Essay Example on the American Dream: Struggling to Find Shelter

Introduction

The American dream is hard to find. Most of the time, the dream includes a house. For the majority of the Americans who struggle to find something for themselves to eat, having a shelter over their head becomes a near-impossible task. In recent time, both the federal and state governments of the United States has progressed into the 20th century and tried to implement the policies aimed at providing housing assistance in the form of basic housing. Recent studies have shown that the low income housing has grown tremendously over the past few years. Currently, about 1.3 million Americans reside in subsidized housing, while another 2.7 million are living in a public house, where the government provides some financial incentives. Despite all these, there is an urgent need for affordable housing in many cities across the US. New York is one of the most culturally diverse states in the world. Some of the towns and regions within the state have continued to experience a shortage of affordable housing, thereby posing a serious social issue of homelessness. Manhattan is one of the boroughs where people have continued to suffer from the inability to live in affordable shelters.

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I live in a neighborhood known as Harlem, a small residential community within the Manhattan borough. Harlem is a community made up of a population of about 144,705 people. Harlem is home to the Cotton Club, The World- Famous Apollo Theatre, and The Harlem Renaissance. My grandmother moved here during the Black Migration from the South to the North, where there were better opportunities for Black people. Harlem is an urban community, and many people that reside here are living in poverty. Demographically, the community’s breakdown by race is reported to be whites at 18.4 percent, blacks at 61.9 percent, mixed-race at 5.04 percent, and other (Hispanic) at 29.0 percent. The poverty and unemployment rate in this community has, therefore, contributed to an urgent need for affordable housing. This is the most pressing and priority issue, although there are other needs such as higher-paying jobs, education, job training, after-school programs for young children.

Community Needs Assessment Plan

The primary reason for conducting community need assessment is to determine how my organization can plan and decide the type of housing to provide in the Harlem neighborhood, based on the population’s current and future housing needs. Fundamentally, various components of the community needs will help us make decisions regarding how to focus our efforts for the affordable housing project. A closer look at the Harlem neighborhoods reveal that there is need for an affordable housing. Various questions help determine justification for this Program. Whether the new house is needed, what kind of housing is required, which household income levels need the housing, and wherein the community or region the housing is required.

Components of Needs Assessment

Population

According to the 2018 US Census, Harlem is an urban community found in the Manhattan borough of New York State. The majority of people who live here are poor. As per the race break down, whites were reported to be white at 18.4 percent, blacks at 61.9 percent, mixed-race at 5.04 percent, and others (Hispanic) at 29.0 percent. Ideally, this offers an indication of the diversity that exists within this neighborhood. The neighborhood consists of more than 300,000 residents and thus home for many people.

Supply of Housing

While the housing supply in the community may generally depict itself as high, the majority of the houses are not affordable for residents. The poverty and high rate of unemployment have rendered numerous people homeless. The increased influx of affluent families has displaced some of them into the region, which has grown the cost and economic value of the houses.

Demand and Affordability for Housing

Throughout the Harlem region, the majority of the people belong to the low to a middle class lower to the middle class. Majority of the residents that struggle and live from the small wages and salaries they receive on their hard-to-get occupations. In recent times, many affluent people have tended to move into neighborhoods to acquire and renovate the existing buildings. This process increases the value of houses and rents, making it difficult for the locals to acquire and benefit from the available houses. The rise in the economic value and property values increases the rent. Some of the residents that live here are being forced out while others displaced.

Housing Resources

The incoming affluent individuals and families have displaced the majority of poor residents. For the displaced families, they have opted to temporary shelters after being homeless. A closer look at the community reveals that there is available land that will support affordable housing. Additionally, there is little funding for developing low-income housing from private agencies, which are determined to ensure that every American can sleep under a roof.

How Assessment Addresses Accessibility and Cultural Sensitivity

This assessment will help address the issue of accessibility and cultural sensitivity. Ideally, affordable housing will help all the persons in the community, specifically those of low-income. It will also cover a group of people with special housing needs, as identified in our organization’s mission statement. This will include the homeless, elderly, homeless, and people with disabilities. Based on the fact that the neighborhoods are made up of people from different races and backgrounds, the Program will not discriminate against anyone based on these elements. Like most items, the houses show wear and tear over time. In any case, the structures are not well-maintained, the Program will propose a repair or weatherization. In some cases, demolition will be necessary to come up with good houses that meet the families.

Community Assessment Results

The assessment of the Harlem community reveals the presence of the housing as a significant social problem. The lack of affordable housing burdens the majority of the community residents. In reality, this kind of shortage affects low-income families, which constitutes a significant percentage of the whole population living in the community. There has been a reduction in public assistance, which is likely to make it even difficult for low and very-low-income individuals and families to find affordable housing. As part of this assessment, the number of people living below the poverty level increased from about 15 to 24 percent over the past decade. The majority of this group consisted of Native Americans. It is also critical to note that overcrowding and energy efficiency is shown to be a significant problem if not common. As a result of this needs assessment, the concern will, therefore, increase the number of adequate, good condition housing units for the identified target population, irrespective of their racial or ethnic background. Because the supply is also insufficient to some extent, the organization should purpose to adopt other several housing options to choose from. This will involve perfuming the repair of the units, or construction of the new ones. It will be critical to know the conditions of the houses.

References

Berkeley News: New York City Gentrification Creating Urban Islands of Exclusion. Public Affairs new.berkeley.edu/2019/14/10

Hill, K., Mirakhur, Z., (2019). Research Alliance for New York City Schools eric,ed.gov/?q=articles+on+homelessness+in+nyc.&id