US Homelessness and Poverty Rates Skyrocket

I went by a local park the other day and it looked like a concentration camp crossed with a mass murder scene.

There were people in rags and covered with filth lying scattered all over the place. At least twenty people were on crutches, had parts bandaged, or with open wounds not even covered. They were all hungry and a large majority was sick.

All around this city I live in, and nationwide, the level of homelessness and poverty is growing alarmingly. From the last counts and estimates nation wide, there has been at least a 35-45% increase in homelessness and poverty. The increases have come over the last two years with the biggest increases being in 2002 and especially in the first six months of 2003.

Add to that the barely subsisting or borderline homeless/poor and we start to see a very alarming trend that shows no sign of going away. Over 30% of Americans are on the borderline of poverty. A lot just do not quite make the cut to receive food stamps or some kind of benefits and live on a razor edge of desperation and starvation.

I have talked to people that run food banks, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters. Places like Day Star, Catholic Charities, St, Vincent De Paul, and many other major support agencies. They all tell me they have seen a vast increase in people that would starve or be without clothes if not for their services.

The most shocking sight to see is homeless and starving children, living right near some of the richest neighborhoods...

Recent studies suggest that the United States generates homelessness at a much higher rate than previously thought. By its very nature, homelessness is impossible to measure with 100% accuracy. More important than actually knowing the precise number of people who experience homelessness is how to go about ending it.

A growing number of cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Atlanta, are criminalizing activities of the homeless, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. More than 60 cities are introducing measures to make it illegal to beg or sleep on the streets, to sit in a bus shelter for more than an hour, or to walk across a parking lot if the person doesn't have a car parked there...

On average 30% of all requests for shelter went unmet in 2002, with 38% of requests by families going unmet. In 60% of the reporting cities, emergency shelters had to turn away families due to lack of resources, with 56% reporting they had to turn away other homeless people.

People are remaining homeless for at least 6 months on average with 82% of cities reporting an increase in the length of time people are homeless.

There has been a 40% increase in the Berkeley, California homeless population over the last two years. New York City has reported a 42% increase over the last two years, Boston a 37% increase, Los Angeles, CA a 47% increase, San Diego, CA 41%, Washington, D.C. 39%, Seattle, WA. 43%, Portland, OR 36%, Chicago, IL 47%, St. Louis, MO 34%, Atlanta, GA 40%, Tampa, FL 46%, St. Petersburg, Fl 45%, Miami, FL 49%, New Orleans, LA 41%, Phoenix, AZ a staggering 56%, with most other major cities reporting at least a 25-30% increase over the last two years.

41% of all homeless are single males, 41% families, 13% single females, and 5% being unaccompanied minors. The homeless population is estimated to be 50% African American, 35% white, 12% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian.

An average of 23% suffer from mental illness, 38% suffer from substance abuse, 10% are veterans, and 22% are employed...

Over 40% of homeless persons are eligible for disability benefits, but only 11% actually receive them. Most are eligible for food stamps, but only 37% receive them. Most homeless families are eligible for welfare benefits, but only 52% receive them.

Published reports suggest that most homeless families with children are headed by single women between the ages of 26 and 30 who have never been married and have two children. According to one study, homeless women are significantly more likely to have low birth weight babies than are similar poor women who have housing.

Lack of affordable housing leads the list of causes for homelessness,,

The average wait for public housing was 19 months; the average wait for Section 8 certificates and vouchers was 21-23 months. 45% of cities have stopped taking public housing applications in at least one assisted housing program due to extensive waiting lists....

http://www.khilafah.com/home/lographics/category.php?DocumentID=7988&TagID=2

and Bush et al are responsible.

I have at least three members of my immediate family who are either now or have been homeless in the past year or two.

I work with the homeless and I can vouch for the fact that it is getting worse daily. It will accelerate.

We are ALL responsible.

That is why I want Gore in 2004!

He can stop it if we coi\nvince him to run.

Please do not disparage the possibility of Gore getting back in the race. It is the only strong hope that I have for a better future for my family.

Just asking since you seem to know the score from ground zero?

I see the growing numbers of homless in and around Boston, and it pisses me off.

The rich get a tax cut and the rest get to suffer.

