jem/article/view/2421">owners of single-family homes</a>. Nonprofits rarely repair mobile homes, rental units or multifamily housing like apartments and condos.</p>
<p>As a result, it’s up to the state and local government agencies that disburse HUD disaster funds to assist with recovery efforts for people who reside in these kinds of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323940057_Post-Disaster_Sheltering_Temporary_Housing_and_Permanent_Housing_Recovery">affordable housing</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Annette Meyer receives funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technologies, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea Grant, and Department of Energy. She has served as an external evaluation consultant for National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.</span></em></p>Many government agencies help people whose lives are thrown off course, but not everyone is eligible or able to access that aid.Michelle Annette Meyer, Director, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center; Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1311222020-03-02T12:19:20Z2020-03-02T12:19:20ZEmotional support animals can endanger the public and make life harder for people like me who rely on service dogs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315378/original/file-20200213-11017-142jx8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C25%2C5585%2C3698&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. currently has no system to differentiate real service dogs from pets.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/angry-pitbull-growling-dog-1506315044">Cheryl Paz/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2017, Marlin Jackson boarded <a href="https://www.ajc.com/travel/delta-passenger-bitten-emotional-support-dog-couldn-escape-says-attorney/nYtlgO1rGbVMv68XekCWUL/">a cross-country flight</a>. When he got to his row, another passenger was already in the middle seat with an emotional support dog in his lap.</p>
<p>According to Mr. Jackson’s attorney, “The approximately 50-pound dog growled at Mr. Jackson soon after he took his seat…and continued as Mr. Jackson attempted to buckle his seatbelt. The growling increased and the dog lunged for Mr. Jackson’s face…who could not escape due to his position against the plane’s window.” Facial wounds requiring 28 stitches were the result.</p>
<p>Untrained emotional support dogs don’t just attack people. <a href="https://apnews.com/1a28f8e528424fdca2040ea8139e3014/Fake-service-dogs,-real-problems">They attack</a> highly trained service dogs, as well, sometimes <a href="https://psmag.com/news/when-dogs-attack-guide-dog">ending their working lives</a>.</p>
<p>I can relate. I am a visually impaired person partnering with my fourth guide dog over a 20-year period. In the past decade, I have increasingly needed to cope with clueless handlers allowing their pets to interfere with my dog’s work. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.usfsp.edu/journalism/about/faculty-staff/">professor of ethics</a>, I teach students to consider first the needs of the most vulnerable. I wish I could teach the same lesson to those who risk public safety with their ill-trained dogs, <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2020-02/Service%20Animals%20-%20NPRM.pdf">most of whom</a> are emotional support animals, a category <a href="https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html">not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act</a>.</p>
<h2>Dogs, dogs, dogs</h2>
<p>Over the past decade, <a href="https://bestlifeonline.com/emotional-support-animals">purported emotional support animals</a> have increasingly appeared in stores, restaurants and airports. While <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/airplane-mode/emotional-support-peacock-denied-flight-united-airlines-n842971">peacocks</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/30/travel/emotional-support-pig-booted-flight/index.html">pigs</a> and <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mcdonalds-kangaroo-beaver-dam-wisconsin_n_6623206">kangaroos</a> make the headlines, almost all the animals found in no-pet zones are dogs. Dog <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2019/07/23/emotional-support-dog-bites-flight-attendant-who-requires-five-stitches/#d150e632286e">biting</a>, barking, growling, urinating and defecating are top complaints, with one airline reporting an <a href="https://pro.delta.com/content/agency/us/en/news/news-archive/2018/february-2018/delta-service-and-support-animal-policy-effective-march-1--enhan.html">84% increase</a> in dog-related incidents from 2016-2018. </p>
<p>The influx of inappropriate dogs has also generated unwarranted suspicion toward the approximately <a href="https://www.guidingeyes.org/about/faqs/">10,000</a> Americans who, like me, partner with legitimate, trained guide dogs.</p>
<p>Animal public access in the U.S. is currently governed by a <a href="https://doi.org/10.5840/ijap20132716">patchwork system of inconsistent laws</a>, creating confusion for people with disabilities, citizens and, particularly, gatekeepers – the store managers, restaurant owners and building supervisors tasked with deciding which dogs should be allowed in their no-pet spaces.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="dog straining on leash walking a plane's aisle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315508/original/file-20200214-10991-3mu7vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Service dog or pet?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/student-guide-dog-max-a-golden-retreiver-puppy-pulls-his-news-photo/3146526?adppopup=true">Stephen Chernin/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Resource-material-Dog-Control-Guidelines-for-authorisation-to-certify-disability-assist-dogs">In</a> <a href="https://www.assistancedogs.org.uk/law/">other</a> <a href="https://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=239523">countries</a>, IDs are issued only to professionally trained service dogs who have demonstrated ability to behave in public. In the U.S., there is no such validation. As a result, pet owners have become <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOT-OST-2018-0068-12959">increasingly brazen</a> in fraudulently claiming their animals warrant legal public access.</p>
<h2>Service dogs versus emotional support animals</h2>
<p>The Department of Justice, which enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act, allows people with physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or mental impairments to have <a href="https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html">public access with service dogs</a> who have been individually trained to perform tasks that mitigate their owners’ disabilities. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/service-animals-including-emotional-support-animals">Department of Transportation</a> and <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/assistance_animals">Department of Housing and Urban Development</a> allow service dogs on public transportation and in housing, respectively, but also grant access to people with mental and emotional disorders accompanied by emotional support animals – untrained animals who need only to contribute to their owners’ emotional well being, as any good pet would. </p>
