It Could Happen to You

As we continue to share policies, laws, bills, and advocacy opportunities with you, we also want to share with you information on the issue of homelessness including statistics, stories, articles, and other materials to help you understand the scope of the issue and why there needs to be more help for those living on the streets and in shelters. We believe that awareness is one of the best forms of advocacy and want you to know and be educated on what you are choosing to help us support and why.

The demographics of the homeless population include a diverse group of people. Men, women, children, families, people with disabilities, teenagers, pregnant women, and older adults are all subject the becoming homeless at some point in their lives. Homelessness also touches people of all races, sexual orientation, and cultural background. Because the threat of becoming homeless looms over every single person's head and can become a reality in one single tragedy, it is important for the country to look at it from a preventative stance and create programs that help those suffering from homelessness get their lives back.

According to the Interagency Council on Homelessness, on a single night in January 2009, 110,917 people were sleeping on the streets. Also, the number of homeless people in shelters increased by 5% from 2008 to 2009, and 41% of those people are considered to be "Chronically Homelss". The specific demographics of this study showed that 75%-80% of the chronically homeless were men. The average age is 50 and most homeless women are mothers. The race with the largest number of homeless people are African Americans. Possibly one of the most saddening statistics from this study is that the majority of the homeless population has no health insurance at all, but are most likely eligible for Medicaid. If anything, there should be at least more of a focus on helping these people get access to health insurance they are entitled to.

Studies also show that there are common contributing factors to why people become homeless. 60% of the population has a current or past mental illness and a whopping 80% have a substance abuse problem. This is another area in which the government can take more preventative measures to help address these issues for individuals BEFORE they become homeless. Also, if they are homeless and suffer from these things, it is important that they are getting help for them because without it, they will be forced to remain on the streets.
***All the above information came from this website courtesy of the Interagency Council on Homelessness ( June 2010) http://www.usich.gov/PDF/OpeningDoors/BkgrdPap_ChronicHomelessness.pdf

In order to help solve this massive issue in our society, there needs to be more supports offered and supported by the government. People need access to health and mental health services. They also need availability to job training and schooling so they can get a job and a source of income. Once there is an income in place, they need affordable housing. And probably the most important thing they need is case management and continuation of supports so that they can maintain their standard of living and prevent the risk of recurring and chronic homelessness. Simply offering temporary shelters and programs are not going to help them to rehabilitate the underlying issues that led them to where they are in the first place.

In order to get this kind of support and these types of programs created or those already in place built upon, there needs to be outreach, networking, and sharing of information with politicians and national and local agencies that are key players in the world of homelessness.Our goal of this project is to not only inform you of why homelessness is such a severe and prominent problem in the United States, but also to inspire you to help in our effort to alert those who "make the call" on bills, policies, and programs. We need as many voices as we can muster to help get our plight heard.