If Gore were to run I would seriously consider him, but I don't think he wants to be screwed by the press a second time.

It was in a small town just blocks away from the house I grew up in as a kid. Never seen or heard of anyone ever being evicted from a house in that neighborhood before. Seeing people being evicted was something I can only remember from movies using the Depression era as a backdrop.

Don

there was at least a hundred people. It was like an assembly line. Took about five minuets this is occurring hourly daily monthly.

the large urban areas. come out to the smaller cities,towns,and villages and it`s the same. they may not be on the streets but there in friends homes or their kids are with relatives or friends. they move from relationships to relationships to provide them with shelter and security. they have their apartments paid for by drug dealers so the dealers have cover to move drugs. they go from womens shelters back to their abuse cause they have no choice. they are the "shadow people" in these communities,they are the people others turn away from,people look but don`t want to see. ....they are the great "down and outs".
it gets worse everyday

If this economy continues to spiral downward, nearing anything close to the depression, it will be many many times worse.

There is no close knit community that tided many people over in the Great Depression. The farms, the small businesses and manufacturing have all been gobbled up by Trans-nationals.

Cities, States and the Federal Govt are all broke.....anyone who has the means, would pretty much be obligated to help people if it comes to that.

They walk past it every day. Even a lot of the apparently affluent are not really so, they live in fancy houses and drive fancy cars that the banks own, and they live the same check or 2 from the street as the people working 96 hour weeks to pay rent.

That we have gotten to this point is very compelling evidence that the society as a whole would rather throw away food they can't eat than give it to a hungry child, and the truly wealthy would rather spend the price of 100 loaves of bread for the pleasure of killing that child.

You are correct that it will get a lot worse, but please do not deceive yourself thinking that the elite classes will have a sudden epiphany of compassion when it gets worse, or because more of the faces will be white.

Look at all the studies that have been done that show that it would cost LESS to provide housing for the homeless than imprisoning them, sending police to shoo them away and enforce all the laws that criminalize poverty, all the studies that show that if you took that single mom and paid her transportation, child care, rent, food, everything, and trained her to do a job that would earn her a living wage, you would spend LESS than is spent keeping her on minwage and food stamps until her children are old enough to be incarcerated where they will cost EVEN MORE money the rest of their lives.

Bottom line, the rich do not mind paying extra if it buys more suffering for the poor.

that "everyone" of means would extend a helping hand, but alot of people on this board would, as would many others. As critical as many are of the church, the church would be the back-bone of alot of that help. The cities and states are broke, broke , broke. The tax base would really dry up.

Steinbeck captured alot of this.

The idea that volunteers and the churces will provide basic survival needs and social services is one of the things we have heard from the "republicans" for years, and no doubt that there are many people who would be glad to do what they could.

But the reality is that the problem is already much larger than that, that is why the food banks and shelters, etc, are turning people away. Church charitable and outreach programs were never meant to handle this kind of load!

The market value of a day's work has now dropped to below the market value of a day's rent and food, not to mention medical care, and woe be unto the laborer who has children or elderly family members who depend on him.

Charity, the kindness of a soccer mom who volunteers a couple of nights a week or buys a couple of cans for the bin at the supermarket cannot and was not intended to take the place of a healthy economy based on a living wage, or a functional and adequate system of social services for those who need them.

im talking about an economic collapse, inabilty of govt to provide a safety net is factored in to that scenario.

The point being, cities and states will not be able to bear the burden. The church, charities, every day people helping out....that may be the best there is.

And i fail to see your point about "white faces".....im sure the poor and struggling will be a real melting pot. I hope it doesnt come to that, but i really think the economy is going to get worse.

"Charity, the kindness of a soccer mom who volunteers a couple of nights a week or buys a couple of cans for the bin at the supermarket cannot and was not intended to take the place of a healthy economy based on a living wage, or a functional and adequate system of social services for those who need them."

Yes, and every one of us should be shouting this from the rooftops at every opportunity. Traditional volunteerism and donation based causes were "special interest" such as community theatre; soup kitchens were for the alcoholic men who opted out of any safety net. Younger people are astonished when I tell them I can remember when every small city didn't have to have a food bank on every corner. And issues like animal welfare, which I would really love to give time and money too, are now superceded by the need to keep children from going hungry. And if the Dem candidate doesn't address this, to hell with them, I am going to vote Green or Marijuana Reform.

