by Korie Helco
Who are the homeless?
Society may believe that being homeless means being panhandlers. There are panhandlers on the streets asking for money but not all homeless individuals are this way. People that are homeless and live on the streets or in shelters vary dramatically. Some might be alcoholics and drug abusers. Battered wives turn to shelters as well as teens that are harmed in their homes. Families with children are increasing more and more each day among the homeless. On average the homeless fall into these percentages: Youth 4%, Veterans 35%, Mentally Ill 25%, Substance Abusers 25%, and Families 11%.
Why do people become homeless?
People are unable to pay their bills and house or rent payments. Some of these homeless individuals have great education and stable jobs but don�t make enough to live. The cost of living is so expensive now and is constantly increasing. What isn�t increasing a long with the cost of living is minimum wage. In 1980, 70% of federal housing was cut. Programs and housing cannot keep up with the growing of homelessness. Most of the homeless people want to have a home, even the mentally ill. In the 1950�s, 550,000 mentally ill patients were housed by an institution. Now only 150,000 or less patients can be institutionalized. This leaves a large amount of mentally ill people with nothing other than living on the streets. Battered women and teens are left on the streets because they were physically assaulted or emotionally abused and have no other place to go. Others can afford housing but choose to spend their money on drugs or alcohol to satisfy their addictions. One other fact is that most people who become homeless stay that way for only a short time. They may bounce back and forth between homelessness.
Why don�t homeless people get jobs?
People are losing their jobs now more than ever. There are many reasons why people lose their jobs or cannot find one. A large contributing factor is the economy. It is so low due to September 11th that employers are laying off their employees. In New York, 80,000 people lost their jobs. 40,000 of those people worked for low wages. Single mothers and fathers have to provide day care for their children while at work. Sometimes this is too expensive and makes it not worth working. Their paycheck would basically go to the day care.
How does education affect the homeless?
Education is a huge factor in individuals that are homeless and jobless. The Travelers Aid Society shelter shows that 35% of individuals that stay in the shelter have a job. Statistics on how much education homeless individuals have shows that 11% have less than an 8th grade level of education, 22% have up to a 9th grade education, 45% have 9-12th grade education, and 22% of homeless people graduated from High School. 0% attended college. 75% of unemployed adults have reading or writing difficulties. Studies also show that an illiterate adult earns 42% less than a high school graduate. This affects the homeless incredibly. It is harder for them to get jobs and to keep them since job loss is increasing.
What is the problem with housing?
Housing is a dilemma with homelessness. People should only be paying 30% of their monthly incomes to rent. Studies show that in 1999, 20% of people who rented paid 50% or greater from their income every month. Comparing ten years ago in 1989, 17% were paying more than half of their income to rent. Affordable housing isn�t affordable anymore to the minimum wage worker. Housing is increasing dramatically. One reason federal housing is on the rise is due to making the homes more livable. In order to do this the rent is increased dramatically. Another problem with housing is that there isn�t enough to go around. Getting housing is on a first come first serve basis.
Where do homeless people go to get help?
There are many different places where homeless people can seek help. Shelters provide a warm place to stay and a roof over their head. Food, day care assistance if they have children, education for themselves as well as their children, treatment for drug users and alcoholics, counseling, and helping with enrollment in benefit programs are offered by homeless shelters. They also teach the homeless how to fill out job applications, make resumes, and teach them job skills. There are hundreds of different organizations that help the homeless. The American Red Cross provides services such as food, shelter, help with housing and eviction prevention assistance. Catholic charities help with emergency shelters and much more. Habitat for Humanity helps build and clean up housing for low wage workers. The Salvation Army is one of the largest organizations that provide help to the homeless. This organization runs hundreds of local shelters and programs. The Travelers Aid Society assists homeless people of the Salt Lake valley. This shelter houses 240 men, 40 women, and up to 30 families. During the winter months this shelter uses their emergency shelters that house 250 additional people that are on the waiting lists. These are just a few places for the homeless to go get help. There are soup kitchens that help provide food for the homeless and needy. Volunteers help by giving their time to shelters, giving canned goods, donate clothes, shoes, blankets, and personal hygiene products to the shelters.
How can society help?
Society can volunteer. Volunteers are needed all of the time. They can teach the homeless how to read and write, how to look for jobs, have food and clothing drives in the community for the homeless, and donate clothes and food to shelters. Volunteers can donate their time to the shelters to serve food and even spend time with the children that are homeless. Any simple act that the community can do will help the homeless.
Sources
Hombs, Mary Ellen. American Homelessness. California: ABC-Clio Inc, 2001
Salt Lake City Mission. Who Are The Homeless. 20 July 2000
http://saltlakecitymission.org/whoare.htm
The National Alliance to End Homelessness. What You Can Do To Help The Homeless.
New York: The Philip Lief Group, Inc.
Travelers Aid Society. 31 July 2002 http://www.tasslc.org
