Have you Heard?

I have always felt that is our duty to reach out and help those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is Monday, Nov. 12 through Sunday, November 18. The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness co-sponsor this week.

Nationally, the week promotes thought and action on an issue that many might not otherwise recognize. Collective efforts from each state and community strengthen this movement.

Over the past 15 to 20 years there has been a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. Homelessness and poverty are linked, and poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income, that must be left out.

There has been an increase of over 500,000 people affected by this unfortunate situation from 1995, and 40 percent of people living in poverty are children. Two factors that help account for the increasing poverty are fewer employment opportunities for the larger levels of the workforce and the declining value and availability of public assistance.

There are a number of important reasons why homelessness persists and, in some places, is worsening. These reasons include stagnant or falling incomes and less secure jobs, which offer fewer benefits. Since these workers are unable to afford to pay for their houses because of those falling incomes or less secure jobs, they decide to leave their houses and to live on the streets. The connection between these workers and homelessness can be seen in homeless shelters, many of which house significant numbers of full-time wage earners. A survey of 30 U.S. cities found that almost one in five homeless persons are employed (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 1998). For many Americans, work provides no escape from poverty. The benefits of economic growth have not been equally distributed; instead, they have been concentrated at the top of income and wealth distributions.

The declining value and availability of public assistance is another source of increasing poverty and homelessness. Most of the public assistance sources for poverty and homelessness just recently ended their businesses, and welfare does not provide relief from poverty. In fact, the number of people receiving benefits from welfare is declining.

Poverty is also growing more common for children, especially those in female-headed households and working families. As a result of loss of benefits, low wages and unstable employment, many families leaving welfare struggle to get medical care, food and housing. Many also lose health insurance. Housing is rarely affordable for families leaving welfare for low wages.

Disabled people are also struggling to obtain and maintain stable
housing. The rent in most of the areas has increased beyond the amount of social security that they receive, and the loss of affordable housing puts even greater numbers of people at risk of homelessness. The lack of affordable housing has led to high rent, so many people are forced to become homeless. As a consequence, shelters are becoming more crowded, so those who can’t find a shelter must either find housing elsewhere or live on the streets.

There are other factors that are causing people to become homeless, such as the lack of affordable health care, domestic violence, mental illness, and addiction disorders. Homelessness results from a complex set of circumstances, which require people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic needs.

Habitat for Humanity is planning several events during this week to help those who are homeless. On Monday night, there will be an Oxfam banquet at 5:30 p.m. in the Hoke Dining Room. On Tuesday night, Tim Young, a comedian, will perform at 8 p.m. in the Arts and Sciences Auditorium. Admission to that event will be one canned good or a dollar. On Wednesday night, there will be a sleep-out on front campus at 10 p.m. Throughout the week, there will be a canned good contest between resident assistants. The public is welcome to attend any of these events.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 9 2001. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry