Homelessness
A Guide to Selected Government Information Available at WIU's Government Publications Library
(Revised - 7/06)
Web version of this guide includes links to web resources.
Federal Government Information
Homelessness
This Department of Health and Human Services web page contains information about homeless assistance programs, publications, research results, and other materials related to homelessness. A profile of homelessness in America is offered.
Ending Chronic Homelessness: Strategies in Action
This final report offers the work plan, the findings, and the goals and strategies of the Department of Health and Human Services' Work Group, charged with the task of developing a comprehensive approach to better serve the homeless. 2003
If You Are Homeless...
This Department of Housing and Urban Development web page contains references useful to a homeless person, a volunteer, or a person wishing to learn more about homelessness. Options in finding food, housing, employment, health care, Veterans programs, and additional sources of information are given.
Service to the Homeless
As part of the Social Security Administration's website, this page offers reports, information on SSA programs, explanations regarding qualification of benefits and funds availability for outreach projects, as well as other federal and resource links.
HUD's Homeless Assistance Programs: An Overview of Grants and Eligibility Requirements
This booklet describes HUD's homeless assistance programs and its community planning process called Continuum of Care. 2005
HH 1.2:H 75/62
A Place at the Table: Homeless Veterans and Local Homeless Assistance Planning Networks
This guidebook offers practical approaches to help organizations develop partnerships and to access resources that help veterans make the transition from
homelessness to self-sufficiency. 2002
HH 1.6/3:V 64
Coordinating Resources and Developing Strategies to Address the Needs of Homeless Veterans
This guidebook highlights projects around the country that are effectively coordinating HUD funding with other resources in order to address the special needs of homeless
veterans. 2002
HH 1.6/3:V 64/2
Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve
This 3-volume set offers the findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients and includes a technical report, a summary, and highlights. 1999
HH 1.2:H 75/54/
Interagency Council on Homelessness
Congress established the Interagency Council on Homelessness in 1987 with the passage of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. The Council is responsible for providing Federal leadership for activities to assist homeless families and individuals.
National Resource and Training Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness
Operated under contract to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services, this is the only national center specifically focused on the effective organization and delivery of services for people who are homeless and have serious mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders.
Homelessness Among Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs offers assistance to veterans who are homeless or are at the risk of becoming homeless. This web page describes the services that are available.
Effectiveness of Federal Homeless Veterans Programs
This hearing on homeless veterans and the programs which serve them includes the testimonies of General Accounting Office personnel, representatives from several
community-based homeless programs, and a former homeless veteran who successfully reentered society. 1999
Y 4.V 64/3:106-17 microfiche
lllinois Government Information
The Homeless Prevention Program
The Illinois Department of Human Services Homeless Prevention Report provides historical and current information on the Homeless Prevention Program in Illinois. It
outlines fiscal year funding and expenditures, types of services offered, and the numbers of households served. 2005
ILLINOIS 362.5 HOME 2005
"Declining Sympathy For Those Who Have No Homes" and "Willie's Escape"
As part of a look at housing Illinois' poor, Declining Sympathy examines whether homelessness in Illinois is decreasing. Willie's Escape is a photo essay
depicting the life of a homeless Peoria man.
Illinois Issues Vol. 26, No. 1 January 2000 pp. 19, 24-27
Illinois 320.9 ILLI Vol. 26 No. 1
Illinois Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
The Illinois Emergency Food and Shelter program provides meals, bed and supportive services through not-for-profit organizations to homeless people or persons who are
at risk of becoming homeless. This publication reports on the goals, participants, services and outcomes of this program. 2005.
Illinois 363.8 ILLI 2a 2005
Legal Information
"The 'No Property' Problem: Understanding Poverty By Understanding Wealth"
This article reviews the book Reckoning With Homelessness by Kim Hopper. The argument over whether individual or structural forces cause homelessness is examined,
as are the relationships between this argument and arguments involving race and poverty. The author of this article concurs with Mr. Hopper in his assertion that only by
studying wealth and its reaction to homelessness can we understand poverty.
Michigan Law Review. Vol. 102, No. 6 pp. 1000-23 May 2004
Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987
In addition to providing the federal definition of "homeless", this Act protects and improves the lives and safety of the homeless, especially the elderly, the handicapped,
and families with children.
P.L. 100-77; 101 STAT. 482; 42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.
Laws Regulating Begging, Panhandling, or Similar Activity By Poor or Homeless Persons
This annotation compiles state and federal cases involving the validity of laws which regulate begging.
7 ALR5th 455
"The Education of Homeless Children: The McKinney Act and Its Implications"
This paper analyzes legislation and case law involved in U.S. efforts to educate homeless children.
West's Education Law Reporter. Vol. 140, Nos. 1-3, 2000 pp. 9-19