<p>Technically, the individual seeking access with an emotional support animal must have certification of a mental or emotional disorder, which is a much lower standard than the disability requirement of DOJ.</p>
<p>Some mental health professionals have been willing to attest to an individual’s “need” for an emotional support animal without having a professional relationship with them. And none vouches for the appropriateness of specific animals. </p>
<p>ADA service dogs may legally accompany their handlers almost anywhere. Emotional support animals may not. For example, emotional support animals currently allowed in aircraft cabins are not legally permitted in airport shops and restaurants. Emotional support animals allowed to live in college dorms may not go with their owners to class or the cafeteria.</p>
<p><a href="http://servicedogcentral.org/content/fake-service-dog-credentials">Online purveyors</a> of official-looking letters, vests and patches guaranteed to get dogs access in pet-free zones take advantage of the confusion between service dogs and emotional support animals, liberally <a href="https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/confusing-world-service-dogs">mixing the classifications</a>. They also <a href="https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/confusing-world-service-dogs">fail to mention</a> that the individual seeking such accommodation must have proof of a mental disorder. This omission, itself, is an ethical problem. </p>
<h2>A predicament for gatekeepers</h2>
<p>Gatekeepers have to weigh the consequences of confronting an individual accompanied by a dog. Denial of access to a disabled handler with a legitimate service dog can result in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/new-jersey-school-district-adopt-service-animal-policies-and-pay-fine-resolve-justice">US$10,000 fine</a> by the DOJ. The fine for a handler who falsely portrays a pet as a service dog or emotional support animal ranges from <a href="https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-assistance-animal-laws">$100 to $1,000</a> and happens only if the handler supplies identification or waits for the police.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="small dog in arms of woman in plane aisle with boarding pass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315561/original/file-20200214-11023-1djbzcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For now, it’s ‘all aboard.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/woman-carrying-a-dog-asks-a-jetblue-airline-flight-news-photo/685209852?adppopup=true">Robert Nickelsberg/Archive Photos via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is cheaper and easier for gatekeepers to just hope that questionable dogs don’t put patrons at risk. Airline attendants face a unenviable dilemma, as passengers cannot escape aggressive or stressed dogs in the tight confines of an airplane. </p>
<h2>Change on the horizon?</h2>
<p>There are recent signs that DOT and HUD are moving toward DOJ’s more stringent regulations. On Feb. 5, 2020, DOT opened a <a href="https://cms8.dot.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-seeks-comment-proposed-amendments-regulation-service">60-day public comment period</a> for a plan that would reclassify emotional support animals as pets and restrict free aircraft cabin access only to service dogs. HUD recently posted <a href="https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf">new guidelines</a> to help housing providers better determine animal access. </p>
<p>In my view, more federal intervention is needed. Medical documentation of disability should be the entry point for service dog access, just as it is for handicapped parking permits. Offering a nationally recognizable ID for service dog owners who voluntarily provide documentation would eliminate some fraud.</p>
<p>Ideally, a dog’s ability to behave appropriately in public should be proven prior to access and affirmed annually by testers, who use a public access test to verify a dog’s manners and handling of disability-specific tasks, such as that developed by <a href="https://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public-access.html">Assistance Dogs International</a> or those performed by all U.S. guide dog schools. </p>
<p><a href="https://guidedogusersinc.org/gdui-provides-comments-regarding-u-s-department-of-transportation-notice-of-proposed-rule-making-docket-no-dot-ost-2018-0068/">Some argue</a> documentation and testing is burdensome or a violation of disabled people’s civil rights. But physicians, who diagnose ADA-defined disabilities, already provide their patients verification for state and federal benefits. Behavior tests assure handlers their dogs can work in stressful situations. And ensuring public safety protects the civil rights of all people.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deni Elliott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trained service dogs are fundamentally different from emotional support animals – and certification could make sure the public understands the difference.Deni Elliott, Eleanor Poynter Jamison Chair in Media Ethics and Press Policy; Co-Chief Project Officer on the National Ethics Project, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1260922019-12-16T13:41:35Z2019-12-16T13:41:35ZTransgender homeless Americans find few protections in the law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305952/original/file-20191209-90592-1j9ifsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">About 12% of transgender Americans have experienced homelessness in the last year.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/homeless-man-on-walkway-street-city-1020727141?src=79baae1b-feac-4ed7-bda0-efc30cc20773-1-43">PLotulitStocker/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/22/pressed-transgender-comments-huds-carson-says-political-correctness-is-going-destroy-our-nation/">made news</a> earlier this year for his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/19/hud-secretary-ben-carson-makes-dismissive-comments-about-transgender-people-angering-agency-staff/">statements about transgender people</a>. </p>
<p>In a September meeting with HUD staff, Carson remarked that he was concerned about “big, hairy men” trying to use women’s shelters. It is reported that his comments upset the HUD staff in attendance, causing one women to leave the room in protest. </p>
<p>Carson later <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/22/pressed-transgender-comments-huds-carson-says-political-correctness-is-going-destroy-our-nation/">doubled down on his comments in a congressional hearing</a>, declining to apologize and saying “I think this whole concept of political correctness – you can say this, you can’t say that, you can’t repeat what someone said – is total foolishness.”</p>
<p>While his comments demonstrate a lack of understanding of the needs of transgender people, his agency’s moves to remove protections represent a real threat for transgender Americans who need shelter. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C_30wLoAAAAJ&hl=en">my research</a> shows, transgender people experience high rates of discrimination in housing and shelter services, exacerbating their already elevated rates of homelessness.</p>
<h2>Disproportionate risk of homelessness</h2>
