Posted on 02/21/2010 6:04:38 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
(Tough economy, joblessness puts a new face on homelessness, with increasing numbers of rural and suburban residents seeking help from overwhelmed shelters.)
Homelessness in rural and suburban America is straining shelters this winter as the economy founders and joblessness hovers near double digits — a "perfect storm of foreclosures, unemployment and a shortage of affordable housing," in one official's eyes.
"We are seeing many families that never before sought government help," said Greg Blass, commissioner of Social Services in Suffolk County on eastern Long Island.
"We see a spiral in food stamps, heating assistance applications; Medicaid is skyrocketing," Blass added. "It is truly reaching a stage of being alarming."
The federal government is again counting the nation's homeless and, by many accounts, the suburban numbers continue to rise, especially for families, women, children, Latinos and men seeking help for the first time. Some have to be turned away.
"Yes, there has definitely been an increased number of turnaways this year," said Jennifer Hill, executive director of the Alliance to End Homelessness in suburban Cook County, Illinois. "We're seeing increases in shelter use along the lines of 30 percent or more."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's annual survey last year found homelessness remained steady at about 1.6 million people, but the percentage of rural or suburban homelessness rose from 23 percent to 32 percent. The 2009 HUD report, which reflected the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2008, also found the number of sheltered homeless families grew from about 473,000 to 517,000.
Greta Guarton, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless on Long Island, led a recent group of about 40 volunteers to scour vacant lots and industrial parks for this year's HUD survey; results are expected in several months.
"One of the things that we've noticed is a lot more unsheltered, mostly men who claim this is the first time they've been homeless, who indicate that it's due to a loss of wages or loss of job, because of the economy," Guarton said.
Stephanie Hawkins, who lost her manager's job when a shelter for drug addicts and alcoholics closed last summer, is now among about a dozen or more "guests" living in a different kind of Long Island shelter — this one for women who have nowhere else to go.
"I lost my job and I lost my home," said Hawkins, 44, fighting tears. Her issues are compounded by a cancer diagnosis that requires chemotherapy. "I lived where I worked."
Nery Nij came to the United States from Guatemala six years ago. For much of that time he was a landscaper, manicuring the lawns of million-dollar seaside Hamptons estates. Most nights this winter, Nij joins dozens of day laborers and others who are provided shelter in church basements and auditoriums across eastern Long Island.
"There's just no work," Nij says in Spanish through an interpreter. "It's a big challenge. If you have no work, you have no rent. If you have no rent, you're out on the street."
Naiquan Pritchett says he was devastated when he lost his job in construction about four months ago. His bills quickly mounted and he now lives in a Long Island shelter for men. "I had been doing construction for nine years," Pritchett said.
The crunch is seen in suburbs around the country.
Northeast of Atlanta, foreclosures rose 77 percent from 2008 to 2009, said Suzy Bus of the Gwinnett County Coalition for Health and Human Services. About 60 percent of the county's homeless are children 9 and younger, she said.
"People equate homeless to a guy under a bridge, but it's a lot more complex than that, and it permeates much further into our society than a lot of people realize," Bus said.
When families lose their homes and relocate, their children's schooling can be disrupted. Some move into extended-stay hotels that cost about $175 a week, but that sometimes exposes them to criminal activity like prostitution and drug deals, Bus said.
In Coatesville, Pa., a former steel town of about 11,000 outside Philadelphia, the City Gate Mission added five beds to its shelter in November 2008. But director Jim Davis said that even with 21 beds, the shelter has still had to turn people away on many nights.
"There was a period of time recently where maybe as many as five people a day they would say no to by phone," Davis said.
Trouble in paradise
Even in the Hamptons, a summer playground for millionaires, demand is increasing for homeless services, according to Denis Yuen, director of Maureen's Haven, a consortium of 25 churches on eastern Long Island. Churches alternate hosting the homeless on different nights, offering cots or inflatable beds and hot meals.
"This year we saw an influx of Latinos, some of whom had not worked in four or five months," Yuen said. "They are living hand-to-mouth, depending on soup kitchens. Before this, they at least had a little work."
Nadia Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace Project, a Latino advocacy group, said undocumented workers from Mexico or Central America have limited access to government-run shelters and depend on groups like Maureen's Haven.
She said more must be done to determine how many homeless don't benefit from either government or community aid. Part of the problem is that some undocumented live in fear of deportation and therefore avoid any interaction with authorities.
"There isn't an understanding of how many people are living in the woods," she said.
Daphne Haynes, who has operated the Peace Valley Haven shelters in Roosevelt, Long Island, finds homeless people seeking warmth in 24-hour coin-operated laundries, huddled behind shopping centers and in retail stores.
"Most of the problem I noticed with homeless that come stay with us is their family don't want to be bothered with them," Haynes said.
Tom Sweeney worked in private security for 25 years before the company folded. Now he stays at Peace Valley Haven.
"I didn't have any money saved," said Sweeney, who admitted battling drug and alcohol abuse in the past. "You gotta hustle to get something to eat, panhandle, do whatever you can. If you can find a warm bed, take it, because being on the street ain't life as it's supposed to be."
