Homeless Project

Name: Haylee Orosco Period: 4

WATCH Without A Roof (HOMELESS DOCUMENTARY), fill in chart below. Highlight your
answers in a different color.
Reasons people are homeless because of Reasons people are homeless because of
their own bad decisions: tragic life circumstances:
Rejected material items and did it by Parents ran out of money
own choice Cant afford rent
Doesnt like to work Abusive parents
Drugs Gets disowned by parents
Hard to get a job
Mental illness

What are things that people are doing that
really helps the homeless:
Give them food
What are things that people are doing that
ends up enabling them to continue bad
behavior:
Tell them things and do things to them
to make them feel worthless
Making assumptions

THE PROBLEM
1. Read and summarize this article. In your own words summarize the article and describe
in detail the homeless situation in Merced:
The number of people in merced that were counted homeless was 899 people, 876 people are
adults and 23 are children. The Continuum breaks up the homeless into subgroups to attack this
issue. 88 are veterans, 88 are seniors and 26 have AIDS/HIV. 65% are men, 38% have a
disability, 33% have a mental illness and 34% abuse drugs or alcohol. The Continuum of Care
10-year PLan to End the Homeless is about 5 years in and the numbers are still increasing.
2. Research statistics: Summarize 10 important statistics or facts (not opinions) about the
homeless in the US, California, or Merced.
The percentage of Merced Countys homeless is 17% higher than it was the same time last
year

876 homeless adults and 23 homeless children

The number of homeless in merced was higher at 592 compare d with 476 last year

The number of homeless in Atwater and Winton made up half of the increase this year from
2014

88 veterans, 88 seniors and 26 HIV/AIDS

65% men, 38% disability, 33% mental Illness, 34 Substance abuse

The number of homeless determines how much money the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development asks for from the congress.

Los Banos saw a slight decrease in homeless

Half of the citys homeless is there on a long-term basis while the rest are more nomadic

Merced County Veterans Services workers, Rescue Mission staff and others reported dozens
of people and families have been housed through various efforts in the past three months
alone

3. What seem to be the MAIN 3 underlying reasons why people are homeless?
REASON #1 : drug or alcohol abuse

REASON #2 : mental illness

REASON #3 : abusive parents

What types of things do people do that they think helps the homeless, but that actually
enables them to continue bad behavior?
They give them money,

What types of things seem to help the homeless in the short term?
Giving them food and drinks

What types of things help them in the long run?

Talking to them and helping them
Search the internet for examples of a city (city #1) that currently has a serious homeless
problem and another city (city #2) where they improved their homelessness situation:
City #1 merced currently has major homeless City #2 utah overall has helped improve their
problems: homeless situation:

What merced is doing that is NOT working is:
Taking down their shelters because the
homeless build shelters so they have
somewhere to sleep but people of Merced
take them down and that isnt helping them.
What Chicago is doing that is working is:
Launching a task force to reduce
homelessness citywide

8. Using the below links, summarize what is CURRENTLY going on in Merced regarding
homeless encampments and panhandling:

SUMMARY of what MERCED is currently doing regarding homeless:

Article regarding panhandling: Summary:
There are many panhandlers begging for many things throughout Merced which continues to
be a problem. Merced city council has finally set restrictions to the specific areas to finally
restrict many people from panhandling in our amazing streets, this is a step closer to closing
out the big panhandling problem in Merced.

Homeless camp closed: Summary:

The California Department of Transportation posted a notice on Kelley Ave and Highway 140
for the homeless who have been illegally camping there. This caused very much havoc to
many of the homeless who have lived there but many understand that this is the life they
choose and they just have to deal with change. There are many negatives and positives to
the kick out of the homeless but it a decision that everyone must deal with.

Merced County Ten year plan to end homelessness: Summary:

This document shows various steps to ending the homelessness in Merced County within 10
years, there are about 20 recommendations that they have recieved in to get where they need
to be to get rid of homelessness. Many of these might or might not work but with time I do
believe that Merced County will be able to be homeless free.

Proposed homeless camp locations: Summary:

There are various locations that are going to be set up in order to keep the homeless in
consolidated locations. They are very small in the map but based on the six of the map they
actually might be a good size for the homeless camp locations.
YOUR SOLUTION
9. My 3 to 5 step game plan to helping deal with the homeless problem in Merced:
Step/Description of step Estimated Projected outcome of this step. If this
cost to the has been tried in another city, include
city? that info here.

Visit homeless people 0$ It will end up good because you will

build up a relationship with the
homeless

Document how many homeless people 0$ Gives us knowledge to know what

there are happened

Give them a plan that includes medical 0$ Give us the knowledge to know how
evaluation the homeless are doing medically

Separate the homeless between 0$ We could help the groups individually

women, men and children

Segregate the homeless $17,000- Help with the their safety and help
$23,000 get them off the streets
Potential solutions:
Solution #1: Tough love: Direct homeless into drug rehab or mental health facilities but
do not give them money. Make it very difficult for them to reside in public spaces. Outlaw
panhandling. Stiffer penalties for littering. No animals allowed in bike trailers. Direct law
enforcement to deal directly with homeless and use existing code to clean up parks and public
spaces. Stop and question/frisk people with two bikes, etc.
Solution #2: Reform: Reform existing policies. Allow homeless to continue to reside in
parks and panhandle but make changes to existing codes.
Solution #3: Offer more services: Offer more programs. Food, healthcare, housing,
etc. Do not enforce existing codes.
Solution #4: Other:

CREATE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING HOMELESS PROJECTS (alone or with 1 partner)

Google Presentation including the main information from this worksheet.
Create a video (1-3 mins) (using WeVideo or other software)
summarize the homeless problem in Merced
clearly articulate your solution
uploaded to youtube or vimeo
Interview on video (1-3 mins)
Come up with 3 questions of your own
Film 5 people as they answer the 3 questions you ask
 uploaded to youtube or vimeo

Once you have your project

Put it in the DROPBOX
You are done, unless you want to present it for extra credit

For 50 extra credit points:

Attend a City Council Meeting wearing professional dress
Present your 3-5 game plan ot the City of Merced
The Merced City Council meets every first and third Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m., in the
Council Chambers located in the Civic Center, Second Floor, unless otherwise noted.
More info about the meetings
How to speak at the Meetings:
Fill out a Request to Speak card before the City Council meeting.
Turn it into a City Clerk at the meeting.
You will have 3-5 minutes to speak.
Request to Speak cards are available at the City Council Meeting and also at
http://www.cityofmerced.org/depts/cityclerk/default.asp.