<p>Discrimination and harassment in <a href="https://assets2.hrc.org/welcoming-schools/documents/WS_School_Climate_for_Transgender_Students_Data.pdf">schools</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2018.1500966">at home</a> and in <a href="https://theconversation.com/transgender-americans-still-face-workplace-discrimination-despite-some-progress-and-support-of-companies-like-apple-106140">the workplace</a> all contribute to <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/williams-in-the-news/beyond-stereotypes-poverty-in-the-lgbt-community/">high levels of poverty</a> and homelessness among transgender Americans. </p>
<p>According to the 2017 <a href="https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf">U.S. Trans Survey</a>, a survey of more than 27,000 transgender people across the U.S. conducted by the nonprofit National Center for Transgender Equality, 30% have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Twelve percent report at least one episode of homelessness in the last year. </p>
<p>Once they become homeless, transgender people are also likely to experience discrimination and harassment when seeking shelter services. A study by the Center for American Progress found that <a href="https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/06113001/HomelessTransgender.pdf">21% of shelters refuse to serve transgender women</a>.</p>
<p>While in a shelter, 70% of U.S. Trans Survey respondents <a href="https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf">reported harassment, sexual or physical assault</a> due to their transgender identity.</p>
<p>This discrimination makes transgender people hesitant to seek shelter – more than a quarter of <a href="https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf">respondents</a> reported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1244449">avoiding staying in shelter</a> due to fear or mistreatment.</p>
<h2>Best practices</h2>
<p>There is a small but growing body of literature on the experiences and needs of transgender people living in homeless shelters. </p>
<p>Organizations that work on LGBTQ housing access, such as the <a href="https://transequality.org/">National Center for Transgender Equality</a> and <a href="https://truecolorsunited.org/">True Colors United</a>, recommend that shelters respect clients’ <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1300/J134v10n02_05">self-identified gender</a> as best practice for housing transgender clients. </p>
<p>In practice, <a href="https://silbermanscsg.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Cisgenderism_ProgrammaticBarriers-3.pdf">this can include</a> housing clients in the dorm of their self-identified gender; offering private living and bathing spaces; training shelter staff about transgender identities; and adopting inclusive language in administrative paperwork, such as intake forms. </p>
<p>Recognizing both the high levels of need and the unique challenges faced by transgender people experiencing homelessness, the National Coalition for the Homeless <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1300/J134v10n02_05">adopted a nondiscrimination policy in 2003</a>, which protects people on the basis of gender identity and expression. </p>
<p>In 2016, HUD implemented new regulations to protect transgender people from discrimination in housing services. The <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2016-09-21/2016-22589">Gender Identity Rule</a> clarified policies for single-gender shelter facilities with shared sleeping or living spaces. </p>
<p>It required all HUD funding recipients to respect the gender identity of transgender clients, housing them in facilities that align with their gender identity rather than their birth sex. It also removed a previous prohibition against asking about clients’ gender identity, allowing providers to ask about gender identity and house clients accordingly. </p>
<p>The rule included extensive guidance of how to safely house transgender clients, including information about bathroom facilities and how to deal with concerns or harassment from other clients.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305953/original/file-20191209-90580-1hddfs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Richard Vogel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Weakened regulations</h2>
<p>While the Gender Identity Rule provided important protections, I also see significant weaknesses. </p>
<p>The nondiscrimination protections apply only to organizations which receive federal funding. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/shelter-says-it-beat-back-rule-it-take-transgender-women-n1060721">Some shelters</a> are run and funded by private, and often religious, organizations, and therefore do not have to follow this rule. </p>
<p>Enforcement mechanisms are also weak. Individuals who have experienced discrimination may <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint">submit a complaint</a> to HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. However, people experiencing homelessness may not be aware of their rights or have the capacity to submit a complaint while struggling to meet their basic needs. </p>
<p>What’s more, the protections that this rule offers may soon be undone.</p>
<p>In May, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/22/hud-homeless-transgender-1468568">HUD proposed</a> a new rule that would give housing providers who get federal funding the right to establish their own policies regarding how to house transgender clients. The proposed rule states that organizations may use a client’s sex to make decisions about where and how to house them, without providing any guidance about how to determine an individual’s sex.</p>
<p>The proposed rule is now working its way through the regulatory process, with advocacy groups meeting with HUD to discuss its potential impact. It is also supposed to go through a period of public comment.</p>
<p>HUD has also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/us/ben-carson-hud-fair-housing-discrimination.html">scaled back enforcement</a> of the Fair Housing Act, which protects against discrimination in housing based on race, religion, sex, ability, and other protected classes, by freezing investigations into discriminatory practices. This freeze includes investigations into discrimination against parolees and former inmates, people with disabilities and racial or ethnic minorities. </p>
<p>The administration’s decision to halt these investigations implies that they do not consider nondiscrimination protections to be a priority. That can further endanger transgender people experiencing discrimination in shelters and housing services. </p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonah DeChants does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Transgender people experience high rates of discrimination in housing and shelter services.Jonah DeChants, Postdoctoral Fellow in Social Work, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1096912019-01-14T11:41:43Z2019-01-14T11:41:43ZThe 2019 government shutdown is just the latest reason why poor people can’t bank on the safety net<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253579/original/file-20190114-43510-fx8i4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unreliable policies can make poverty more stressful.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/adult-woman-sitting-look-worried-on-728818369">Rawpixel/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I conduct a lot of in-depth interviews with people like a woman I’ll call Angie as part of my work as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w2vYJJkAAAAJ&hl=en">political scientist</a> who studies poverty and public policy. When I asked the low-income mother of two, who works multiple jobs but still struggles to care for her family, about her experience with government assistance programs, she expressed dismay over benefit cuts.</p>
