Obama Administration
The Audacity of Home
Published November 20, 2009 @ 09:12AM PT
If there were ever a time for the Obama Administration to fulfill its promise of restoring Hope for America, re-prioritizing the promise of "a Home for all" is the ideal start. The sum of our devastating housing and economic crisis, combined with the recent findings from the international human rights community, prove that there is no better time to move housing to the top of the federal policy agenda.
Today, I'm taking a step back. Away from the details in the news, away from the constant flow of comments, the banter. Today I want to talk about something so simple, so basic that most of us take it for granted.
Home.
A Home is a basic necessity. Something so basic that it's easy to forget. We see homeless people, we hear about programs designed to serve them, we read the news of the worsening crisis. Yet we're desensitized to the severe psychological implications of not having a home. We're numb.
A Home helps to ensure safety, health, and well-being. It is our base, a place we can always return to. We identify with our Home - with the structure we live in, the town and state it's in, the schools it's near. A Home is safety, it is opportunity. For many people, it is even identity. It is not far-fetched to say that our ability to hope is directly related to having a Home.
Nearly Half of Homeless U.S. Veterans are Black
Published November 15, 2009 @ 06:05PM PT
Veterans experience homelessness at a greater rate than non-vets in the United States. But a new study finds that minority veterans - particularly African-Americans - are disproportionately represented among the homeless veteran population. Today, a whopping 45 percent of the homeless veteran population is African American, proving that race is still relevant to any discussion about poverty and homelessness in America.
These findings were revealed in a study by the Homelessness Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The study was released shortly after President Obama rolled out his bold-but-necessary plan of ending veteran homelessness in five years.
M. William Sermons, Director of the Homelessness Research Institute, told BlackAmericaWeb.com that the factors driving disproportionate homelessness rates among minority veterans are the same as those causing disproportionate rates of homelessness of minorities in the general homeless population. "Some of the risk factors affecting African-American men are high unemployment rates (almost double that of whites) and highly disproportionate rates of discharge from prisons and the foster care system."
In a perfect world, race would no longer be a factor when discussing issues of socio-economic equity. But clearly, this is not the case. This new data exposes the complex and continued link between poverty and race in America, even among those who have worn the uniform. To address poverty, to end homelessness, we must confront these challenging issues directly.
Image: scanned
Vice President Biden Responds to 19% Jump in Foreclosures by Serving Fish Sticks to Homeless
Published November 14, 2009 @ 07:25AM PT
The Detroit News reported Friday that house foreclosures are up 19% over the previous month, a gut kick aided in part by rising unemployment and an inadequate federal response to the continued crisis. If you're like me and tend to yawn a bit when you hear percentages, I strained a bit and did the numbers: this is now 8 consecutive months of 300,000 foreclosures per, so let's see now-- 8 times 300,000-ish is about, oh, nearly 2.5 million homes lost. There are now over 2 million people who watched representatives of government bailout bank take away their homes.
This wasn't supposed to happen. The day after President Obama signed into law the Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February, he gave a speech at a high school in Arizona in which he outlined his ambitious plan that promised to significantly reduce foreclosures. His promise for this plan was that it would "give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild. It will prevent the worst consequences of this crisis from wreaking even greater havoc on the economy." What we now know is that the financial sector was cushioned from the worst of the crisis while everyday homeowners, soon to be over 3 million this year alone, continue to suffer.
If you're worried about all this, don't be. Vice President Biden has a solution: boutique catering. On the day these dismal foreclosure numbers were released, Biden took time from his hectic itinerary in order to "don gloves and an apron to serve fish sticks," writes the Huffington Post. We're saved! Biden apparently, "wanted to serve [delicious, crispy, hand-held fillets] to remind himself of the grim reality that many D.C. residents face." It apparently took the Vice President's posse approximately 5 minutes to weather the hairy commute back to the White House. Glad he made the effort.
Is it unfair to mock the Vice President for this empty grandstanding in a city of 18,000 homeless? After all, he's done his share of advocating for the poor, not least of which is his part in supporting the public option in health care reform. And yet. This was beyond stupid. If the Obama Administration made homelessness and the housing crisis a meaningful priority, the recent numbers are a good excuse to make a stand. Opportunity lost.
The upside? I hear the fish was delicious.
Image: AP
This Veterans Day, Hope for Homeless Vets
Published November 11, 2009 @ 09:00PM PT
This year, Veterans Day is more hopeful than last year. Even though some atrocities have not changed - veterans are still twice as likely to be homeless than non-vets and over 130,000 veterans are homeless tonight - this year is different. This year, the Obama Administration has made it a priority to fulfill the promise of "supporting our troops" by ending veteran homelessness in five years.
