https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/issue/feedENGAGE!2024-01-19T16:39:48-05:00Khaula Murtadhakmurtadh@iupui.eduOpen Journal Systems<p><em>ENGAGE!</em> is committed to advancing the field of community engaged research (CER) and community based participatory research (CBPR) in urban settings, nationally and internationally. The journal addresses current issues, and challenges, facing urban communities. The journal provides a forum for community scholars and university scholarly exchange of research findings ideas that advance knowledges that make a societal impact.</p>https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/27616How Social Discrimination and Housing (Un) Affordability Causes Gender-Expansive Homelessness and Policy Recommendations to Ensure that Everyone is Housed2023-11-27T17:38:57-05:00Daniel Soucy<p>Transgender, gender non-binary and gender-questioning people (gender-expansive) in the United States are more likely than their cisgender counterparts to experience housing precarity and homelessness. While this results from discrimination that limits our access to economic, social and political capital, it also results from a massive gap in the amount of affordable and adequate permanent housing available to all low-income members of our society.</p> <p>When people are inevitably unable to exceed these barriers to rent or own permanent housing, they rely on the emergency shelter system. Despite a diligent and attentive emergency shelter workforce as well as abundant evidence demonstrating that emergency housing can help stabilize mental health, physical health and financial challenges, there is a systemic lack of funding to keep up with the need for emergency shelter beds. Compounded with incomplete antidiscrimination rules, the emergency shelter system does not serve the needs of low-income, gender-expansive people.</p>2024-01-19T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 Daniel Soucyhttps://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/27620Expanding Social Work Licensure to Strengthen the Homelessness Service Workforce2023-11-27T17:48:10-05:00Caitlin Mello<p>Homeless services require appropriate funding, access to necessary resources, and experienced staff to effectively connect individuals to housing and services with a Housing First lens. This policy brief examines part of the solution to the third requirement: trained and experienced staff. The brief proposes two state-level legislative changes to expand social work licensure access. Through the elimination of a social work licensure exam and the expansion of licensing to non-degree holders, the workforce supporting homelessness services can reflect the population being served. It will reduce historic racial disparity in licensure access, increase salaries for service providers, and allow for BIPOC leaders to step into supervisory roles with more ease.</p>2024-01-19T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 Caitlin Mellohttps://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/28008Through the lens of an activist social work professor: Concerns for the rights of people who are experiencing homelessness2024-01-19T16:23:39-05:00Andrea Copeland2024-01-25T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 Andrea Copeland, PhDhttps://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/27621Understanding the Homelessness Crisis and Responses in Bloomington, Indiana 2023-11-27T17:40:43-05:00Josephine McQuillanRachel Downey<p>This study addresses the complex challenges of homelessness in Bloomington, Indiana. Beacon, Inc., a nonprofit based in Bloomington, plays a pivotal role in providing support to individuals experiencing homelessness in south-central Indiana. Beacon’s approach prioritizes immediate and barrier-free access to shelter and housing while eliminating stringent entry requirements. Beacon offers three distinct programs: Friend’s Place, an emergency shelter; Rapid Re-Housing, facilitating rapid transitions to stable housing; and Crawford Homes, providing permanent supportive housing. </p> <p>This research, conducted in partnership with Beacon, employs a mixed-methods approach to examine homelessness in the city of Bloomington. It includes a literature review, quantitative data analysis from nationwide counts and Beacon’s programs, and interviews with Beacon staff to gain insights into the housing crisis and its unique dynamics in this community.</p> <p>The results underscore the impact of Beacon’s programs in 2022 on individuals experiencing extreme poverty in Indiana’s Region 10, which consists of six south-central counties. Despite the success of these programs, challenges persist for individuals experiencing homelessness, particularly in combating chronic homelessness. Interviews with Beacon staff highlighted additional barriers to housing, including high rents, inflexible landlords, evictions, and entanglement with the criminal justice system.</p> <p>This study suggests the need for diverse strategies, including expanding Housing First programs and supportive housing models, as well as long-term government housing subsidies for low-income renters. These solutions can reduce reliance on emergency shelters and work to prevent chronic/recurrent homelessness. By employing a mixed-methods research approach, this study offers valuable insights into homelessness and housing assistance programs, providing a foundation for future research aimed at addressing homelessness more comprehensively in Bloomington and similar communities. </p>2024-01-19T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 Josephine McQuillan, Rachel Downeyhttps://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/28009Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Systemic Cruelty2024-01-19T16:34:35-05:00H. Jad Rea2024-01-19T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 H. Jad Reahttps://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/28011Homelessness and Housing Organizational Profiles2024-01-19T16:39:48-05:00Mahasin AmeenH. Jad Rea2024-01-19T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 Mahasin Ameen, MLS, H. Jad Reahttps://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ENGAGE/article/view/28007When Caring Just Doesn't Cut It2024-01-19T16:08:55-05:00Khaula MurtadhaAndrea Copeland2024-01-19T00:00:00-05:00Copyright (c) 2024 Khaula Murtadha, PhD, Andrea Copeland, PhD