VALERIE JONES, a Houston resident, is studying for her Master’s in Social Work at the University of Southern California

Valerie Jones
The Houston Sun

“Will work for food.” “Lost my job, need to feed my children.” “Anything helps.” These are some examples of the signs we may see homeless individuals holding at the busy intersections around town. For some the initial reaction is to lock the car doors and roll up the windows. Others may give these people something to eat or drink, perhaps even the loose change stashed in the cup holder.

Although homelessness plagues our city, it is not an issue limited to Houston. In fact, on any given night in the United States over 630,000 people sleep in government-supported shelters, on the streets, or under bridges. What is worse is the fact that the fastest growing victim of homelessness is families with children. The homeless experience is not only detrimental to those it directly affects, but also to the taxpayers who are feeling the financial burden of this unfortunate tragedy.

All across the nation the homeless population is given opportunities to escape their circumstances through service agencies that provide them with food, clothing, shelter, job training, and medical care. With the homeless problem growing, however, there are not enough services to assist every person needing a helping hand.

Democratic Representative Nydia Velázquez of New York City has responded to the national homeless crisis with a solution that will aid in reducing, if not completely eliminating, the problem. The Mobile Medical Homeless Health Improvement Act, or House Resolution 29 (H.R. 29), was submitted to the House of Representatives in January of this year. At this time the MMHHIA has no co-sponsors and is stuck in a committee. Like many bills of this status it has little to no chance of passing and may soon become a distant memory.

H.R. 29 is a policy that will supply grants to hospitals and clinics all around the city in order to fund mobile medical services to people living on the street. Many homeless individuals do not have health insurance and are in need of medical care. Healthcare is a human right and these men, women, and children deserve our help!

The services brought forth by H.R. 29 include primary/preventative care, general health screenings, dental care, medication, mental health care, immunizations, lab tests, and case management. Not only will these healthcare opportunities reach an already vulnerable population, they will reduce the amount of traffic in the emergency room.

The mobile medical units will reach homeless people all across the cities that implement their services because they meet their patients where they are. Many times street dwellers resort to using the ER for their health needs, requiring services that can cost up to $3,700 per visit, because the medical care is readily available and they cannot, by law, be turned away. In some cases a lack of preventative care led to a more serious issue.

Through the medical units funded by H.R. 29, as well as the combined powers of medical professionals and social workers, the homeless population can not only access preventative healthcare but they can also get the help they need in other areas of their lives such as referrals to emergency shelters or job training programs.

The homeless population is often ignored and forgotten and left to fend for themselves. Although H.R. 29 is not the only solution to ending homelessness in the U.S. it is a step in the right direction.

Now is the time to contact your members of Congress and let them know of this viable solution to a crisis that should no longer exist in a society as advanced as our own. Our legislators have the power to change society through promoting H.R. 29 and urging other lawmakers to sponsor it. Bringing awareness to this bill will give it a better opportunity of becoming a law. A vote for H.R. 29 is a vote for change!