Obama vows to end homelessness in 10 years

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By Tony Pugh | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious plan that aspires to end homelessness among some of society's most vulnerable groups within the next decade.

"Opening Doors," a "Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness," calls for ending child and family homelessness in 10 years while wiping out chronic homelessness and homelessness among veterans in five years.

According to the 74-page plan, "Stable housing is the foundation upon which people build their lives — absent a safe, decent, affordable place to live, it is next to impossible to achieve good health, positive educational outcomes or reach one's economic potential."

The plan is a significant breakthrough because there's never been a comprehensive federal effort to end homelessness with a timeline and measureable goals, said Nan Roman, the president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

"To me that's really important, because we know that when the Bush administration made a commitment to end chronic homelessness, it really made a huge difference," she said. "It changed how resources were allocated. It caused better coordination, and the result has been that the chronic numbers have gone down. Now they're taking that same approach and they're expanding it to the other homeless populations. I think that's significant."

Other advocates also lauded the plan's goals, but they questioned the lack of details about how some of the proposals would be paid for.

"The big question is whether preventing children and families in the U.S. from becoming homeless is important enough for Congress" to increase homeless-program funding, "and I don't think they'll do that without enough pressure and leadership from the White House," said Maria Foscarinis, the executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. "In order to achieve these goals, the funding has to be there, and that means the administration has to really be firm and advocate."

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Where in the world do they come up with this lip service.

The Obama administration could not pass a REAL health care program.
They can not stop foreclosures. The HAMP program is a sham, and a scam. Same with their HARP program. I know, I tried both of them, and both are pure assed bull shit.

They have not had a real jobs program.

They have not even started a full thrust on our decaying infrastructure.
Their Middle East policy is a failure.
This administration has done nothing for the year and a half that they have been in office. NOTHING.
Yet these shameful wannabe dems do not hold his puppet stings to the fire.
This is more lip service and political rhetoric for the Nov. mid-term elections.