Bottom line, the rich do not mind paying extra if it buys more suffering for the poor.

That's exactly right, although I'd change 'the rich' to 'most conservatives'.... I don't think the majority of the rich feel that way, but I'd be willing to bet the majority of Conservatives do.

Just my two sense...

have dirt floors. The only thing going for them is running water and a roof over their heads.

because of the low interest rates, while bankruptcy increases and food banks run out of food.No more new construction for Section 8 housing, so everyone goes on a waiting list for YEARS, and where do they live in the meantime?

The cheap labor conservatives wet dream.

The photos of these people dying in the streets is just what they need to drive down the cost of labor.

Scared people work for less.. and who wouldnt be afraid of being homeless in Amerika after seeing how we treat them.

Starving people work for even less.

And the ones who turn to crime to feed themselves... well they can become corporate slave labor at the point of a gun in one of our fine prisons.

Watch the crime rate jump too. Its depressing what is happening in the richest country in the world.

refer the needy to government programs, having shut down their own food pantries and ladies assistance groups in the last couple of decades. They might have an emergency food box or a small voucher, but have little else to provide. Even the Salvation Army can only provide two bags of food in most areas, per MONTH. Shelters are dangerous and so full they turn away many families and singles.

Once a person is out of a home, it's infinitely more expensive to society overall. And the effort required to get back on one's feet is a huge, huge fight.

Of course back then they had names for it: "Supply Side Economics" and "Trickle Down Theory".

Jim Kramer (CNBC) said it tonight on Hardball. He said that trickle down economics is still the answer.

Unless you're a millionaire, I guess. Like Kramer.

One thing I'll never understand about sElection 2000: Why would anybody in their right mind vote to trade the unprecedented economic success of the 90s for the failed economics of the 80s? It defies all reason and logic. Apparently many U.S. voters took the good times for granted. It was not the smart thing to do.

Are they broke, too?

Where is all that Govenrment "Faith Based" money going to then?

http://www.costofwar.com/

the numbers are amazing...

and it reminds me of the Reagan years, to a tee. Of course the republicans see nothing wrong with this, another "mission accomplished".

In fact he is blocking the effort for states to take action against comapnies who export jobs to India...

Our leader at work. Bought and paid for.

It's getting worse daily, it's really bad out here in the smaller cities and towns. What safety net there was has been shredded, everyone with few exceptions are on a clock now and once it runs out you're on your own.
People move in on families and friends, until the strain becomes to much, then they move on, to another family member. Waiting for a nonexistant job to open, then on to the cities where they either learn fast or die.
This is reaganomics with a vengenance, this is cleaning out of the surplus population, damn we're in Dicken's England not America.

...being readily apparent, I've noticed an increasing number of failing and failed small businesses. There is also an increasing amount of commercial for rent signs going up and vacant commercial properties. Car sales and home sales are dropping dramatically. I've also noticed an increased amount of prostitutes plying their trade, in broad daylight, on the way to and from work. A year ago, I rarely noticed these women.

The most interesting thing is looking at the books of small retail businesses for sale. Their revenues since spring 2002 are taking a nose dive. At the same time, several small take out places and restaurants all open next to each other in a strip often selling the same food. A few months later, two are gone and the remaining one is for sale. Of course, all this is anecdotal and may not mean much but it is consistent with the increasing number of bankruptcies and foreclosures being reported.

The remarkable thing is the outrageous prices people expect to get for homes and businesses under these circumstances. Interestingly enough, high end development and construction seems to go on unimpeded. You know, the $200,000 condos on the beach and the luxury gated home communities.

One of my many jobs is that of a business writer, and the thing I still remember is the comment I got from many local biz owners after the November 2000 election. Sales dropped dramatically after the whole election business and, apparently, never recovered.

we have a HIGH homelessness rate, even here...the county is POOR POOR POOR...people sleeping by the side of the roads, people living in cars, shacks, anything they can create. The Jobs are GONE. Flipping burgers is all there is. Tourists are the mainstay of this town, and they are down 30% this year.
Very very ugly. Only ONE food pantry out of 85 churches in town...ONE...(the churches have new tennis courts tho!!)..

