why don’t homeless and poor people apply for government assistance?
There are two primary reasons that poor and homeless people don't apply for government assistance. First, affordability is an issue: rents are rising faster than wages for low-income workers, leaving many poor families unable to afford housing on their own [1]. Second, the government housing assistance programs haven't kept up with demand, despite new research that shows unaffordable housing is a major cause of poverty [1]. For example, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, provides housing vouchers to about 2 million families, covering about 5 million people [3]. Under this program, families rent homes on the private rental market; they pay up to 30 percent of their income to rent, and the voucher covers the rest, up to a local fair market rate [3]. However, the vast majority of low-income families don't receive any housing support [4]. Once the money appropriated by Congress runs out, the aid stops, no matter how much need there might be [5].
One of the main reasons that poor and homeless people don't seek assistance from the government is because they face problems with affordability. [2] Often, the assistance programs that are available to them require them to spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. [3] For those who are already spending more than half of their income on housing costs, this seems like an unreasonable request. [1] In addition, many assistance programs require recipients to make certain lifestyle changes, like addiction counseling or job training, that may not be feasible given the already-struggling circumstances of homeless people. [1] A second reason is that government assistance programs have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing. [2] While the government has established several housing assistance programs, the vast majority of poor Americans don't receive any housing aid. [1] Also, many eligible people don't seek assistance because they believe that they will have to make lifestyle changes that will be too burdensome. [4]