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36 Prison J. 2 (1956)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl36 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL The chronic problem of the homeless man continues to force itself upon police, courts, prisons, missions, and other agencies of the community, sapping their resources and giving no sign of abatement. The universal practice has been to write off the homeless man as hopeless or too costly and uncertain to merit our attention. Some alleviation of this waste of human and economic value is imperative. This issue of The Journal is devoted largely to The Homeless Men Project. It contains the report of The Penn- sylvania Prison Society, prepared by Ernest W. Golds- borough and Wilbur E. Hobbs, as submitted to the Health and Welfare Council of Philadelphia. The project was undertaken at the request and with the support of the Coun- cil. It was conducted in cobperation with the Department of Welfare, City of Philadelphia, and many other agencies. This pilot project utilized social casework services of The Society, supplemented by material aid and diversity of services provided by other agencies called upon. We believe this report points up some of the basic prob- lems involved in providing constructive help to the homeless man who has had a brush with the law. It illustrates an approach that has been successful in selected cases, and suggests ways in which public and private agencies might well collaborate to alleviate the problems of the homeless man. We doubt that anyone having been involved in a con- tinuing effort to rehabilitate the homeless man would expect more than the results reported herein. The reader unac- quainted with the problem might expect a higher degree of certain success. All those unaccounted for are not neces- sarily failures. Further experience with this approach and adoption of recommendations might well result in increased efficacy. As long as there is failure to develop some perma- nent solution to this problem, crime, disease, social and eco- nomic bankruptcy will continue to take their mounting toll.