Shelter Sweet Shelter: Homeless Families on the Rise

by Ted Iobst · 2010-09-12 11:20:00 UTC
Topics:

It's safe to say that when most folks think of homelessness, the first people that come to mind aren't part of a traditional family of four. But according to the recently-released 2009 Annual Assessment Report to Congress (pdf) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of homeless families is a substantial — and growing — portion of the homeless population.

In 2007, just over 130,000 families spent time in homeless shelters. The number rose to 170,000 families in 2009 — an increase of 30+ percent in just two years. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence from a recent article in the New York Times, suggests this trend is likely to continue, despite the federal government allotting to states $1.5 billion over three years for rapid re-housing and homeless prevention programs.

Being homeless is incredibly difficult for anyone but can be especially trying for families. A major difficulty for many newly homeless families is finding a shelter that will accept all members together. In addition to the common challenges faced by those staying in shelters — cramped quarters, curfews and (sometimes counterproductive) anti-loitering policies, among others — families often face an additional set of challenges.

Getting everyone in the family on regular, cohesive schedules can be nearly impossible, especially if one or both parents is working. Further, caring for children and continuing their development becomes exponentially harder when living in a shelter. We've seen that homeless children can be educated well, but if a homeless family's children are not old enough for school, shelters can present serious problems for them. One three-year-old whose family was chronicled in the Times had previously been potty-trained, but has reverted back to diapers since moving into a shelter.

Despite their hardships, the family profiled in the Times has qualified for transitional housing, putting them on the verge of getting back on their feet and into a home (especially considering this HUD report published in March). Let's hope that the stimulus's emphasis on rapid re-housing is enough to help other homeless families escape homelessness or avoid it in the first place, before the damage is done.

Photo credit: D. Sharon Pruitt

Ted Iobst blogs about hunger, homelessness and poverty in Washington, D.C. at HelpTheDistrict.org and volunteers at Miriam's Kitchen.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Would You Break Up Over Undisclosed Debt?
NEXT STORY:
Is the NCAA Putting Student Athletes at Risk?

COMMENTS (0)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.