Posted on 01/05/2004 7:01:41 AM PST by Joseph Stix
Despite recent reports of an improved economy, hunger and homelessness are on the rise, according to a study of 25 major cities by the U. S. Conference of Mayors.
“This survey underscores the impact the economy has had on everyday Americans,” says conference president, Mayor James E. Garner of Hempstead, N.Y. “The face of homelessness has changed and now reflects who we least suspect.”
For example, 61 percent of people requesting emergency food assistance in the cities surveyed held jobs.
The annual “Hunger and Homelessness Survey,” released in late December, reports that requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 17 percent over the previous year, and requests for emergency shelter assistance increased by an average of 13 percent.
“It is disheartening and disturbing to learn that so many of our fellow Americans are in desperate need of shelter, food, clothing and the other basic necessities of life,” says Richard Macedonia, chief operating officer for Sodexho U.S.A., a leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States. “In nearly every major U. S. city, the problem of hunger and homelessness is steadily growing.”
The survey was released only days before the U. S. Department of Commerce released its third and final estimate of the nation’s economic performance for the third quarter of 2003. The agency estimated that the gross domestic product (output of goods and services) grew by 8.2 percent in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, more than doubling the growth rate of the previous three months. The unemployment rate also held steady in November at 5.9 percent with a 1.3 percent drop in the Black rate from 11.5 to 10.2 percent.
Yet, there was little to cheer for during the holiday season.
Among the most glaring trends was an 11 percent leap in families with children requesting food, from 48 percent in 2002 to 59 percent in 2003; a record 56 percent of cities having to turn people away without help from food assistance programs, up 24 percent over the previous year and the highest percentage since six years ago when 71 percent was recorded; and a record 84 percent of cities having to turn away people from homeless shelters because of lack of space, up 38 percent over 2002 and the largest percentage in seven years.
The conference is the official organization of U.S. cities with populations of 30,000; there are 1,139 cities in that category.
The 25 cities that participated in the survey were Boston; Burlington, Vt.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Charleston, S.C.; Chicago; Cleveland; Denver; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Louisville Metro, Ky.; Nashville; New Orleans; Norfolk, Va.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland; Providence, R.I.; Salt Lake City; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco; Santa Monica, Calif.; Seattle; Trenton, N.J.; and Washington, D.C.
The data was collected from the cities between Nov. 1, 2002 to Oct. 31, 2003. Among other findings:
· Twenty cities reported that unemployment and unemployment-related problems were the leading causes of hunger. Overriding causes of hunger in 13 cities were attributed to low-paying jobs and in 11 cities, rising housing costs;
· More than half of the cities – 56 percent – reported that people in need were turned away with no help because of lack of food and resources. More than 14 percent of the requests for emergency food assistance are estimated to have gone unmet over the past year;
· Fifty-nine percent of those requesting emergency food assistance were members of families with children;
· Twenty-three cities said the lack of affordable housing contributed to homelessness. Other major causes included low-paying jobs, lack of needed services, mental illness or substance abuse problems;
· Eighty-four percent of the cities reported that emergency shelters have turned away homeless families because of a lack of resources. More than 14 percent of the requests for emergency food assistance are estimated to have gone unmet. Fifteen percent of the requests from families were not met and
· People remained homeless for an average of five months in the survey cities with 60 percent of the cities reporting that the length of homelessness time increased over the past year. Single men made up 41 percent of the homeless population, families with children made up 40 percent, single women, 14 percent and independent youth, 5 percent.
Robert Forney, president and CEO of America’s Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization, says carrying the load has not been easy.
“We are hopeful that this will spur the president and Congress to renew and strengthen our national fight against child hunger in America,” Forney says.
The mayors’ conference say that even with an improving economy more than 80 percent of the cities expect that requests for emergency food, assistance and shelter will increase in 2004.
“These are not simply statistics,” says Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, who co-chairs the Conference’s Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. “These are real people who are hungry and homeless in our cities.”
Some help for anyone, like the author, who thinks with their feelings rather than their mind:
2003 - 6 = 1997
It's a known fact that during Billy-Jeff's reign, aka Willard, there weren't any homeless. The present homeless people all lived in gazillion dollar mansions, drove Bentleys and their kids all went to private schools. But as soon as Dubya was sworn in - BAM! The mortgages were foreclosed, the cars repossessed, the kids forced to go to public schools and take drugs.
Honest, I read it in the New York Times.
No offense meant. I'm new here so you might not know I'm being facetious and just kidding.
You must have forgotten......homelessness is ILLEGAL during Democrat administrations, so they all go home to San Francisco where they get room and board until a Republican administration is elected.
Yeah, JS?
Are you going to stick around and defend your post?
What's your opinion?
In a sane socially correct society, nobody should be too fat or too hungry.
Cowardice, it the DU SOP.
Article from 1996 - In the Bush years (1989-1992), the number of homeless stories per year averaged 52.5, but in the first three years of the Clinton administration, the average dropped to 25.3 stories a year.Worst part about it is...many lamestream media viewers will believe the tripe the Dems put out.During the Bush administration, the story count grew from 44 in 1989 to a peak of 71 in 1990, followed by 54 stories in 1991 and 43 in 1992. By contrast, stories on America's homeless dipped slightly to 35 stories in 1993, and 32 in 1994. In 1995, the number fell dramatically to just nine. When the count is broken down by network, CNN had the widest gap in reporting during the Bush years and Clinton years (90-30), closely followed by ABC (45-16), CBS (41-15), and NBC (36-15).
Article from 1999 - The homeless comeback Democrats rediscover an old political tool
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