It always surprises me that articles like this get published. I mean, the WH is lousy with Democrats right now...I thought it would all be rainbows and ponies and skittles from now until the next Republican president takes office! Are the FACTS too blinding to ignore? ;)
Quick fix for the unemployed illegals....
Ship them back home!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2456089/posts
Obviously this story about increasing homelessness is just a clumsy rightwing plant, meant to further tarnish Glorious Leader's successful stimulus program.../s
“Turnaways”.
I am trying to wrap my mind around the idea of being turned away by social services, at a time I need help after decades of paying ever increasing taxes and with families on welfare or other assistance going back generations SOME OF THEM NOT EVEN LEGAL CITIZENS! “Anger” doesn’t even begin to describe my feeling. “Rage” is getting a bit closer to it though.
Oh, I love that! :)
I can’t tell you how many people I know who have never sought one cent of help in their lives, who are standing in line for help now.
And I’m in S. Utah, the amigo capital of the world. It is absolutely MADDENING to roll into my local Smith’s grocery store and here one word in English out of the ten words one hears. And they whip out there EBT (what does that even mean?) cards at the checkout.
Meanwhile, I’m watching these careful (probably Mormon, because of conservative dress) senior citizens staring at products, trying to figure out which can of fruit cocktail is the best deal. All their life, they paid taxes, only to watch these interlopers feed off the system. It’s depressing.
Quick story here:
I got kissed Friday night at the grocery store. No kidding. LOL Never happened before, prolly never will again.
I was in the spice aisle, looking for Xanthan Gum, which they didn’t carry. There was a lady next to me that had to be 90 years old. She was staring at the spices. She was there so long that I began to wonder if her vision didn’t permit her to shop properly. I was wrong, her vision was fine, thank you very much. She was looking at the prices. I asked her if she needed a hand to look over something (she was using a walker) and she said no, but that she didn’t think she could afford what she wanted. Being the usual big mouth I am, I stuck my nose squarely in her business and asked. She said “Young lady, I’m not sure I can afford to pay $ 3.79 for basil. I didn’t realize it was that expensive.” Well first off, I’m not exactly young. But then I remembered something. Because of the many amigos here, there is a separate spice/herb section. And the prices are cheap! I told her to sit still and I would be back in a couple minutes. (If you don’t live out west, you won’t understand this part) I went over to the Latino spice part of the store, grabbed her a package of cellophane wrapped basil (instead of the stuff in the spice aisle) because THAT stuff sells for 79 cents. Yes, you heard that right.
I came back to her and said “This is 79 cents. Just add it to your basil bottle at home. Next time, tell the store staff to take you over there so you don’t have to pay these prices.”
And she hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, saying “Bless you, young lady. I will do that. Thank you so much!” And off she went.
We...gotta look out for each other, I’m thinking.
Of course, when I relayed this story to my sweetie later in the evening, he joked:
“I can’t even turn you loose in the damn grocery store without you misbehaving!” LOL
;)
Suburban Homeless: Women, Families Seek Help for the First Time
From the article: .....
especially for families, women, children, Latinos and men seeking help for the first time.
Why are women singled out in the title?
Some of them.
They are still pointedly ignoring others.
Because it grabs attention? Because ‘Women and Children Hit Hardest’ makes people want to open their pocketbooks and help?
Typical lefty headline. You can predict what they’re going to write before they even write it, LOL! ;)
Nicely done!
Any self-respecting FReeper (including you) would have done the same thing!
:)
Feel free to steal it, as I did.
Now that I know the trick, you betcha!
I clicked on your name to make sure you’re out west and you are!
Yes, my friend. You too, have a secret hidden amigo spice section in your local grocery store. Find it.
Btw, I’m a big fan of these outfits. They are small business entrepreneurs, competing in the marketplace against the big boys. The quality is better and the price is a fraction of those who bend arms to get shelf space.
:)
Yes. I’ve walked by them a hundred times, I’ve even bough the occasional odd spice there. Simply didn’t ‘click’ for ‘normal’ spices.
Year ago ,I was in a very troubled marriage. The emotional abuse was ramping up ,with physical abuse looming. I called several shelters in Ohio ,only to be turned away. Called ones in Pa.to be told that if it was physical abuse ,they could help me. But since it was “just emotional abuse” ,no deal..So many in that little Ohio town and in the entire valley were laid off ,abusing drugs and alcohol. (Our minister said he had never seen it as it was) With the current joblessness ,I can only imagine how it must be now...
Thats is disgusting. These wetbacks come here stealing jobs and welfare, then they get discounts on stuff.
Whoever is the GOP canditate in 2012, they had better close the borders, deport everyone here illegally{even anchor babies} and start working to get us out of this mess.
The left is doing what the Russians havent been able to do. Destory the greatest country on the face of the Earth. And they are doing it without firing a shot.
A great many Americans are fed up. Jobs are being lost, families destroyed and those in the beltway live thier lives without caring one minute about what we want.
It is time for this to end.
Nice story. Our neighborhood Safeway has a Mexican spice rack too. And I just noticed that they have started selling big hunks of tripe. I’m thinking it’s time to move.
Same old B/S - six years here and he still has to use an interpreter, thanks to all the Spanish language signs in our stores and the pervasive glorifying of multiculturalism. Waaay past time for deportations.
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