118 Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
A project of the Center for Religion, Ethics & Social Policy (CRESP)
LOCALLY:
Food pantries throughout Tompkins County express a strong need for self-care and hygiene productsóespecially because many such products cannot be purchased by people with food stamps.
Food pantries throughout Tompkins County distributed approximately 80 percent more food this years than they did last year ñ poverty is NOT going away, but spreading.
674 homeless individuals were provided 5,676 bednights at the Red Cross Shelter in Tompkins County last year.
392 people were prevented from becoming homeless by the homeless prevention services of the Red Cross alone, in addition to the many who were helped by other human service agencies in Ithaca.
NATIONALLY:
38% of the homeless are families with children, and children comprise 27% of homeless persons overall. [St. Anthony Foundation]
Nationwide, almost 25% of the homeless work, but their wages are not sufficient to get them into or maintain them in permanent housing. [St. Anthony Foundation]
Right Now 10,000,000 Americans are at serious risk of homelessness.
14% of all Americans will experience homelessness during their lifetime.
500,000 children experienced homelessness last year; this number is
rising.
RECENT TRENDS OF HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA
(provided by the National Coalition for the Homeless, Washington, D.C.)
Selected findings from a 1997 report named:
"Homelessness in America: Unabated and Increasing" from The National
Coalition for the Homeless (a national advocacy network of homeless
persons, activists, service providers, and others committed to
ending homelessness through public education, policy advocacy,
grassroots organizing, and technical assistance)
*1997 marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of the McKinney Act*
Finding #1
Homelessness has increased dramatically over the past ten to fifteen
years.
Many communities have doubled or tripled their shelter capacity in order
to
respond to increasing homelessness.
-In Boston, shelter capacity increased by 246% between 1983 and 1995,
increasing from 972 to 3,362 beds. The number of persons counted in
the
city's annual one-night homeless census increased 40% between 1988
and 1996.
-In Los Angeles, shelter capacity more than tripled between 1986 and
1996, increasing from 3,495 to 10,800 beds.
-In the state of Minnesota, the number of persons in homeless shelters
on
one night more than quadrupled between 1985 and 1997. The increase
in the
number of persons receiving shelter in rural areas of the state (387%)
was greater than in urban areas of the state (364%).
-In the state of Wisconsin, the number of persons receiving shelter
in
state-subsidized programs more than doubled between 1987 and 1997,
increasing from 11,000 to 24,600 people.
Conclusion: The causes of homelessness have not been adequately
addressed. Passage of federal homeless assistance legislation in 1987
did not
stem the tide of homelessness. The continued expansion of the shelter
system
will not end homelessness.
Finding #2
Despite the tremendous expansion of the shelter system, demand for
emergency shelter far exceeds supply. Many persons have no choice but
to
live on the streets, in cars, doubled or tripled-up in unstable living
arrangements, or in abusive situations.
-In Los Angeles, according to the city's own estimates, there are 5-8
homeless persons for every available shelter bed. The lack of shelter
availability in Los Angeles is exacerbated by the high percentage of
shelters who charge fees: in 1996, 46% of homeless programs in Los
Angeles
County charged for shelter beds.
-In the state of Virginia, 94,027 persons requested shelter in 1994,
while 40,413 persons were turned away.
-In Seattle, there are 1.5 -2 homeless persons for every available
shelter bed. On the 1996 one-night shelter survey, 919 persons were
turned away from shelter.
Conclusion: Shelters do not have the resources to meet current demand.
Therefore, efforts to criminalize those who cannot find shelter or
housing,such as sweeps of parks and streets and bans on sleeping or
sitting
in public, are both futile and unjust.
Finding #3
A growing portion of persons experiencing homelessness are children.
-Between 1985 and 1997, the number of children in homeless shelters
in
the state of Minnesota increased over 733%, from 322 to 2,683.
-Over the past decade, the number of children sheltered in the state
of
Virginia increased over 258%, from 3,912 in 1985 to 14,000 in 1996.
-In New York state, half of the 140,000 people who experienced
homelessness during 1997 were children and runaway youth.
INTERNET RESOURCES:
Visit the websites below to get more information on this important and
prevalent issue in our country --
Center for Community Change
http://www.communitychange.org/
The Child Welfare Home Page
http://www.childwelfare.com/
Children Now
http://www.childrennow.org/
Children's Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
http://www.cbpp.org/
Center for Law and Social Policy
http://www.clasp.org/
Economic Policy Institute
http://epinet.org/
Handsnet
http://www.handsnet.org/
The Institute for Research on Poverty
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/
Low Income Home Energy Resource Page
http://userweb.interactive.net/~swayze/energy/intro.html
The LINC Project
http://www.lincproject.org/
The National Center for Children in Poverty
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/
The National Welfare Monitoring & Advocacy Partnership (NWMAP)
http://www.nwmap.org/
OMB Watch
http://ombwatch.org/
The U.S. Census Bureau -- Housing and Household Economic Statistics
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/
The U.S. Department of Labor -- Welfare to Work Information
http://wtw.doleta.gov/
The Welfare Information Network
http://www.welfareinfo.org/
The Welfare Law Center
http://www.welfarelaw.org/
Welfare and Families
http://www.epn.org/ideacentral/welfare/