<p>“The people who make these rules … they don’t have any poor people in their family,” she told me. “That is why they are willing to chop so many services for the poor.” </p>
<p>People living in poverty are now bracing for that kind of chopping as a result of the partial government shutdown that began in December. By the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/government-shutdown-are-food-stamps-snap-wic-benefits-paid-2019-1">three-week mark</a>, most safety-net benefits were still being funded. But should the impasse drag on, that could change.</p>
<p>In my view, the added <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/19/16907138/government-shutdown-2018">economic hardship</a> brought on would highlight an enduring aspect of American public policy: Government benefits can be <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/privatizing-risk-without-privatizing-the-welfare-state-the-hidden-politics-of-social-policy-retrenchment-in-the-united-states/9EE821F912D000130BC9C6094C4B2686">unreliable</a>. They can be <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/dismantling-the-welfare-state/1EF58A90413CCE29F65E0E99F9138DC2">cut</a> or eliminated arbitrarily. </p>
<h2>Fragmented help</h2>
<p>As I’ve explained in a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fragmented-democracy/9A69DF1567190EF38883D4766EBC0AAC">book published in 2018</a>, the nation’s systems for aiding Americans who have trouble making ends meet are fragmented. Different programs housed in multiple agencies serve distinct populations, with all of this happening in different ways across states and localities.</p>
<p>That means government shutdowns do not sever all assistance at once. In this instance, Congress has already passed the appropriations bills funding agencies like Health and Human Services, so <a href="https://khn.org/news/how-the-government-shutdown-affects-health-programs/">Medicaid, Medicare</a> and many other programs that agency runs are relatively safe.</p>
<p>Other federal agencies are more likely to see their funds dry up during this particular shutdown, especially the departments of agriculture and housing.</p>
<p>USDA and HUD are responsible for many programs that directly and indirectly keep low-income Americans fed and housed. The USDA’s <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a>, more commonly called SNAP, helps more than 19 million low-income households. HUD’s Housing Choice Vouchers, better known as <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/about/fact_sheet">Section 8</a>, help more than 2 million American families struggling to keep a roof over their heads. </p>
<p>These programs, which together cost about US<a href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/pd/SNAPsummary.pdf">$83 billion</a> a year, still <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/blog/npr-series-highlights-need-to-strengthen-rental-assistance">fail to meet the needs</a> of all the Americans who live in poverty. But they nonetheless play a critical role in keeping the most vulnerable Americans afloat. </p>
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<p>On top of SNAP, the USDA runs housing programs that assist hundreds of thousands of <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/multi-family-housing-rental-assistance">rural renters</a>, <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/single-family-housing-direct-home-loans">home buyers</a>, <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/index">owners of small farms</a> and <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/farm-labor-housing-direct-loans-grants">farm workers</a>. In addition to its Section 8 vouchers, HUD funds and manages programs that help <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/progdesc/eld202">elderly people</a>, people with <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/progdesc/disab811">disabilities</a>, people with <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/aidshousing">HIV/AIDS</a>, and people facing <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/homeless/programs">homelessness</a>. </p>
<p>Some of these, such as three USDA programs that help rural people rent, repair and buy homes, <a href="https://nlihc.org/article/government-shutdown-now-third-week-impacts-housing-programs-and-tenants">are not operating</a> due to the shutdown. Others are <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/because-shutdown-more-1-000-affordable-housing-contracts-have-expired-n955971">jeopardized</a>. Yet more, including <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/usda-to-fund-snap-for-february-2019-but-millions-face-cuts-if-shutdown">SNAP, could be paused</a> in another month or two should Congress and the White House fail to agree on how to fund the entire government by then.</p>
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<h2>Constant change</h2>
<p>It’s hard for anyone to keep track of, but this patchwork of timelines is all too familiar to low-income Americans. A <a href="http://www.people-press.org/interactives/political-polarization-1994-2017/">hyperpolarized</a> political environment marked by ever <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kentucky/articles/2018-08-30/facing-shortfall-kentucky-mulls-ending-medicaid-expansion">shifting policies</a> produces volatility and instability for those who count on the safety net during times of need.</p>
<p>In my interviews with low-income people around the country, this unreliable nature of government often comes up. While people express deep gratitude for the help they get, they also say they can’t bank on it.</p>
<p>Getting public benefits was “becoming more of a struggle,” said John, a low-income disabled man from Michigan. “They’re cutting back on a lot of benefits for people and they’re trying to make it harder and harder to where you just give up.”</p>
<p>To be sure, I do not believe that any policies should be stagnant. But I do think that they should change to better serve the needs of those they target, and that they should only be phased out when no longer needed.</p>
<p>In contrast, the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/">Trump administration’s latest proposed budget</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/12/16996832/trump-budget-2019-release-explained">hinges on cutting</a> crucial programs. In some cases it would scrap longstanding anti-poverty programs like the <a href="https://www.lsc.gov/media-center/publications/2017-lsc-numbers">Legal Services Corporation</a>, a nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to help low-income Americans get lawyers.</p>
