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Nov. 16, 2005 You can’t convince me that a woman sleeping under a bridge, or in an inoperative automobile gives a rat’s ass about the Taliban, Bush’s energy policy, high gas prices or whether or not prayer should be allowed in schools. Homeless children wonder where their next meal will come from and whether or not they will make it to school tomorrow—they could care less about terrorism, WMDs or other political optical illusions. Certain factors are precursors to homelessness. Families with incomes half or less than the federal poverty level, drug and alcohol abuse, abusive environments (sexual or physical), and “graduation” from foster care—that is, foster children who turn 18 and literally have nowhere to go. Even with assistance from shelters and transitional housing, the average length of homeless exceeds 30 months. In short, regardless what political pundits want us to believe, the lack of housing is the number one issue affecting Americans. They simply lack the voice to be heard and are invisible Americans. Annual homelessness figures exceed 1% percent of the total U.S. population and may represent as much as 10 percent of all poor people in this country. A large number of those with adequate and affordable housing are hanging by a thread and if that sounds oxymoronic, examine these facts: More than three million people face homelessness each year, including single and two-parent families, single adults (the largest group) and a rapidly-increasing number of the elderly. With escalating housing prices, working people are being priced out of the housing market. With large numbers of these people clamoring for the few available apartments, those price rises as well. In some areas of California (such as Solano County), bidding wars are driving up the price of this type of housing. Wages have stagnated and this has made it so that working families must spend a greater percentage of their income for housing, oftentimes in excess of 50%. The Urban Institute supports this idea, stating that market trends indicate that, “The situation is getting worse rather than better. Current levels of housing costs, coupled with low-wage jobs and economic contraction, could push even the working poor out of their homes.” In short, the main cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. In 1970, there were 300,000 more affordable housing units available than there were low-income households in need. In 2001, there were 4.7 more low-income households than available affordable housing units. (B. Alexander, “The State of the Nation’s Housing,” June 200). Even worse, millions of families are faced with the prospect of living in substandard or uninhabitable conditions. But when government agencies force slumlords to bring their properties up to code, that cost is usually offset by rent increases, or the eviction of the complaining tenant. In short, the cycle continues as the once uninhabitable house now meets safety requirements, but is now unaffordable for the previous tenant. (See “Rent, Racism and Retaliation In Contra Costa County, Pt. 3,” http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/mar/article153.html). So what can be done? The National Housing Alliance states that “Housing vouchers have been shown to end family homelessness. Additionally, inadequate housing is a major contributing factor to the placement and retention of children in foster care. Nationally, the average cost of placing the children of a homeless family in foster care is $47,608, while the average annual cost for a permanent housing subsidy and supportive services for a family of equal size is about $9,000.” (R.A. White, C.M. Seth, “No Place Like Home,” Children’s Voice. Child Welfare League of America, March/April, 2003. Vouchers are essential since affordable housing is at a premium. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, housing is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30 percent of a family’s income. When housing costs exceed that level families face major decisions, often having to choose between paying rent in full and eating. For the record, between twenty and thirty percent of homeless families surveyed in 1996 said they had gone without food for part of the previous month (Burt, Aron, and Lee, National Alliance to End Homelessness). In California’s Bay Area the median price for a first home is in excess of $600,000. Most assume the problem of high housing prices is exclusive to the inner cities. While the majority of cases may be there, rural areas are seeing a rapid increase in homeless rates due to lack of affordability and a dearth of available units. A study of 21 Midwestern communities with populations between 1,000 and 2,500 indicates “that while vacancy rates are generally within acceptable ranges for rental and owner-occupied units, that fewer actual units are on the market at any given time, e.g. a community with 100 houses and 5 percent vacancy would have 5 houses available to rent or buy.” In Minnesota the median statewide price for an existing home increased 61 percent in the last decade. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, pp. 8-9 of the full report). In Nebraska the problem is exacerbated in rural areas by “A shortage of builders, contractors and laborers, compounded by a lack of workers trained and being trained in construction trades, especially in rural areas...A shortage of buildable lots, lots with infrastructure in place and/or vacant land that can be developed for housing, is being experienced by many Nebraska communities.” Dr. Dennis Shockley, executive director of the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency stated that “...in many rural areas there is no research proving that a market exists for new housing developments, and that the price of new construction is significantly higher than the cost of an existing home. He said builders and lenders are justifiably concerned that buyers will not pay the price difference.” The factors shown to impact upon escalating housing prices are: The cost of land, labor, and materials, local zoning ordinances and taxes. Until governmental organizations can work with social services agencies, these problems will persist. But then there is the issue of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). Everyone claims to want the homeless to have shelters and other self-help facilities, as long as it isn’t near them. (Out of sight, out of mind). Folks, it is hard out there. Many of these folks simply need that helping hand. This might come in the form of six months in a shelter to map out a strategy to find housing and get a job; establish stability for their children, save money and most important, obtain some peace of mind. In shelters and transitional housing it doesn’t take long for advocates to determine who is serious about succeeding and who’s bulls----ing. Few of these individuals fall into that latter category. In the Fall of 2000 at Marin county’s Family Resource Center,4 of the 8 families had at least one member with a college degree. Three of the families were two-income families. But all families were given a support system that consisted of transportation, housing search, financial planning and educational resources. Furthermore, several social service agencies assisted with down payments, first month’s rent and utility deposits. All eight families succeeded in finding and maintaining housing. In the long term, such families could be further assisted with home ownership assistance. When jack Kemp was director of HUD he proposed a plan that would allow long-term residents in federal housing projects be given the opportunities to purchase their units outright. Studies showed that homeownership even in blighted areas cut down on crime, as property owners had a tendency to focus on the upkeep of their lots and worked to establish crime-fighting tools such as Homeowners Associations and Neighborhood Watch programs. How can we help the homeless? Write letters on their behalf to local, state and federal representatives. On a more personal level, one doesn’t have to give money. Give canned goods, used books, clothing, advice or volunteer for a few hours preparing a meal for a sheltered family. Buy a local bus ticket for a family with transportation woes. If each of us reach out to one family, we just might make a significant difference. Sources: National Alliance to End Homelessness Martha Burt, Y. Laudan and Edgar Aron, Helping America’s Homeless:Emergency Shelter or Affordable Housing? Kevin Fagan, “Shame of the City Sacred Sheep,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 2005 Dale Turner, “Task Force Identifies Lack of Affordable Housing As Obstacle to Rural Development,” 2003. John Patterson, Craig Helmstetter, Lila Moberg, Susan Von Mosch, and Jo Vos, "Affordable Housing (01-03)", Pp. 8-9, January 30, 2001 Affordable Housing? Further Reading: Heidi Sommer, “Homelessness in Urban America: A Review of the Literature,” Prepared for Urban Homelessness and Public Policy Solutions: A One-Day Conference, January 22, 2001, UC Berkeley Alumni House ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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