社會排除下的遊民：處境與對策

The Homelessness in New Taipei City: Problems and Policies

本研究旨在探討新北市街頭遊民的基本樣貌、露宿街頭的原因、生活現況及就業與居住需求，作為規劃遊民相關服務措施參考。本研究以新北市2011年底列冊街頭遊民為對象，採普查法的方式，以問卷訪問進行實地調查，共計訪得151份有效問卷。研究結果發現高達三成以上遊民露宿街頭達10年以上；遊民露宿街頭主要受「結構性因素」影響，其次才是家庭及個人因素；近六成受訪街頭遊民有工作，以擔任臨時工、陣頭、雜工或資源回收為主；他們多半身體狀況不佳，沒有健保卡，健康飽受威脅；51.4%受訪的街頭遊民表示有固定住所之需求，希望政府提供「租金補助」或「便宜租屋」。本研究基於研究結果，提出以下的政策建議：（1）調整對遊民福利服務的方向，以「住宅與就業」為主；（2）研議「遊民就業專案」，協助遊民穩定就業；（3）提供「租金補助」與「便宜租屋」，以滿足遊民逐漸提升的居住需求；（4）協助遊民取得或恢復健保卡，以解決其就醫的障礙；（5）訂定遊民輔導專法或專章，使遊民取得合法福利身分，從根本來解決遊民被社會排除的問題。

This study is aimed at investigating the living conditions and welfare needs of homeless people in New Taipei City and developing governmental policies to address their needs. Adopting interview-questionnaire method, this study collected 151 valid samples. The study has found that the major cause of homelessness is due to structural factors related to employment¸ rather than individual or family factors. Nearly sixty percent of the respondents have jobs that are of a temporary, low-wage, and unstable nature. Most of them are in poor health, suffering from health threats. About 51.4% of them indicate that there is a need for residence and hope the government can provide a rent subsidy or cheap rental housing. Over one-third of homeless people has “slept rough”for more than ten years, which suggests an ineffectiveness of the current measures and need for change. Based on an analysis of the results of this study, the following policies are recommended: first, adopting housing policies to replace the current measures; second, forming a special 'homelessness employment project' to help the homeless find stable jobs; third, offering rent subsidies or cheap rental housing to meet the increasing housing needs of the homeless; fourth, assisting the homeless to restore their health insurance status in order to address their medical needs. Finally, we suggest revising the Social Assistance Act to prevent the homeless from being excluded from the current social welfare system.