<p>If <a href="https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2018-02-14/donald-trumps-budget-doesnt-matter">history</a> is any indication, many of these proposed cuts won’t happen. Still, Trump’s budget sets the tone of federal priorities, leaving millions of low-income Americans uncertain of whether the government will continue to assist them.</p>
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<h2>Shutting down democracy</h2>
<p>When I asked Angie, who lives in Michigan, why her Medicaid benefits were cut, leaving her uninsured, she said that “it has a lot to do with politics.” I hear that refrain often.</p>
<p>Many low-income Americans know that their ability to access SNAP, Section 8 vouchers and other benefits depends on what politicians do. But that does not mean they are likely to vote for candidates who might make a difference in their lives – or anyone else for that matter.</p>
<p>Political science research has demonstrated <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/lessons-of-welfare-policy-design-political-learning-and-political-action/1BFEE6A53F8E201A9E836613AEF405AB">again</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122410363563">again</a> and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fragmented-democracy/9A69DF1567190EF38883D4766EBC0AAC">again</a> that negative experiences with safety-net programs can lead people to disengage from government, avoid the voting booth and shun the political sphere. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl">forthcoming academic article</a> that I co-authored with University of Missouri political scientist <a href="https://politicalscience.missouri.edu/people/haselswerdt">Jake Haselswerdt</a>, we provide statistical evidence that people are less likely to vote after public benefits get slashed or go away.</p>
<p>Likewise, many of the people I’ve interviewed told me they were convinced that they had “very little influence” and that “no one listens.” It’s hard to argue with their perspective, given how <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/blog/seniors-families-and-others-risk-losing-housing-as-shutdown-continues">vulnerable the safety net becomes</a> during government shutdowns.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamila Michener has received funding from the Russell Sage Foundation and from the Institute for Research on Poverty. </span></em></p>Medicaid and Medicare benefits appear safe for now. But SNAP food assistance and many other programs could be disrupted.Jamila Michener, Assistant Professor of Government, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/749142017-05-04T02:06:12Z2017-05-04T02:06:12ZHow funding to house mentally ill, homeless is a financial gain, not drain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167196/original/file-20170428-12999-1tq38sz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A director of a supportive housing center in Bronx, New York, talks with a resident and case worker in December 2015. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Housing-The-Homeless/7e77dac5a79f4ff4bd82a649b78cdcca/3/0">Bebeto Matthews/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Congress considers the federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2018 to reduce funding for services to poor and homeless Americans, programs with proven cost-effectiveness should not be on the chopping block. One such program is supportive housing for homeless people with severe mental illness. </p>
<p>Supportive housing, <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/federal_homelessness_appropriations">funded</a> and coordinated by several different federal agencies and nonprofits, provides homeless people who have severe mental illness with housing coupled with treatment and support services. There is no increase in net public cost compared to street and shelter living. </p>
<p>While it may appear that paying for supportive housing is a drain on the federal budget, research has shown that ending homelessness for the severely mentally ill <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/blog/entry/study-data-show-that-housing-chronically-homeless-people-saves-money-lives#.WQpSl2XScdU">saves taxpayers money</a>.</p>
<p>Because funding comes from several different agencies, it is hard to know specifically from the president’s budget plan how deep the cuts to supportive housing could be. Yet we do know that the president has <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/blog/entry/study-data-show-that-housing-chronically-homeless-people-saves-money-lives#.WQpSl2XScdU">proposed cuts</a> in funding to Housing and Urban Development by 13 percent and to Health and Human Services by 19 percent. Both these agencies provide significant funding for supportive housing.</p>
<p>I research mental illness and homelessness. Cutting funds to house the homeless would cost us more money than it would save.</p>
<h2>Supportive housing and the homeless mentally ill</h2>
<p>Since the 1980s, homelessness has plagued cities and towns across the country. Today, <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/SOH2016">more than a half-million people</a> in the U.S. are homeless. One in every three homeless people suffers from a <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/mental-health-awareness-here-now">mental illness,</a> which is often compounded by multiple health problems and substance abuse. </p>
<p>The homeless mentally ill are likely to remain undomiciled and without treatment for long periods of time. This brings a <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/180411/report.pdf">high social and economic</a> cost to society. Disabled by mental illness and unable to work, these individuals have little hope of exiting homelessness without public assistance. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167197/original/file-20170428-12992-78oqlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/homeless-man-sleeps-on-street-shadow-550369408?src=pC-uAbK8pmgde268AIvpnA-1-0">From www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>Beset with extreme poverty and disability, their inability to work renders them heavily dependent on the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218235/">largesse of government agencies</a> for disability income, housing support and health care.</p>
<p>The challenges facing homeless people in general are daunting. Security, privacy and creature comforts are in short supply. The daily burden of being homeless involves finding ways to assuage exhaustion and hunger, and to sidestep the violence and victimization that regularly occurs in life on the streets. An estimated <a href="http://www.nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/vv-29-1_ptr_a8_122-136.pdf">14 to 21 percent of homeless people are victims</a> of crimes, compared to about 2 percent of the general population. </p>
<p>Supportive housing, started in the early 1980s, has shown to make a big difference. Unlike the temporary respite provided by crisis shelters, it provides access to permanent housing, mental health treatment and support from mental health professionals to guide the adjustment from homelessness to stable residence in the community. </p>
