Captialize the National Housing Trust Fund. Provide vouchers to make the units affordable. And build the capacity on nonprofit organizations to do the development in both urban and rural areas.

Many homeless adults suffer from addiction and/or psychological disorders. Re-housing these individuals as well as trying to get them back on their feet will fail if the person is not equipped to deal with life successfully.

A challenge for single adults moving from homelessness to housing in the current homeless service climate is that there is a significant lack of after care wrap-around services for individuals who are not moving into supportive housing.

Temporary after-care will help individuals moving into fair market housing to stabilize and allow for clients and providers to work together to help subvert any crisis that may arise as a result of lack of daily living skills, etc.

Programs like the New York-based Ready, Willing & Able prove that it takes more than housing to end homelessness -- it takes paid transitional work and occupational training! Formerly homeless individuals need the means to become self-sufficient so that they can support their own housing. Thousands upon thousands of people have proven this to be true!

Expedited access to federal benefits for people with disabilities is critical to recovery from homelessness and from physical and mental health problems.

Different federal agencies have different definitions of homelessness. We need a uniform definition that incorporates services for people who are at risk of homelessness. Why wait until they've been homeless a long time before helping?

We need to recognize the funding issues permeating our mental health/substance abuse programs and correct them to reduce repeat offending and provide case mgt services to people on-site so it is immediate and accessible. Affordable housing with supports and work incentives for employers can help break the cycle of poverty and repeat offense, depression and recurring substance abuse. Revamp our system - it keeps people in poverty and destroys their hope for a future as productive members of society.

A safety net must be provided for single adults who are victims of domestic and/or sexual violence. Prevention of domestic violence occuring in the first place is also paramount.

Empowerment Centers that focus on education, linkage with community health and mental resources, job training and employment resources, and acquisition of daily living skills targeted in areas experiencing high rates of poverty, unemployment and homelessness would offer those who do not have access to traditional case management an opportunity to access assistance before a they experience a housing crisis.

Be pro-active in identifying individuals who are at risk for homelessness by focusing on income and health insurance in all the provider agencies, including health care programs, that service individuals. Revisit this issue at each encounter rather than only at intake.

This ensues that anyone working 40 hours in a week will be able to afford basic food, clothing and shelter (including utilities) wherever that work is done thtroughout the US. www.UniversalLivingWage.org

The income levels need to be lowered for individuals seeking assistance. The "working poor" or those receiving unemployment are still below poverty level but many times don't qualify for assistance.

Beyond providing mental health and substance abuse services, effort should be made to expand homeless individual's human capital. Homeless individuals in general often lack the necessary skills they need to compete in the job market. Current programs only allow for occupational training which often lead to insecure low paying jobs that will never enable the person to live independently. Educational programs should be developed to encourage and allow the homeless to pursue higher levels of training.

Homeless older adults face distinct challenges -- particularly since so many of them experience chronic medical conditions, or mental health issues, or physical disabilities, or a combination of these challenges. Further, they are unlikely to "get back on their feet"; that is, they are post-employment. The solution is to provide them with permanent supportive housing. This solution is in fact less expensive to society than the combined costs of shelter, emergency room use, incarceration, or nursing home placement.

Currently, full time students cannot live in a Low Income Housing Tax Credit unit unless they meet one of the LIHTC Student Rule Exemptions. Since homelessness is not current student rule exemption, a single homeless adult, 18 years or older, who is enrolled as a full time student, even if it's high school, must either drop out of school or become pregnant in order to live in a LIHTC unit! Clearly this was not the intention of the Student Rule but this is what happens becuase homelessness is not an exemption.

Access to SSA benefits in an expedited way, providing income within a few months, is essential to preventing ongoing homelessness and to promote recovery

The consequences of homelessness effect individuals and the community regardless of immigration status. Services are often restricted based on immigration status, yet the costs and consequences of homeless continue to be bared by individual and society.