Climate Change for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: Recommendations for Improving Policy,Research,and Services

Abstract

Across the globe, communities are facing unprecedented environmental challenges in many cases because of climate change. The increase in urbanization, the movement of people from rural communities relocating into urban areas, the issue of population density, and a rise in extreme weather are all contributing to these challenges. Although natural and manmade disasters have always existed, the increase in urbanization as a result of the movement of people into urban areas, the resulting increase in population density, and a rise in frequency of extreme weather events are factors that contribute to these challenges. There is a growing field of evidence that individuals experiencing homelessness are disproportionately impacted by disasters due to factors such as exposure to the elements, lack of resources and services, as well as disenfranchisement, and stigma associated with homelessness, all while experiencing greater occurrences of environmental injustice. The shrinking support for funding such services, increasing income inequality between classes, and cultural justifications for criminalizing poverty and homelessness contribute to our collective understanding of disaster vulnerability when experiencing homelessness. Given that there are distinct needs for individuals experiencing homelessness when affected by disasters, this article proposes recommendations for improving policy, research, and services to address these disparities. Trends in income inequality and homelessness have serious implications for planning and response, and recovery from natural or manmade disasters. As such, there is a need to periodically review progress, identify current gaps and unmet needs, and identify opportunities for improvement.

Introduction

The United States and other communities across the globe face unprecedented environmental challenges and devastating pollution.¹^,² Influencing these factors are climate change and increasing population. Such challenges threaten individuals' health and quality of life.³ Environmental pollution is detrimental to individuals and communities, resulting in health issues related to poor air quality, poor water quality, or the ingestion of toxic chemicals.^1,⁴ Individuals experiencing homelessness are often disproportionately exposed to environmental pollution.^4,⁵ An increasingly important issue is how to better understand and address the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness while addressing the potential implications to them from a changing climate.

Disasters bring catastrophic destruction with loss of life, homes, and property. The disaster science literature documents threats to health and well-being for directly affected individuals during the immediate impact period.⁶^,⁷^,⁸ The occurrence of disasters, large events that threaten lives, and/or possessions of those in affected areas is on the rise.⁹ Globally, individuals suffer various natural and environmental disasters. These events range from hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and fires to oil spills, and leakage of nuclear materials. As a result of climate change, the number of natural disasters is on the rise with record incidences occurring during each of the past few years.¹⁰ In 2016, the United States broke previous records with 15 major weather and climate disaster events, and then again in 2017 wherein there were 16 major weather and climate disaster events.¹⁰ Internationally, the damage from natural and environmental events affected 1.7 billion individuals in the period between 2005 to 2014.¹¹ These disasters totaled $1.4 trillion.¹¹

Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Globally an estimated 100 million people are homeless¹² and as many as 1.6 billion people lack adequate housing.¹³ This represents ∼2% and 20% of the world's population.¹⁴ Disaster researchers increasingly emphasize the need to focus on how disasters affect vulnerable populations, but to date there have been few studies that focus on homeless persons' experiences with disaster. Despite this, a handful of studies demonstrate that there are unique and distinct needs of individuals experiencing homelessness during disaster.¹⁵^,¹⁶^,¹⁷

First, it is important to state that there are many different experiences for individuals lacking housing. Some individuals reside in organizations serving the homeless, some reside in a car or vehicle, others may move from one acquaintance's residence to another (referred to as “couch surfing”). Furthermore, some individuals reside outside in public spaces. Persons experiencing homelessness can be affected by a disaster in numerous different ways.¹⁸^,¹⁹ The vulnerability of a homeless person to a disaster event must be considered as an outcome of a number of political, economic, and social processes.⁴

Issues For Individuals Experiencing Homelessness During a Disaster

For most individuals experiencing homelessness, there is a lack of tangible and intangible resources, including financial, social, and physical means such as shelter and transportation, which may limit them from adequately preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disaster.²⁰ Political and economic factors, such as a lack of access to resources, societal marginalization, and social isolation, also contribute to the vulnerability of homeless individuals.^17,²¹ The stigma associated with homelessness can also directly affect the willingness of community residents to support efforts to care for this population.²²^,²³

