Research Report

JUST A HEADS UP: My lovely computer thought that restarting randomly as I finished this blog post prior to saving it would be a great idea so I'm having to find and re-analyze my sources!! So if you're looking at this and they're not all here I'm very sorry! I'm working on finding them all over again :,(

In this post I will by analyzing my sources and providing info the justify them as being credible. I will be analyzing 10 sources, some of which are print and some audio to gain some usable material for my podcast.

Audience Questions:

How is the research process going? Have you found a wide variety of sources?

• So far so good! At this point I still need to find sources for the counter argument as they do not seem nearly as strong as the arguments that back up my side. Because this is a very public issue that spans the entire country there is a lot to be read and found on the subject. I have been able to find both visual/audio sources and text sources with ease.

Author Response:

1. Drug Testing in Shelters

• Title, author & host of source: Can Shelters Require You to Take a Drug Test?, Authors unknown, Homeless Law Blog, Word Press
• The source’s author(s): Author's are anonymous but use specific law information as well as hyperlinks to the specific clauses in official Judicial paperwork. Though there is no clear author which makes this post seem unreliable the information in the post is very well written and justified.
• The target audience for the source: Seems to be homeless people as the title says "you". The posts seems to be written in order to help homeless people however an online article may be difficult for a homeless person to access which makes me think that the article may be written, using common law knowledge, for lawyers and attorney's or family members of homeless persons.
• The source’s main purpose or message: Explains why drug testing for homeless shelters, even if they are privately owned, is illegal. Justifies all information with legal documentation and explains why all shelters legally cannot drug test (without warrants for each individual)
• This source is reliable because:
• Gives insightful information about a legal topics through the use of dirrect legal info
• Provides justification for all statements made with hyperlinks to official government sources

2. 500,00 Homeless in the USA Report

• Title, author & host of source: More than 500,000 people homeless in the United States: report, Eric M. Johnson, Reuters
• The source’s author(s): 1. Graduated from Albion College with Degrees in English and Economics, 2. Has been working as a Chicago based journalist writing about U.S. news and politics for 2.5 years (democratic affiliations)
• The target audience for the source: QRG type article, written for busy american's, seems to be written simply, not a difficult read = written for any socioeconomic/educated class
• The source’s main purpose or message: Describing where the reported half million homeless american's are. Which states/cities have the highest homeless populations and why the number is slightly down from the previous year.
• This source is reliable because:
• Written by reliable author who has been covering economic issues for some years and has proven to be credible
• Hyperlinks reliable sources when using/mentioning exact info.

3. The State of Homelessness 2015

• Title, author & host of source: The State of Homelessness in America 2015, National Alliance to End Homelessness
• The source’s author(s): no author's directly named however the page, NAEH is a national organization that is recognized by the US government.The website is a .org, not a .com, and is easily found to be credible as it meets the US regulations for internet domains.  
• The target audience for the source: Educated Americans. The page uses complex and intelligent english and is not written in a way that would be easy to understand. There are graphics to make the content more understandable but still seems to be written for the educated pupil.
• The source’s main purpose or message: The National Alliance to End Homelessness is obviously about ending homelessness. However, this specific post is about the state of homelessness in the US is 2015 and is a break down of the change in the homeless population from state to state.
• This source is reliable because:
• It is a government recognized cite that was created to inform the public on accurate information. Is not made by any special interest group related to the government.
• Written by an entity that was specifically created to help and report on homelessness, very seasoned and credited.

4. Video: Why Maggie chooses to sleep on the street

• Title, author & host of source: Homeless by choice: bedbugs, drugs in low barrier shelter keep people out, Kent Molgat, CTV
• The source’s author(s): 1. Kent Molgat has worked as a journalist covering inner city crime and drug usage for more that 10 years, 2. The Journalist is the Bureau Chief at CTV
• The target audience for the source: Anyone who watches in 8pm news (in Vancouver). The audience doesn't work for my podcast but it does work in trying to figure out what I need to be arguing
• The source’s main purpose or message: Homeless shelters are keeping people on the streets instead of bringing them in. Woman testifies that she didn't start doing drugs until she started to live around other who did.
• This source is reliable because:
• Speaks to real life homeless people, 3 of them, all 3 have similar stories from different angles
• The journalist recording these stories seems credible and knowledgeable in the field in which he is discussing in this news segment. 