There's no denying the enormous sacrifices made by those who put on the uniform. And there's no denying that we should support these individuals even - especially - when their time in uniform is over. But somehow, somewhere along the way, we as a nation forgot to do this. We allowed the issues affecting veterans spiral out of control.
Today, veterans experience higher rates of suicide, homelessness, and substance abuse than non-vets. The disability claims backlog numbers over 400,000, leaving many vulnerable vets waiting for months - sometimes years - for the federal assistance they need. Today, one in three homeless adult men is a veteran, many of whom fought in Vietnam. But perhaps most disturbing is the newest trend: veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are slowly beginning to wind up on the streets. In other words, history is starting to repeat itself.
The only way to definitely end such a systemically-embedded atrocity is with bold, decisive action. And this is precisely what VA Secretary Shinseki delivered on November 3rd at the national summit on veterans homelessness. The VA's plan includes efforts to increase the housing stock for those vets who are already on the streets as well as a strong focus on homelessness prevention. Several bills currently in Congress aim to support the VA's goal, and Obama recently signed an executive order that will encourage federal hiring of former service members.
Ending veteran homelessness in five years is no small task, but it is critically important. There is no better way to properly honor our service men and women than with the promise that their sacrifices will not be forgotten when their time in uniform is over.
Image: Leo Reynolds
U.S. Senate Tackles Veteran Homelessness
Published November 10, 2009 @ 07:53AM PT
Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will tackle veteran's homelessness. More specifically - how to end it. This hearing comes one week after VA Secretary Shinseki made a bold commitment to ending veteran homelessness.
The hearing is happening now... you can watch it live or catch an archived video of the testimonies.
Check back later for a breakdown of what was discussed and what this could mean for the greater effort to end veteran homelessness.
Watch the Speech: HUD Secretary Donovan on Homelessness
Published September 10, 2009 @ 05:43AM PT
On July 30th, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan addressed the attendees of the National Conference to End Homelessness in Washington, D.C.
You've read the live blog, but now -- thanks to the National Alliance to End Homelessness -- you can watch the entire speech.
If you work with homeless people, have experienced homelessness, been on the verge of experiencing homelessness, or believe homelessness is unacceptable - I urge you to take 30 minutes and watch these remarks. This, my friends, is how the issue of homelessness is being framed and dealt with nationally by our federal policy-makers.
I was inspired by the Secretary's remarks. Advocates who were present were encouraged. But the real question is -- what do you think?
Image from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Blocks from the White House, Homelessness Persists
Published August 24, 2009 @ 07:30PM PT
With the Obamas vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is vacant this week. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the streets surrounding the White House, streets that thousands of people call "home." Washington, D.C. has one of the most highly concentrated homeless populations in the country and despite a supportive administration and a massive allocation of funds, homelessness in the city is on the rise.
Poppy, pictured above, it one of the thousands who lives on the streets of The District, McClatchy reported today. Poppy is a veteran, a 36 year-old man who carries a bow tie in his luggage for job interviews. He has lived on the streets of D.C. for over a year.
Washington has one of the highest concentrations of homelessness in the country. According to the most recent point-in-time count, 6,200 people are currently homeless on the streets of our nation's capitol; a 7.5 percent increase since 2007. What's more, a changing population is creating new challenges for providers. Family homelessness has increased 15 percent since 2007, and with the recession in full swing, case managers are seeing even more families, many are out of work and unable to make ends meet.
Clearly, the Obama Administration understands the gravity of the homelessness problem, as well as the severe implications of being homeless. Back on March 24, he said, "Part of the change in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country is a belief that it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours." And last month, HUD Secretary Shawn Donovan told attendees of the National Conference to End Homelessness, "A civilized society does not allow someone to live, or die, on the streets."
But despite this bold rhetoric by our fearless leaders, homelessness persists beyond the perimeter of the meticulously manicured White House lawn. Despite the $1.5 billion in recovery funds allocated for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing back in February, most of these funds have yet to reach those sleeping on the sidewalks or in cars.
While the federal level support is desperately needed, it is also rejuvenating for those who have been affected by homelessness. But this high-level support does not erase the frustration from the lack of widespread concern at the community level. It begins with indifference to people on the streets and culminates with a lack of outrage that people in our society are forced to live this way.
Poppy, the man pictured above, said it best: "I've seen men lay right in the middle of the road and people walk by like they're not there. If that was a whale, if that was a dog, wouldn't someone save it?"
Photo from McClatchy: Poppy Cali has been homeless on the streets of Washington D.C. since July 2008. He makes his home nowadays under the Whitehurst Freeway near the Kennedy Center in Northwest Washington.