<p>Supportive housing tenants must have a behavioral health condition that qualifies them for a federal disability income. Residents pay one-third of the cost of rent and utilities with their disability income (<a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/SSI.html">about US$733 per month</a>). The balance is covered by a housing subsidy provided through private or governmental sources. In some cases, eligibility for a housing subsidy is based on duration of street and shelter living.</p>
<h2>The numbers tell the story</h2>
<p>In concert with the federal plan to “<a href="https://www.usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/Ending_Chronic_Homelessness_in_2017.pdf">End Chronic Homelessness in Ten Years,</a>” supportive housing has helped to reduce chronic homelessness by <a href="https://www.va.gov/homeless/docs/2016-AHAR-Part-1.pdf">35 percent between 2007 and 2016</a>.</p>
<p>At an annual cost ranging from $12,000 to nearly $20,000 per unit, permanent supportive housing is expensive, but it is <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/cost_of_homelessness">substantially less</a> than the annual cost of a stay in a homeless shelter, jail or prison, or psychiatric hospital. </p>
<p>Some of the funding comes from the federal government, including from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care and from <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/home/topics/home-and-other-federal-programs/#policy-guidance">Section 8 housing subsidies</a>. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs also provide funding.</p>
<p>States including New York, California, Washington and Connecticut have helped to fund housing for people with mental illness, as have some city and county governments. </p>
<p>Other sources of funding include low-income housing tax credits, private foundations and charitable donations to nonprofit housing providers. The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion program provides <a href="http://centerforhousingpolicy.org/HsgandHealthcare_final.pdf">Medicaid reimbursement</a> for services provided to individuals in supportive housing.</p>
<h2>And the winner is…everyone</h2>
<p>Controlled trials <a href="http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/10.1176/appi.ps.201300261">conducted in the United States</a> and <a href="http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca">Canada</a> have found the majority of people who have had access to supportive housing remain housed for a year or more, showing greater housing stability than that among comparison subjects. In addition, individuals in supportive housing not only stayed longer but also had a reduction in subsequent homelessness and decreased use of emergency departments and hospitals.</p>
<p>Cost offset studies show that supportive housing leads to less <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/permanent-supportive-housing-cost-study-map">use of costly public services</a>. </p>
<p>A landmark analysis of administrative data from multiple public service systems examined the impact of supportive housing placement on 4,679 individuals and their use of the public shelter system, public and private hospitals, and correctional facilities. The <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2002.9521437">study</a> found that persons placed in supportive housing experienced significant reductions in use of homeless shelters, hospitals and time incarcerated. In fact, public service cost reductions following housing placement nearly offset the cost of the housing itself. </p>
<p>Significantly, supportive housing is <a href="http://www.endhomelessness.org/blog/entry/study-data-show-that-housing-chronically-homeless-people-saves-money-lives#.WQpSl2XScdU">nearly half</a> the average cost per year of $35,578 for a chronically homeless person. Part of the reason is that stable housing resulted in a <a href="http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca">shift in service use</a> from expensive crisis services to less costly community-based care. </p>
<p>Strong and compelling evidence indicates that supportive housing is a “win-win” for both the homeless mentally ill and the holders of the public purse. It offers people with mental illness safe and adequate housing and greater access to treatment, essential elements in their recovery. And it can lead to greater cost-efficient use of public services. </p>
<p>Currently there are not nearly enough supportive housing units to house the thousands of individuals with severe mental illness who are currently unstably housed or are at risk of falling into homelessness.</p>
<p>It would not make economic sense to cut funding for a cost-effective intervention that provides a solution to homelessness. Rather, what we need now is the public will to bring supportive housing to scale so that the most fragile among us might achieve stable residence in the community. They, too, deserve the opportunity for personal fulfillment and involvement in mainstream society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74914/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carol Caton has received past research funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the New York State Office of Mental Health, and the New York Community Trust. </span></em></p>About one in three homeless people has a significant mental illness. Providing housing for them has proved to be a boost not only to them and their communities, but also to budgets. Here’s why.Carol Caton, Professor of Sociomedical Sciences (Psychiatry and Public Health), Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/759062017-04-24T23:24:24Z2017-04-24T23:24:24ZWhat the Trump team should consider before axing Meals on Wheels funds<p>To justify President Donald Trump’s aim to spend less on social services, Office of Management and Budget Director <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/trump-budget-meals-on-wheels-funding-2017-3?r=US&IR=T">Mick Mulvaney declared</a>, “We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good.” Who can argue with that? </p>
<p>Not us.</p>
<p>Like anyone else, we want our taxpayer dollars spent wisely. Funding programs that “sound good” but don’t accomplish much seems foolish. Still, this principle is way too broad to apply to complicated budget decisions. Our research suggests that identifying the best spending choices is a lot harder than it sounds. </p>
<h2>Assessing social service programs</h2>
<p>Mulvaney brought up <a href="http://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/">Meals on Wheels</a>, a program that delivers meals to 2.4 million homebound seniors a year, while trying to give a good example of something funded through the Community Development Block Grant program that Trump is seeking to eliminate altogether. The grants “were just not showing any results,” <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/16/press-briefing-press-secretary-sean-spicer-3162017-25">he said</a> in mid-March.</p>
<p>The federal government <a href="http://origin-nyi.thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/324211-how-trumps-budget-cuts-could-affect-housing-for-thousands">spends about US$3 billion</a> annually on block-grant funds that states, counties and cities use to meet local needs as they see fit. This money helps make housing more affordable for low-income people, subsidizes child care and, in many communities, covers part of the cost of Meals on Wheels and other programs serving the elderly. </p>
