The Federal Response to Homelessness and Its Implications for American Cities

The beginning of a dramatic rise in homelessness in American cities coincided with the election of a Republican administration under the leadership of Ronald Reagan. This paper examines the response of the Reagan Administration to the crisis of homelessness. The ideology of the Administration, its broad social-expenditure priorities, and its programs for health, housing, income maintenance, and human services which affect the homeless are investigated. The paper argues that the federal government, guided by conservative and individualist ideology, has (1 ) sought broad social-spending reductions and macroeconomic policies that have increased the risk of homelessness and (2) made minimal efforts toward directly ameliorating the situation of the homeless. The implications for American cities and their homeless populations include growth in the numbers of homeless, local fiscal stress, the expulsion of the homeless from skid-row districts, dispersion of the homeless from downtown zones, suburban exclusionary backlash, reinstitutionalization, and urban violence.