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| Tuesday, 2 December 2003 |
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In search of shelter The moving finger by Lionel Wijesiri Few human needs are more fundamental than the need for a home. We speak of shelter, along with food and clothing, as one of the elements for human survival. The significance of a home runs deeper than the immediate need for four walls and a roof; home ownership is often referred to as the fulfilment of our national Dream. Unfortunately, as the Government itself agrees, the dream of finding any type of decent, affordable housing, whether rented or owned, has become increasingly elusive for thousands of people in Sri Lanka. Spelling out his housing policy as one based on the million houses programme Arumugam Thondaman (Minister of Housing and Estate Infrastructure) said a few months ago that wider private sector participation would be sought in developing housing facilities in the future. He further said that the country needs more than seven hundred thousand housing units to fulfil the housing needs. At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Housing has assessed that by 2040, there would be a 24 million population and therefore 6 million housing units would be required. He has further commented that the rural requirement of 175,000 houses in the coming years would be met by the continuation of a housing programme already under implementation. On urban housing he anticipates that there is a requirement for 325,000 houses in the next four years. This grave problem stems from a shortage of lower-priced housing combined with the failure of incomes to keep pace with rising housing costs. As housing costs consume a growing portion of household income, families have less money left over to pay for other needs. Because families risk losing their homes, if they do not meet their rent or mortgage payment each month, they often must skip on other necessities such as food, childcare, or healthcare. In the worst cases, individuals and families who cannot afford housing face eviction from apartments or foreclosure on their homes and may become homeless. Others without homes of their own double up with family and friends or are forced to live on the streets. People working in entry-level or lower-wage jobs are the hardest hit by the affordable housing shortage. The dream of home ownership for these working families is far out of reach. Assistance It has been reported that the types of assistance homeless adults felt they needed most were help finding a decent job, help finding affordable housing, and help paying for housing. Few homeless actually receive help finding housing, likely because banks and other caregivers know it's unaffordable or otherwise unattainable for people of their social status. A minority of the homeless population is capable but unwilling to work - they may resent the minimal wages they would receive, if they could find work. It would be irresponsible if we did not consider that a minority of the homeless may be inherently "lazy", or liquor or substance abuse has made them so. In these cases, there is little help the system can offer that will bring about positive social results. In general, modern economists recommend a "tough love" approach wherein able people must work in some capacity to receive the benefits they seek. However, most people, including the homeless, are not inherently lazy. But our economic system does not adequately support those at the lowest skill levels, even if they are willing to work - leading to unemployment and millions of "working poor". Job training, education, trade schools, and other systemic economic incentives and welfare disincentives should be applied with whatever funds are available from private or Government sources. This will raise income levels overall and make housing more affordable. Slum dwellers It is estimated that by 2020, half the country's population will be living in cities. This should make the issues of urban sustain ability climb to the top of the agenda of any Government whether UNP or PA. Busy cities rely on the work of the urban poor to continue - people who keep the streets clean and the infrastructure up and running - yet these people are not afforded the many benefits that living in cities can bring. All our cities with high-rise buildings surrounded by slums or shanty towns are a well-known image, but it is a situation that needs to change for the growth of cities to become sustainable. These slums are unsafe and insecure, often with no sanitation or access to citywide infrastructure. On top of these problems of basic access, people in informal settlements face a raft of other difficulties. They are marginalized and isolated, and usually viewed as a problem to be dealt with, rather than a valuable resource on which the city relies. There is often conflict between the slum-dwellers and the municipal and local authorities. Many urban planning strategies for addressing poverty have failed at the national level. Municipalities and other local bodies have not been educated to understand and relate to grass roots realities, or to investigate the needs and ideas of the poor. Standards and policies borrowed from the foreign urban experience are not compatible with the social and economic conditions of the poor. By working directly with community groups, local bodies can create more appropriate and sustainable programmes, which succeed partly because there is a sense of ownership. Involving those living in informal settlements as contractors or maintainers in these programmes can also bring down the costs and ensure that even more people benefit. Programme What we genuinely need today is the evolvement of a programme consisting of few factors: 1 A low-cost sanitation programme, which enables low-income families to construct and maintain basic modern sanitation with their own funds and their own management. 2 A low-cost housing programme, which introduces appropriate building materials and components as well as building on the skills of local masons and builders. 3 A basic health programme for the low-income women in informal settlements, which focuses on preventive health education. 4 Women's work centres and small family enterprise programmes which build on production, employment, managerial skills and business integrity. Since the demographics of homelessness, and therefore its solutions, vary in every locality, ending homelessness will require the development of local plans to systematically and quickly re-house those who lose their housing. Localities can begin to develop plans to end, rather than to manage, homelessness. There are two components. Every Council can collect data that allows it to identify the most effective strategy for each sub-group of the homeless population. Second, Councils can bring to the planning table those responsible for mainstream as well as homeless-targeted resources. Planning Every Council needs solid information on who is homeless, why they became homeless, what homeless and mainstream assistance they receive and what is effective in ending their homelessness. This information is needed on a city- or province-wide basis, not just a programme-by-programme basis. This allows trends to be monitored to determine what is causing homelessness, to assess what types of assistance are available to address homelessness, and to fill the resulting gaps. At present, there is very little local planning to end homelessness, utilizing the full range of resources that is available at the local and state levels. Local Councils should also develop long-term plans whose goal is to immediately re-house anyone who becomes homeless. Such a system will involve agencies and programs far beyond the scope of the homeless assistance providers. Mental health, public health, housing and other agencies - both public and non-profit sector - should be involved. An integrated strategy for addressing homelessness will eventually be the result. With the growing need for affordable housing, accepted key strategies will need to be pursued with increased commitment in order to close the affordable housing gap. Working together, Government agencies, NGOs, non-profit organisations, foundations, and businesses can ensure that the dream of decent, safe, affordable housing for all citizens becomes a reality. |
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