ABSTRACT
Public sector activity is concentrated on grants, mortgage guarantees, and other forms of financial assistance to the voluntary or third sector. Most non-profit groups cannot do an adequate job without government funding; generally, however, they are better at operating local programs than are public agencies. Many, like church groups, own their facilities outright and are not burdened with capital expenditures or mortgage carrying costs. Most rely at least in part on contributions (food, money, and goods), on unpaid labor, and operate more economically than government bureaucracies. Small, flexible, community-based organizations may be better equipped to understand the needs of homeless people and devise appropriate programs while adapting to changing circumstances and to the needs of different populations. Voluntarism, though, is not a panacea.