Displacement and relocation

After a catastrophic disaster that causes major population movements, those individuals displaced are in greater need of emergency assistance, and yet their locations may be unknown. Furthermore, individuals displaced by disaster are likely to remain highly transient for many months after the event.²⁴ Relocation results in an element of stress even when the move or transition is planned, anticipated, and of a personal choice.²⁵ The impact of relocation can be twice as traumatic and stressful when the element of choice is removed.²⁶ As evidenced in the literature, the one population that has been consistently impacted by relocation is individuals experiencing homelessness. The experience of relocation among the general population can prompt a range of psychological changes, such as depression, social withdrawal, and changes in satisfaction with life.²¹ Relocation can also lead to physical change such as increased pain, decreased mental and physical functioning, and perception of one's health status occurring after relocation.²⁷^,²⁸ Although individuals experiencing homelessness are already displaced within their community due to their disenfranchised status and use of regulated public space, disasters frequently displace and relocate these individuals to entirely new and unfamiliar communities.¹⁶

Access to housing

The dire need for more affordable housing in the United States is a notable barrier for reducing and preventing homelessness²⁹ both before and after a disaster.³⁰ Disasters often lead to loss of public and private property, economic discord, increased government involvement, and unfavorable social attitudes combined, all affect access to housing in the recovery phase of an event.¹⁶^,³¹^,³² Consistently, research has demonstrated that several gaps remain in disaster management processes, especially when securing of stable housing postdisaster.²⁹ According to the American Planning Association, “community members with lower incomes are not only vulnerable to displacement but are least able to access safe and affordable housing after a disaster” despite having greater needs postdisaster.³³ Finding new housing is difficult when much of the local housing stock may have been damaged and affordable options limited.³³ This can further marginalize persons experiencing homelessness, making it even more difficult to access available housing. This, in turn, can hinder those experiencing homelessness on their paths to recovery and permanent housing.¹⁶

Furthermore, the need for housing can continue years after a major event. For example, in 2005 the now infamous Hurricane Katrina devastated thousands of homes in southeastern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi.³⁴ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dispatched thousands of mobile homes to shelter-displaced individuals and families. The FEMA trailers were designed to house families for a few months.³⁴ However, >2 years after the event, 30,000 people still lived in FEMA housing.³⁴

Organizations serving the homeless populations

Organizations serving the homeless also face unique challenges in meeting the needs of their clients when affected by disaster. There are often increased demands to access services such as homeless shelters as well as tangible resources such as food after a disaster.³⁵ These issues result in an increased reliance on nonprofit and community-based organizations, which are already struggling to serve the growing number of individuals in need of these organizations' services before a disaster.^16,³⁶^,³⁷ This may be evident in both the community that was effected by the event and in a community that received an influx of those who are displaced. Furthermore, mental health issues and physical limitations may also be exacerbated, which can further strain organizations that serve homeless populations.³

Discussion

Income inequality and homelessness have serious implications for disaster planning, response, and recovery. This results in more vulnerability for segments of the population that experience inadequate resources and challenges to accessing services. Given that there are distinct needs for individuals experiencing homelessness when affected by disasters, there is a need to describe opportunities for improvement with considerations to improving policy, research, and services.

Policy

With each passing disaster, new policies are introduced to better prepare for and mitigate future disasters. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, a number of new policies were introduced to better support older adults in a disaster event.³⁸ Congress's Pet Evacuation Transportation Standards Act of 2006³⁹ ensured that pets must be included as part of FEMA's evacuation planning. More recently, Florida's Governor implemented a rule that long-term care facilities must have an emergency generator after 12 patients died from oppressive heat from Hurricane Irma's power outages.⁴⁰

Advocates and organizations that serve individuals experiencing homelessness should help to develop additional policies to help support this population when affected by disasters, but also to encourage other social responses to climate change. Specifically, requiring disaster planning and response efforts to adopt and implement evidence-based approaches to disaster risk reduction may help to improve the resources and support received by these individuals during and postdisaster. Furthermore, funding to help facilitate these approaches may help to ensure their adoption and implementation. Developing policies that target environmentally induced migration and population displacement is warranted. Finally, communities need to strengthen equity-oriented resilience policies and proactively engage marginalized communities in adaptation planning within both urban and rural areas.⁴¹

The Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts an annual Homeless Point-in-Time Surveys that track data regarding the number of homeless individuals within an area.⁴² The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night annually. The year after Hurricane Irma, local communities in Florida coordinated with FEMA for the 2018 PIT count to include those experiencing homelessness because their home was destroyed or damaged by the hurricane.⁴³ This assists communities in identifying individuals who were made homeless due to the disaster event, but also helps to track these individuals and general housing trends. These data also helps disaster recovery entities in further understanding the challenges around facilitating housing for this affected population postdisaster. One such explanation is due to lack of affordable housing stock within these communities.

