This week we are supposed to blog some statistics to back up our arguments. In doing this research I discovered that the majority of homelessness stems from financial catastrophes within families. Financial catastrophes are also the reason behind homeless men and women, and not only families but it seems that it’s most common in families. Families with children are among the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. The Conference of Mayors found that 41% of the homeless are families with children, up from 34% in 2000. The Urban Institute reports about 23% of the homeless are children.(Mary Otto. The Washington Post Washington)In my project my goal is to not only limit my services to homeless families but also to homeless children, men, and women. This project will hopefully be able to bridge the gaps in the lives of these individuals so that they may be able to rebuild their lives without those issues that put them in the predicaments that they were in. I realize that financial catastrophe is not the only reason for homelessness among all groups of people. While the economy is driving some of the increase in demand for shelter and food assistance, other factors include mental illness, substance abuse and low-paying jobs, according to the Conference of Mayors survey (Mary Otto. The Washington Post Washington). These other factors will be taken into consideration once I have gathered the individuals in need of assistance. Im not saying that there aren’t any programs out there that are doing the same things that I plan to do , all Im saying is that there aren’t enough programs out there of this nature. I understand that the fact of the matter is that there are homeless people out there who are homeless because they themselves ruined their lives or they are homeless by choice, but I feel that no one deserves t be homeless whether it be by choice or not. I think that there is probably something mentally wrong with the person who wants to be homeless. I also can tell the difference between someone who means what they say, and someone who is discreetly crying for help. I have come to realize that sometimes people say things to get a reaction from others, and to see just how serious the person will take the things that they say. There are a lot of homeless people out there who seem mean and angry but that’s because they need help but they don’t really know how to ask for the help, so in stead of asking for help the pout and be mean to others to get some attention hoping that all the while someone will notice them. I know that some people would respond to this by saying that they aren’t mind readers, but sometimes you have to look beyond the words to see the underline meaning behind them. Another major part of why some families are homeless has to do with employment. A growing number of families are vulnerable to homelessness because of the dismal job climate. The unemployment rate reached 6.4% in June, the highest since April 1994 before edging back to 6.2% in July. Last month, there were nearly 2 million unemployed workers who had been looking for a job for 27 weeks or longer, an increase of 276,000 since January, according to the Department of Labor (Mary Otto. The Washington Post Washington). For many families already on the edge, homelessness is a catastrophic reality. Less than a year ago, Kimberly Brochu was expecting a baby and living with her husband and four children in an apartment in Winslow, Maine. Then her husband, Allen, was laid off from his painting job. Eight months pregnant, Brochu wound up on the streets with her family. They spent their nights sleeping in bunk beds at a homeless shelter and during the day camped out in their car at a Burger King. Today, she and her husband rent a duplex and are both working again.
“People think we get homeless because we’re irresponsible, but it’s hard finding jobs,” says Brochu, 29, who works as a housekeeper and a waitress; Allen is a farmer’s helper. “But my kids, if they become successful, they won’t look down on people who are poor (Mary Otto. The Washington Post Washington). I chose this topic because I felt that homelessness is a subject that often get over looked, and the statistics of homelessness is not something that people of today really make a conscious effort to recognize. In doing my research I found that the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments did a survey and reported that 2,234 chronically homeless people who would be candidates for such supportive housing, many of them mentally ill, addicted to drugs or dealing with other disabilities. Those people are using about half the region’s emergency shelter spaces and other resources, which cannot properly address their problems. The COG recognizes that these people don’t just need temporary shelter, they need a reconstruction period so that they will be able to return to the public sphere. Basically, Homelessness is an issue that is steadily on the rise and although there are organizations out there that are trying to help these homeless individuals and families rebuild their lives it’s still not enough. The fact of the matter is that we have the state and government officials making these huge salaries but there is a child somewhere in the world who won’t eat because their mother or father doesn’t have enough money to feed him/her. I feel so strongly about this subject because I have been very fortunate to have never been homeless but who knows what will happen in ones life from one day to the next and one day I could very well become home less. If that was to ever occur I would like to be assured that I would have somewhere to turn to help me back on my feet and to prevent this from ever happening again.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 28th, 2005 at 8:03 pm and is filed under Week 07: Research Stats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.