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Shelters Running Out of Room
Published November 23, 2009 @ 04:16PM PT
November weather has been mild, for the most part, yet many news outlets are reporting that their local shelters are already packed to the gills. The headlines hardly reflect the gravity of the situation. From Boulder to St. Paul, shelters are reportedly having to turn people away. This is a crisis in the making, as cold temperatures can be a matter of life and death for those without a home.
The combination of state budget reductions and the economic downturn is proving extremely challenging for homeless service providers. Many are already operating in crisis mode, dealing with overcrowding and their inability to meet demand. At the same time, their operating budgets are being slashed, which means a reduction of workers and services to address the rising crisis.
Two words sum up the extent of the overcrowding in the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul: six inches. That's the distance between the thin rubber mats that guests of the shelter sleep on each night. One staff member told MPR news that "the mats are literally so close together that staff cannot get from the front of the room to the back of the room without having to wake people." The worst part? The weather has not even been cold yet. Shelter workers expect the demand to "far exceed" the available resources of service providers in the city once the mercury drops.
There's no question that we have a homelessness crisis on our hands. As the temperature continues to drop to dangerous levels, it is up to media outlets to stop reporting the news as matter-of-fact stories that cannot be changed. Local reporters should delve into the role of whistle-blower by reporting the numbers of those being being denied shelter, exposing the crowded conditions, and telling the stories of those who are left outdoors. This is the only way to inform the public and generate the outrage needed to secure resources. And for right now - in the short term - resources are what we need to curb the short-term crisis.
Shame on us if we wait until the first cold-weather death this winter. Now is the time to act.
Image: Gilroy Dispatch
Overflow Shelters Opening, Filling Fast
Published November 03, 2009 @ 11:08AM PT
As the temperatures drop, communities across the country are opening seasonal shelters to provide life-saving respite from the cold. This year, though, an early trend has some providers worried. Overflow shelter beds are filling fast with people looking for food and warmth. If the demand is outpacing supply now, how will budget-strapped communities meet the need when temperatures become deadly?
The Warming Souls Winter Overflow Shelter is housed in a Wichita church and opens every year to accommodate the increased numbers of shelter guests that show up each winter. On Sunday, when it opened for the first night of the season, organizers anticipated 15-20 guests. Thirty-six showed up. "And the weather wasn't that cold last night," according to the shelter's director.
Other communities have added beds to their seasonal shelters this year in anticipation of the rising numbers of people living outdoors. Arlington, Virginia, for example, saw the number of shelter guests increase 40 percent in one year during the summer months. This year, they have added beds in the winter shelter to compensate for the growing numbers of people in need.
Despite the obvious need for additional seasonal shelter beds for the homeless, delivering this life-saving service is a real challenge for budget-strapped communities. Sacramento's homeless services recently received a devastating 84 percent slash. For a time, it looked like there would be no additional winter shelter beds for the city's homeless. Recently, however, Mayor Kevin Johnson pledged to fund 269 temporary beds and motel rooms for homeless men, women, and children during the winter months. Still, he said, making it happen wasn't easy. "Given the desperate conditions of state, county and city budgets in California, our ability to create emergency winter housing is a triumph of hard work and cooperation," he told CW31.
If ever there was a time for communities to come together, pool their resources, and develop creative solutions to an urgent issue - this is it. Leadership and community-level advocacy is critical right now to ensure that every person who seeks shelter from the cold this winter receives it. Speak up, ask questions. What is your community's plan for providing shelter this winter?
Faith-Based Organizations Must Reinforce Our Safety Net
Published October 22, 2009 @ 07:38PM PT
As the negative effects of our economic woes continue to trickle down in the form of lay-offs and evictions, our nation's homeless prevention and shelter system will continue to shoulder the ever-increasing burdens of meeting rising demand with declining resources. Faith based organizations - with their philanthropic interests, human and financial capital, and ability to mobilize quickly - are needed now more than ever to reinforce our social service safety net.
Virginia Beach, like many other cities across the country, does not have enough shelter beds to meet the needs of the city's homeless. Pilot Online detailed how 30 or so people sleep in the seaside porticos of a church each night because the shelters are filled. Even more people sleep in cars around town. As the weather cools and winter approaches, local advocates worry that demand will increase even more.
Indeed, this concern is being echoed in communities across the country. In the event of a full-fledged crisis this winter, it is unlikely that government money will be able to meet the need. Case in point: it has taken months for the Recovery Act funds to trickle down from the federal government to communities and from communities to the people who need assistance. So what's the answer?
One possibility is faith-based organizations. Why? Many churches have little/no bureaucratic red tape, structures in which to provide shelter, financial and human capital, and a propensity to serve. The combination of these assets might just be the safety net reinforcement needed to save lives during potential homelessness crisis that many predict is awaiting us this winter.
Image: mudpig
