P.R. Laws tit. 8, § 1006a
The Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is aware of the fact that the issue of homelessness is one of the most serious and complex situations encountered by our society. In developing the public policy to be established on this matter, whether short-termed or immediate, emphasis should be given to attending to the basic needs of the homeless, mainly subsistence needs, in order to enable the preservation of the dignity of these human beings and their circumstances.
The Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico reasserts its constitutional commitment to hold that all men and women are equal before the law and that there must be no discrimination whatsoever for reason of race, color, sex, age, birth, social condition or origin, or political or religious ideas. It is also aware of the fact that homelessness threatens healthy community living among our people, since it constantly brings out in our citizens an attitude toward homeless persons of insensitivity, contempt, harshness, shunning and fear.
Respect for the dignity of human beings and equality before the law are principles which are fundamental and nonexpendable in order to guarantee the common good and healthy community living as a people. Even though the studies conducted in the past few years estimate that over 8,000 homeless individuals roam and sleep on the streets of our country every day, deprived from the basic conditions necessary for their subsistence, we know that this is a problem which has been significantly growing during the past decades. On the other hand, despite the fact that this situation has caught the attention of some social sectors, the truth remains that this issue has yet to be understood and addressed effectively, which consequently leads to the manifestation of discriminatory behaviors and to the violation of the human rights of citizens who belong to this sector of the population. The approaches to deal with and the support strategies for homeless persons have been, in general terms, minimal and fragmentary, and to this day, they have not been conducted efficiently.
Homeless persons are a direct reflection and the most dramatic outcome of the complexities of our society. These are men and women of various ages and with different levels of education. While some of them have been part of the workforce, others have not. Many of these persons suffer from conditions associated with substance and alcohol abuse, and from various mental health conditions. On many occasions, these conditions were present before they wound up on the streets; in other cases, these have been developed as a consequence of the hardships of homelessness. Among the homeless, there are chronic psychiatric patients who have been displaced from mental health institutions, as well as persons who need special attention to be able to handle their critical living conditions and their emotional problems and who have not been admitted into the available mental health programs.
There are homeless persons who are physically and mentally ill and who on occasion are rejected by their families and friends. Others are isolated or estranged from their families, their communities, their towns and their countries, for different reasons. Homeless persons do not present homogenous characteristics. To insist on profiling homeless persons is to refuse to see their individual faces, their particular stories, their needs and their aspirations. At present, however, to be homeless is tantamount to being on the lowest rung in terms of destitution, poverty and marginalization in our society.
The homeless are human beings with unmet basic needs, with human rights which are frequently infringed, who have also talents and dreams, and who have inner and outer strengths, from which hope is forged. Although homelessness seems to affect men mostly, the number of women who live in this condition is increasingly higher. An increase in the number of ever younger people has also been noted according to a survey conducted in 2005. The most recently identified trend is homeless families with children, composed of abused women and their children, who are housed in protection shelters. Many of these women remain at home enduring the abuse due to the lack of sheltering places that adequately accommodate their needs. For this reason, they are included as part of the homeless population under the federal law, given the fact that their situation places them at imminent risk of winding up homeless.
There are structural reasons within the economic, political and social system which have contributed to the situation of the homeless. Marginalization and the displacement of individuals and families arise from the cumulative effects of poverty, economic fluctuations, unemployment, injustice, social disparities, prejudices, violence, and the imbalance of power.
Homeless persons do not usually end up on the streets as the result of a single and isolated event in their lives; this is usually the result of a series of experiences and circumstances which are both internal and external to the individual, the family and society, which interact with one another throughout their lives. The lack of support from social systems contributes to the estrangement and the gradual loss of hope, which renders the reintegration of the homeless into society even more difficult, especially due to the increasing complexity of the situations they experience.
Throughout the years, different approaches to deal with and service programs directed to the homeless have been developed by the government sector and by community and nongovernmental sectors as well. These include: emergency shelters; transitory and permanent housing; daytime centers; detoxification from and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse; nourishment, nutrition, hygiene, clothing, and access to restroom facilities and showers; primary and specialized services to attend to physical and mental health; legal support and representation; information and orientation about their citizen rights; social assistance; education and training; job placement; family reunification; and other ancillary services. These services have been instituted with the support provided by subsidies from the central government, the legislature, the municipal governments, and the federal government, as well as from foundations, corporations, and individuals, from unpaid volunteer work, and from social security, and public health and assistance mechanisms.
The services that individuals, families and communities need at present to develop, to have support, to become empowered and to attain their stability and self-sufficiency, are either out of reach, scattered, and inaccessible, or insufficient or nonexistent. Homeless persons are the reflection of the lack of social support, understanding, and financial resources, for which reason it is necessary to consolidate the existing efforts, in order to enable them to regain a life of dignity and the possibility to develop and to achieve the well-being that they deserve as human beings and as citizens.
History —Sept. 27, 2007, No. 130, § 3.