The Working Homeless

January's homeless census in Connecticut revealed a startling figure: one in three homeless individuals in Connecticut has a job, and 36 percent of adults in homeless families is employed. Seems the profile of a homeless person in America has evolved as the gap between the rich and poor in this country has increased.

Last January, officials in the state of Connecticut counted roughly 4,000 homeless individuals. The count revealed a number of trends among the state's homeless population. For example, the most common reasons individuals and families became homeless was because of rent problems, domestic violence and a conflict with family or friends.

But perhaps the most surprising finding was this: one-third of Connecticut's homeless population are currently employed, including 36 percent of adults in homeless families. That's right, one in three homeless people in Connecticut had a job.

Of course, the homeless census did not include questions that probed for further details, such as how many hours per week these individuals work, what types of jobs they have, or how much they earn. Even still, this information is illuminating because of its implications.

First, it implies that housing is unaffordable. It implies that wages have not kept pace with the costs of living. But most of all, it illustrates that the gap between the rich and poor in this country is getting larger. According to the AP, reporting on newly released census figures, the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans - those making more than $138,000 each year - earned 11.4 times the roughly $12,000 made by those living near or below the poverty line in 2008.

Certainly, this data out of Connecticut reinforces our long-held belief that addressing structural inequalities is absolutely critical to end homelessness. While there are many positive things to be said about the influx of stimulus funds, I don't think $1.5 is going to make a dent in decreasing the gap between the rich and poor.

Image from sij13's public Flickr stream.