Examples of Potential Interventions for Stage 3
• Engage in and build toward Zero Functionally Homeless goals 22 .
• Increase case management capacity for the homeless since many do not want to see a counselor .
• Homeless shelter allowance ( e . g ., room options ) for transgender individuals .
• Expand shelters for homeless youth . Action Area : At-Risk Youth
Polk County ’ s youngest residents not only tend to be among the most vulnerable , but they also tend to be the group that respondents offered the most amount of hope and opportunity to affect change for future generations .
This includes children who live in traditional homes , as well as those with special needs including autism , foster children , and others . Investing in caring for children now should provide incalculable benefits for both individuals and the community in the years to come , and should at some point alleviate the burden on the healthcare system .
• “ School grades (" test and punish ") has caused a lot of mental health problems , because they don ' t have time to focus on social development due to teaching to the test .”
• “ Autism spectrum kids when their behavior kids starts escalating , families start struggling and kids get Baker Acted not due to mental health but rather autism spectrum . Agency for Persons with Disabilities wait list for kids is 6,700 kids long and 20,000 adults . If these families can ' t get services there , then the kids start cycling in Baker Acts . sometimes kids need 20-30 mental admissions but they ' re not getting the right treatment .”
• “ Any child removed from a home should not have to ask for a referral for therapy ; it should be automatic , but there are waiting lists . Telehealth isn ’ t as good as face to face , especially for younger kids .”
• “ If an adoptive kid has issues , it ’ s on the adoptive parents . Like with a child with fetal alcohol syndrome . The child has a biological predisposition for certain issues , yet the adoptive parents can ’ t be proactive .”
• “ Start early ; in order to have ‘ normal ’ adults then we need to start with children .”
• “ If we spent as much time and money on mental health , social / emotional aspects as we did putting up gates , active shooter drills , panic buttons in each classroom , then we wouldn ’ t have
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Note : “ The Built for Zero is a movement to end homelessness across your entire community , leaving no one behind . Teams focus on chronic and veteran homelessness to learn what it takes to get to zero . Then , they scale their success to find homes for everyone .” Information available at
https :// community . solutions / functional-zero /
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