I knew this would happen, and homelessness would skyrocket, and jobs would leave, and crime would go up..I have never SEEN so many houses for sale in town, and foreclosures are the highest ever, and I knew this would happen the DAY Bush and Co stole the election.

I was right.

Tourist dependent. No snow last winter, and 50% drop in summer residents forced her to close doors. In her small mall, only one of 17 businesses is still open. Others are shuttered and for sale. Her clientele was almost exclusively middle class. Now our nation has none, middle class, that is.

Demographics of homeless veterans
"The Forgotten Americans-Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve", released December 8, 1999 by the Interagency Council on the Homeless is their National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC) done in 1996. You can visit www.huduser.org and download the NSHAPC reports from there.

Veteran Specific Highlights:
23% of homeless population are veterans
33% of male homeless population are veterans
47% Vietnam Era
17% post Vietnam
15% pre Vietnam
67% served three or more years
33% stationed in war zone
25% have used VA Homeless Services
85% completed high school/GED compared to 56% of non-veterans
89% received Honorable Discharge
79% reside in central cities
16% reside in suburban areas
5% reside in rural areas
76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
46% white males compared to 34% non-veterans
46% age 45 or older compared to 20% non-veterans
Service needs:
45% help finding job
37% finding housing

http://www.nchv.org/background.cfm#report

The downtown Dallas soup kitchen where I do volunteer work is setting records, almost weekly, for numbers of meals served . Meanwhile, the Dallas City Council passed an ordinance a few months ago outlawing panhandling. Services to the poor and homeless are being cut to the bone. But, after all, they don't pay taxes, do they? Of course they pay taxes! They live in a no-state-income-tax state where much of the tax burden is shifted to the poor, in the form of regressive sales and gasoline taxes. Dallas is a mean town in which to be homeless; but, then again, what town isn't?

The only answer is one which even Democrats won't accept: Redistribution of wealth. The idea that "charities" rather than taxes can address this problem is ludicrous. The London of Dickens was full of "charities". Some with the best of intentions, but all worthless.

Wars are never left to charitable contributions. But the wounded often are. It makes you think, don't it?

It's disturbing to ride past a multitude of large churches that are EMPTY most of the week, except for Sundays. Couldn't the church goers put their money and efforts into helping the homeless? The church space is wasted most of the time, when it could be used for shelters. Also the large, empty former supermarkets just sit vacant, while outside, the homeless suffer. I'm sure if communities could actually SEE these building being used to help the homeless, donations would flow. I feel so badly for them all. Someone needs to help them, since we know this administration won't. They just want to ignore the situation..as if it will go away by itself. In their minds, they probably hope all the homeless will just freeze, starve and die. Oh, yeah, that's one way to solve the "problem". Disgusting!

Must move every few months because: 1) City ordninance. 2) NIMBY crowd. (NIMBY = Not In My BackYard!) At least the campers get restroom access, kitchen facilities, shower and laundry! Hate to say, but my experience with most well-heeled church-goers is that they are heartless bastards! They'll give Pat Robertson $ millions for starving Ethiopians, but not one penny to the homeless person next door! The truly Christian churches are always on the verge of bankruptcy because every spare dime is spent helping those in need, not building bigger temples or buying TV stations!

Many church goers like to show off at church. Fancy cars and clothes and a chunk of money in the plate for more lavish surroundings in the building. But they wouldn't want to be associated with homeless "riff raff". Hypocritcs! Where is their WWJD? (what would Jesus do)

"Beware that yeah shall reap the whirlwind!" - Nicorette 12:15

Our high-tech is gowing to India. We will be the first post-industrial feudal society.

child poverty..homelessness and meagre welfare subsidies...

One of the men has a son with him now and he sleeps on the side of the Chicago river by the state street bridge. If you go down the steps on Wacker you can walk along the Chicago River and it's filled with homeless people sleeping there at night.

The Mayor "cleaned" up lower waker drive years ago but I am now starting to see people sleeping down there now.
They have kids with them and I feel so bad for them.

We have vets on the bridge also. I give food and blankets to the homeless vet that stays on the State St. bridge. He is in a wheelchair and he does not have legs.

Or others, for that matter. I'd like to hear what the "Compassionate Conservatives" have to say about this!