is not a permanent condition. People do get themselves out of the problem when an intervention occurs to provide them with access to the housing market (NYU 2.) Without permanent housing, people are unable to keep jobs and are more likely to become ill. Permanent housing provides stability that enables them to find and retain employment with health benefits.
             Housing assistance can make the difference between stable housing, unstable housing or no housing at all. However, the demand for assisted housing exceeds the supply. Between 1993 and 1995, the number of rental units available to very-low-income families dropped by nine percent which translates into a loss of 900,000 units nationally (Hess 3.) Most poor families and individuals seeking housing assistance are placed on a waiting list for three years or more. Today, much of the nation's affordable housing stock is being converted into condo complexes or commercial property. Even when disabling conditions such as addiction or mental illness are treated, the homeless must compete with other poor people for a dwindling supply of low-income housing. Homelessness is like a perverse game of musical chairs in which the loss of chairs (housing) forces some to be left standing (homeless).
             Equally important, poverty is largely responsible for the rise in homelessness during the past decade. A popular misconception is that the homeless are lazy and do not want to work. Twenty percent of the homeless population work full-time but do not earn enough money to meet their basic needs. Robert Hess, president and CEO of the Center for Poverty Solutions states, "polici
             ...