5. Video: 23 year old homeless man speaks about being homeless in Cali

• Title, author & host of source: 23yr old homeless man, Danielle Gold, CaliFaces
• The source’s author(s): 1. Founder of CaliFaces, a video diary 
• The target audience for the source: This seems to have a very broad audience when it's being watched but it is 4 years old and not publicized, it wasn't the first video to show up when I searched but it has over a million views so I believe that the audience for this is anyone who is interesting in homelessness in the US as a general area. The man interviewed is from California but talks about homelessness in other places in the US
• The source’s main purpose or message: It's hard to be homeless. Talks about every aspect, can't go to a shelter because there are more issues in shelter's then there are on the streets
• This source is reliable because:
• The one who does the most talking is a homeless man who has been homeless for 5 years
• The man is educated holding a college degree in English Lit and is drug free (says so and does not act in any odd fashion)

6. PDF: Substance Abuse in Shelters Statistic

• Title, author & host of source: Substance Abuse and Homelessness, National Coalition for the Homeless, Bringing America Home
• The source’s author(s): there is no specific author named but the group, the National Coalition for the Homeless is a government organization created as an outlet for people to see what efforts are being made/need to be made in the homeless community. They are specifically interested in Homelessness.
• The target audience for the source: Interested American Citizens. The source creates one piece monthly so the information is meant to be read and built on. Unlike many other source who create 146985145347234 issues in a day this source writes just one article a month. The articles are backed up by a works cited with multiple resource to verify information. The audience is to be educated to appreciate and realize the next step.
• The source’s main purpose or message: To inform the US public on the substance abuse issues that the homeless population faces. The source also correlates drug use as a CAUSE of homelessness, not just a result.
• This source is reliable because:
• Government funded website that is created to inform educated citizens about issues related to or directly about homelessness
• Well cited information, written to inform and backed up by other reliable sources

7. Government Website on Homelessness Solutions

• Title, author & host of source: People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, US Government
• The source’s author(s): The US Interagency Council is a government entity created to provide info for the US public on what issues they see and how they plan to correct them
• The target audience for the source: The US Public, possibly homeless people interested in what the Government is doing to help them
• The source’s main purpose or message: Rough overview of the governments plan to lower the homeless rate by providing permanent housing, does not offer much info but does explain the rough details
• This source is reliable because:
• Government page (.gov) cannot be edited or created by anyone outside of the elected government or appointed Gov workers
• Provides Hyperlinks to other useful Gov articles that provide supporting info for the proposed solution

Another link from same source on supportive housing (more in depth)

8. Shelter closing because it can't keep the drugs out

• Title, author & host of source: Homeless Shelter Opts To Close Instead Of Accepting People On Drugs, Alcohol, Bill Chappell, NPR
• The source’s author(s): 1. Chappell lives in Colorado and works as a journalist for NPR working as a print Journalist reporting on social issues through writing. 2. He is also an engineer,inventor, and entrepreneur who creates gadgets and toys. 
• The target audience for the source: Educated american citizens. NPR is known for being relatively unbiased and truth telling and often aim to speak to the older generations,
• The source’s main purpose or message: Describing why a US homeless shelter is closing due to overuse of drugs and the inability to eliminate them.
• This source is reliable because:
• NPR is well known for unbiased retelling of social and local news stories, this is no different. 
• Hyperlinks are provided to show further information and validate facts.

9. NPR Radio Segment - Former Homeless Man helps others

• Title, author & host of source: Homeless Man Encourages Others On The Streets To 'Get Up', Pam Fessler, NPR
• The source’s author(s): 1. A Washington, DC journalist and photographer. She works for NPR as a reporter on social issues. 2. Covers issues of poverty, homelessness, hunger, and the less fortunate.
• The target audience for the source: Educated american citizens. NPR is known for being relatively unbiased and truth telling and often aim to speak to the older generations
• The source’s main purpose or message: Describing why a US homeless shelter is closing due to overuse of drugs and the inability to eliminate them.
• This source is reliable because:
• NPR is well known for unbiased retelling of social and local news stories, this is no different. 
• Hyperlinks are provided to show further information and validate facts.

10.

• Title, author & host of source:
• The source’s author(s):
• The target audience for the source:
• The source’s main purpose or message:
• This source is reliable because:
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