There is a need to increase our available stock of affordable housing on a global level. Expanding the supply of affordable housing would help relieve the cost burdens of some households on any given day, but would also contribute to available resources after a disaster. Identifying strategies that better utilize existing government subsidies as well as the creation of policy that is more supportive of this undertaking would greatly enhance our ability to house all those displaced by an environmental disaster, as well as work toward reducing the number of individuals and families struggling to afford housing and/or access adequate housing.

Research

Researchers conducting studies on a disaster's impact on individuals experiencing homelessness have challenges. However, there are strategies to ensure quality research (e.g., having an Institutional Review Protocol approved before a disaster event when possible, deploying multiple researchers to ensure ample information is gathered postdisaster). The terms “sheltering” and “housing” are used in a variety of unclear and inconsistent ways in the disaster literature (i.e., emergency sheltering, temporary sheltering, temporary housing, and permanent housing).⁴⁴ Ensuring that appropriate terms (e.g., the Department of Housing and Urban Development's definitions) are being used when studying housing will enhance likelihood for quality research.

There is also a need for more inclusion of practices that are rooted in evidence. Currently, many of the approaches utilized in disaster response have limited evidence to support them as best practices, and there are not best practices published specifically in guiding disaster response or organizations serving homeless populations on interventions specific to this population in disaster response and recovery. Moreover, as evidenced in the limited literature, there is still a need to enhance services and support for persons experiencing homelessness who are impacted by disasters. More research is needed to further understand the lived experiences, behaviors, and gaps in resources for those experiencing homelessness. As research continues to support the notion that there are diverse needs among this population when affected by disaster events, advocates need to push for the inclusion of diverse perspectives in disaster planning and response of the homeless populations so that disaster responders and community-based organizations consider cultural differences and individualized needs.

Services

Finally, there are a number of considerations when incorporating individuals experiencing homelessness into a community's disaster plans. First, having pre-existing relationships with members of the homeless community is critical in identifying and engaging with these individuals before and during disaster. Pre-established relationships may enhance communication with the homeless community during a disaster event, as these individuals likely have access to those living in isolated or hidden areas outside of the traditional boundaries of organizations serving the homeless. This will allow for individuals experiencing homelessness to be involved in the disaster preparedness and community planning process.

It is also important to identify and take inventory of potential barriers to supporting individuals experiencing homelessness through disaster recovery. Although many communities are turning to special need registries as a means to identify individuals who may require additional assistance in a disaster, it is unrealistic to expect that all or even the majority of individuals experiencing homelessness would be able to maintain contact information for first responders. It is especially challenging for persons experiencing homelessness to maintain personal belongings for extended periods of time given the transient nature of their lifestyle. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for individuals who do have cell phones frequently lose their devices, have their devices stolen, or run out of minutes early along in the billing month due to inadequate financial resources.⁴⁵^,⁴⁶ In areas particularly prone to disaster events, it may be especially worthwhile to facilitate outreach focused on disaster preparedness for these individuals. Individuals experiencing homelessness need to be able to receive information about shelters and other resources well before an impending event in case they are limited in their ability to receive information immediately before an event. Furthermore, such shelters must be accessible to the population in city centers or near public transportation. Having shuttles or vehicles to help transport individuals experiencing homelessness to disaster shelters and services would greatly enhance their ability to seek safety in shelters.

Lastly, individuals experiencing homelessness often face discrimination or stigma associated with their lack of housing. Advocates and organizations that serve the homeless may need to educate and advocate on behalf of this population to other community entities to help ensure they are not denied access to available resources in the community during or after a disaster event.

Conclusion

This article highlights the challenges associated with best supporting individuals who identify as homeless. As natural disasters continue to become more prevalent, policy makers and communities must ensure they are taking into account vulnerable members of their community in their disaster planning. Ensuring that communities are prepared to support marginalized populations affected by disasters, such as those experiencing homelessness, is critical to ensuring that vulnerable populations do not fall through the cracks in the disaster response and recovery.

Footnotes

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.