<p>As public administration professors, we have studied how social service programs get assessed. In our <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/PMR1530-9576360101">research</a> at Binghamton University, we have surveyed and interviewed funders as well as providers of these programs to learn how they measure results and how they use that information once they get it. We found that each defines results in different ways and uses them in different ways, making it hard to prove whether government funded programs like Meals on Wheels “work.”</p>
<p>In one study, for example, we asked 20 funders and 20 providers the open-ended question, “Why do you collect performance information?” In a number of cases, interviewees provided more than one response.</p>
<p>What <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0899764014564578">we learned</a> is that providers often are more interested in improving their programs and becoming more responsive to the people who benefit from them. Funders such as the federal government, on the other hand, tend to prioritize making sure that the programs have the intended outcomes. </p>
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<p>However, there are risks to placing so much emphasis on results. This mindset can lead policymakers to a binary choice: Programs work or they don’t. Fund them if they do and defund them if they don’t.</p>
<p>To further complicate matters, social service organizations like Meals on Wheels must provide different kinds of performance-related information to each funder that supports them. Imagine the challenge, let alone confusion, these requirements create. For any one program, there is no single desired result. Each funder can judge a program’s success based on its own standard. </p>
<h2>Meals on Wheels</h2>
<p>Research about Meals on Wheels’ benefits supports our point. Should it improve nutrition? Provide companionship? Enable seniors to remain in their homes? Reduce health care costs? Without agreement on this program’s goals, there’s no single way to evaluate its results. </p>
<p>Mulvaney, for example, may care about one kind of result and the senior eating a delivered meal could care about another. The volunteer who delivered it and the local entity that handled the meal’s logistics might value yet other priorities. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166160/original/file-20170420-20078-2gpj31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Meals on Wheels deliveries can help seniors remain at home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/breadfortheworld/22308168625/in/album-72157659653884569/">Bread for the World/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Since the budget director made this assertion, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/us/politics/fact-check-mick-mulvaney-trump-budget-director.html?ref=politics">reporters</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-president-come-take-a-ride-with-meals-on-wheels/2017/04/07/1e8173d0-1893-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?utm_term=.4f9c8cb42160">op-ed writers</a> have countered what Mulvaney said about Meals on Wheels, citing studies about the program’s effectiveness. Brown University professors Kali Thomas and Vincent Mor, for instance, found that a mere one percent increase in the number of adults over age 65 receiving home-based meals could save Medicaid <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0390">$109 million annually</a> by making it easier for the elderly to age in place. </p>
<p>Other studies find that having volunteers visit the home-bound makes them less lonely, less likely to suffer falls and less prone to depression – positive outcomes that trim health care costs. If Meals on Wheels generates these benefits, why cut spending on it?</p>
<p>Troublingly, if the government scraps Meals on Wheels or other programs, there may not be a replacement. If that happens, the problems the program addresses persist but there’s no longer a plan to address them. Isn’t improving programs a better option?</p>
<p>Social service providers are on the ground and mission-driven. Results matter to them, but not as ends in themselves. Instead, they are motivated to learn how to make good programs more effective and more responsive to the people they serve. Yes, funders must worry about results, but in many cases, they should use them to learn how to improve programs, not as an excuse to end them. </p>
<h2>Budgetary confusion</h2>
<p>Since Meals on Wheels gets far more federal cash from the Department of Health and Human Services than from block grants, it’s unclear whether the program is in jeopardy even if Congress backs Trump’s plan to scrap the <a href="https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/trump-budget-community-development-block-grants-cdbg-cuts">Community Development Block Grant</a> and the <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/csgg-fact-sheet">Community Services Block Grant</a> programs. </p>
<p>But the underlying issue remains: Mulvaney seemed to assume that everyone agrees what it means to say that Meals on Wheels does or does not work, that he’s looked into the matter and has decided that the program doesn’t work. His confusing comments raised a question at the heart of our research. What does it mean when someone claims a program “doesn’t work”?</p>
<p>Certainly, tax dollars should pay only for programs that work. But that principle is meaningless without context. To learn what works, these programs need clear goals recognized by all stakeholders. While some government-funded programs may not work, Mulvaney and the rest of the Trump administration should provide compelling evidence before defunding programs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Campbell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trump’s budget director singled out Meals on Wheels as a waste of federal dollars. But identifying bad ways to spend taxpayer money is harder than it sounds.David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkKristina Marty, Associate Dean of the College of Community and Public Affairs, and an Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/708902017-03-01T17:32:05Z2017-03-01T17:32:05ZCan Ben Carson use the power of HUD to make America happier?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158380/original/image-20170224-23004-ro487l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ben Carson laughs, Jan. 12, 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Zach Gibson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Now that the Senate has confirmed Ben Carson to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it is worth considering one question that must be on Carson’s mind: Is HUD working?</p>
<p>There can be no question that HUD has enormous impact. With an annual budget of more than <a href="https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD/budget">US$30 billion</a>, it provides financial assistance or direct housing to more than four million Americans. We’d argue that HUD works well in helping low-income households find places to live. A HUD subsidy helps these Americans make ends meet and provides a lifeline that prevents people from homelessness. </p>
