Urges Legislation for Winter ‘Crisis Assistance’ : Waxman Seeks New Homeless Aid

A leading congressional advocate of federal aid to homeless people said Monday that he will sponsor legislation for “crisis assistance” this winter in the areas of medical care, shelter and food.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) said in an interview that he is drafting a bill to authorize an emergency appropriation of federal funds for the community programs, shelters and soup kitchens that serve a homeless population estimated to number between several hundred thousand and 1 million.

“Many of these men, women and children have serious health needs that are not being met,” Waxman said at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health and the environment, which he heads.

The subcommittee is gathering information on the number of homeless Americans and their problems, so that it can propose a comprehensive aid plan.

In the meantime, Waxman said, he hopes the emergency measure can be approved early in the upcoming congressional session so that improved services can reach the homeless this winter. He said it has not been decided how much money should be requested.

‘No Clear Strategy’

“It is embarrassing that the federal government has no clear strategy for meeting the medical and mental health needs of the homeless,” he said.

Tipper Gore, testifying on behalf of mental-health care groups, said the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimated in 1985 that the number of homeless people increases by 25% each year. Gore, who is the wife of Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.), added that a third to a half of all homeless people suffer from serious mental illnesses.

She urged that Congress commit more than the $140 million proposed in last June’s homeless health-care bill. “Let’s not let the cold and federal inaction claim lives,” she said.

Although President Reagan last year approved changes in federal guidelines to make it easier for homeless people to receive assistance from Medicaid, the federal medical plan for the poor, many homeless people do not qualify because they hold menial jobs that pay enough to exceed the income limits, Waxman said.

Diane Sonde, director of a New York City program that helps street people, said many hospitals “will not see people without Medicaid cards” because they fear they will not be reimbursed.

Low Income, No Insurance

“People working at low income levels have no health insurance,” Waxman said.

Health experts told the subcommittee that federal support of mobile health and outreach programs is crucial to improving care of the homeless. Phyllis B. Wolfe, executive director of one privately supported program here in Washington, estimated that the project serves 75% of the district’s homeless population.

She added, however, that at the current level of financing, “I don’t think it is fair to say that we are meeting those needs.”

Under Waxman’s emergency measure, such programs would receive more money to pay for staffing and supplies and to begin offering new services.

Wolfe said that care of convalescents is a major, unaddressed problem with the homeless. Unable to afford hospital stays, patients who have no suitable place to go are often discharged soon after a serious injury or illness.

No Place for Recovery

Such patients frequently end up in shelters or halfway houses, where conditions may impede their recovery. “The shelter is a totally inappropriate place for crutches,” Wolfe said.

Janet Waxman, Rep. Waxman’s wife, said that Los Angeles, with an estimated 50,000 people living on the streets, is the “homeless capital of America.” She said that facilities in Los Angeles for the mentally ill without homes are “sadly inadequate” and that these people are treated “horribly” in shelters.

She said that she supports expansion of community-outreach programs similar to those in New York and Washington, and the staffing of shelters and soup kitchens with people who are trained to treat mental illnesses.