<p>But what kind of impact does HUD make on American cities? HUD’s budget also includes roughly <a href="https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD/budget">$4 billion</a> a year devoted to cities, largely through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Local governments and community organizations use these funds for emergency repairs, street work, parks and infrastructure. </p>
<p>Carson may want to consider whether this money is being used as it is intended. In the past several decades, HUD has handed over much of the responsibility for the identification of urban problems to states and cities. Credit and blame for whether those investments worked to solve those problems also fall to states and cities. Evaluating HUD’s success in this arena then becomes quite a challenge and requires looking at more than just federal investments, but also at the ways those investments have been directed on the ground by local and state agencies.</p>
<p>We have been <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078087410379099">researching</a> <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sunburnt-Cities-The-Great-Recession-Depopulation-and-Urban-Planning-in/Hollander/p/book/9780415592123">cities</a> <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10511482.2011.585164">in distress</a> for many <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18626033.2016.1188578">years</a> and went looking for innovative ways to measure the success of HUD’s CDBG program.</p>
<p>What we found is that listening to the social media posts of millions of urban residents can help weave a nuanced story of how this federal agency of 8,400 employees really works – or doesn’t.</p>
<h2>Urban social listening</h2>
<p>We began by listening to the “digital crumbs” generated by our collective internet searches and postings to social media like Twitter. We developed an approach called “<a href="http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781137594907">urban social listening</a>,” which offers a systematic, rigorous collection and analysis of these “crumbs.” This kind of careful listening can offer useful insights into understanding cities and the government’s role in addressing urban problems. </p>
<p>Research shows a solid correlation between positive sentiment and health indicators and outcomes. <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614557867">One study of every county in America</a> showed that Twitter sentiment was a better predictor of cardiovascular disease than any of the conventional countywide indicators like smoking or socioeconomic characteristics. <a href="https://www.lincolninst.edu/news/lincoln-house-blog/promise-twitter-data-urban-planning-0">Our own work in New York City</a> found that neighborhoods with the lowest sentiment (as expressed by the use of negative words like “sad,” “angry” and “upset”) also had the highest diabetes rates, self-reported rates of high anxiety and overall poor mental health. While public health researchers have understood these relationships for decades, the availability of social media data from areas like neighborhoods, or even smaller blocks, can help cities address and manage problems and evaluate interventions.</p>
<h2>Low cost data dump</h2>
<p>Digital crumbs are an attractive data source for the student of cities. They offer unparalleled volumes of data at a relatively low cost. Using millions of tweets from cities across the U.S., we have been creating rankings of the general attitudes and opinions expressed by the people who live in each city. We used a lexicon-based analysis of all words containing some form of sentiment. </p>
<p>For instance, the word “elated” generated a positive score, while the word “disgruntled” generated a negative one.</p>
<p>We used <a href="http://www2.imm.dtu.dk/pubdb/views/publication_details.php?id=6010">a lexicon</a> developed by data mining researcher Finn Årup Nielsen at the Technical University of Denmark that includes more than 3,000 words precoded for sentiment on a scale of -5 to +5. After totaling up all scores, we ranked the cities according to the degree to which the people in each city were expressing positive or negative sentiments. </p>
<p>One obvious limitation is that such an analysis relies on Twitter users. And Twitter users tend to be younger, more highly educated, urban and have higher earnings than the general public. Twitter users are also slightly more likely to be male and are disproportionately comprised of African-Americans and Hispanics. The data we collected will likely overrepresent the opinions of members of those groups.</p>
<p>We selected a sample of 65 medium-sized cities in the Northeast and Midwest U.S. that met certain characteristics, including having populations between 30,000 and 250,000 people. We found that people in these cities are, generally speaking, expressing positive sentiment on Twitter. For the average city in this group, the ratio of positive tweet scores to negative was more than three to one. </p>
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<p>The highest score was 11 in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The lowest was three in Reading, Pennsylvania. That means that in Minnetonka’s Twitter posts, we found a ratio of 11 positive words to every negative one. In Reading, there were three positive words for every negative one. While imperfect, analyzing sentiment words provides a window into a city’s overall happiness or quality of life. Although such an approach has limits, it’s certainly no worse than other more conventional indicators we tend to use like income or wealth.</p>
<h2>Any nudge from HUD?</h2>
<p>Turning back to HUD, we next asked how might we measure the impact of HUD’s programs on these cities? Most of HUD’s Community Development Block Grant spending goes to cities with the poorest, youngest, least educated and employed residents. Examples include Altoona, Pennsylvania and Elmira, New York. Using total CDBG dollars spent in each city, we looked at what impact that spending has on people’s sentiment online. In other words, do residents of cities where HUD spends more money send more happy tweets?</p>
<p>The answer is not so much. </p>
<p>Twitter sentiment is least positive in the highest poverty cities. In this limited data analysis, we didn’t see an effect of CDBG funding levels on people’s mood. In future research, we could get a more sophisticated understanding of that relationship with better longitudinal data and more elaborate statistical analysis. </p>
<p>In Carson’s confirmation hearing to lead HUD, he said “I believe we need to ensure that the help we provide families is efficient and effective.” </p>
<p>One way for Carson’s new HUD to monitor how its funding impacts the lives of people is to do urban social listening. This kind of receptiveness would be a good start for Carson’s plans to put the billions of dollars spent on HUD to better use.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70890/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Hollander receives funding from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Renski receives funding from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. </span></em></p>Part of HUD’s budget goes to improving American cities. Social media monitoring offers a novel way to judge if that money is being well spent.Justin Hollander, Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts UniversityHenry Renski, Associate Director, Institute of Social Science Research, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.