5 Things You Should Know About Homelessness

Published October 05, 2008 @ 09:09PM PT

Okay, so there are lots of things you should know about homelessness. The five things below, though, are issues of concern that are affecting people today.

1. Homelessness is prevalent among foster children

"About 25 percent of those who experience homelessness have spent some time in foster care or other out-of-home placements," says Martha Burt, a researcher and leading expert on homelessness for the Urban Institute. The US Department of Health & Human Service estimates that about 20,000 youth "age out" of the foster care system each year, meaning they are forced to leave their foster care placement and do not reunite with their biological family. Many of these youth have no choice but to become homeless. An estimated 40 percent of young adults (18 to 20 years old) experiencing homelessness spent time in the foster care system as a child.

According to Burt, homelessness as a young adult is a strong indicator in predicting who will be chronically homeless as adults.

These youth have few ties, or no ties, and most have a history of abuse-both physical and sexual. This makes them very poor candidates for stable relationships, with either partners or friends who could help them get out of homelessness and create a stable home life.

Given this vastly disproportionate representation of foster children among homeless youth, many communities are creating programs specifically for this population. Given the vastly disproportionate representation of homeless foster children among 18 to 21 year-olds, this should be a focus for communities seeking to end the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

2. Homeless people are being criminalized for being homeless

Criminalizing the homeless can take many forms. For example, Sarasota, Florida has passed city ordinances preventing sitting, sleeping, or storing personal belongings in public places. Other cities have implemented sweeps designed to drive homeless people out of certain areas, often resulting in the destruction of personal property, including paperwork and medications.

The list of Top 20 Meanest U.S. Cities is compiled bi-annually by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The rankings are based on the number of anti-homeless laws in the city, the enforcement of those laws and severities of penalties, the general political climate toward homeless people in the city, local advocate support for the meanest designation, the city's history of criminalization measures, and the existence of pending or recently enacted criminalization legislation in the city.

See if your hometown is identified as one of the Top 20 Meanest U.S. Cities towards the homeless.

3. The effects of the foreclosure crisis

Nearly 61% of state and local homeless service organizations have seen a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to an April 2008 study by the National Coalition for the Homeless. According to the study, 76% of displaced homeowners and renters are moving in with family or friends and 54% are moving to emergency or transitional homeless shelters. 40% of those surveyed are already living on the streets.

Major George Hood, national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army told ABC News

We're really seeing an uptick in homelessness right now. You have to rescue some from sleeping in vehicles. They're embarrassed and don't want to ask for help. They've found themselves in situations they never expected.

Many believe that the crisis has not yet reached its peak. The Center for Responsible Lending, for example, predicts that one in four subprime mortgages made in 2005 - 2006 will default. If this trend continues, and homelessness continues affecting people facing foreclosure, the housing crisis could very well morph into the homelessness crisis.

4. Homelessness among Iraq war veterans expected to increase

One in four homeless people in America is a veteran. According to CNN, "government reports state that there are as many as 200,000 homeless veterans on any given night; the majority served in the Vietnam War. Some served in Korea or even World War II. About 2,000 served in Iraq or Afghanistan."

The Department of Veteran's Affairs anticipates the rate of homelessness among veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to increase steadily due to the post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by returning veterans. According to CNN:

The VA says 70 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan saw some form of combat, either through firefights, rocket attacks or the most common strikes on troops -- roadside bomb attacks on their vehicles. That is three times the rate of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans.

Special traits of the current wars may contribute to homelessness, said the NY Times, including PTSD and traumatic brain injury, "which can cause unstable behavior and substance abuse, and the long and repeated tours of duty, which can make the reintegration into families and work all the harder."

Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, told the NY Times, "We're beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters. But we anticipate that it's going to be a tsunami."

5. Hate crimes directed at homeless people are on the rise

From 2002 to 2005, hate crimes against the homeless increased 300%. Fatal attacks rose by 67%. A new study found that this number has increased even more - 65% - since 2005.

Perhaps the most alarming element of these crimes, beyond the cruelty of the abuse, is that overwhelmingly the attackers are teenagers and young adults. In Florida, the problem is so severe (23% of violent crimes reported in 2007 occurred in Florida) that "the National Coalition for the Homeless is setting up speakers bureaus to address a culture that sees attacking the homeless as a sport," according to the NY Times.

Michael Stoops, of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said that:

There is currently no federal criminal prohibition against violent crimes directed at individuals because of their housing status, poverty or homelessness. People who are forced to live and sleep on the streets for lack of an appropriate alternative are in an extremely vulnerable situation, and it is unacceptable that hate crime prevention laws do not protect them.

In the wake of this increase in violence towards the homeless, some states have added homeless people to groups protected by hate crime legislation.

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Comments (13)

It's not just the Iraqi Vets. Though many of them are coming home with problems. From what I've seen in my own experience. Veterans make up a disprorotionally large part of the homeless. Both out of the homeless that I knew while living on the streets and at the shelters. One of the shelters that I stayed at in San Fransisco had what amounted to a floor for veterans.

Posted by Ismael Rodriguez on 10/14/2008 @ 11:54AM PT
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I am a homeless black female veteran living in NYC and find it hard to get assistance. Around here, the one's that get the most help from the VA are those that have a substance abust problem. Most of them are male. I have lived in several shelters in New York (women, mixed and family) and have had almost the same problems. There is one Veterans Shelter but the way they are treated is just a smack in the face instead of "Thank you for your service to the Country, how can we pay you back?"
No matter how loud or long a veteran sreams for help, we are only heard as whispers in the crowd.

Posted by Tasha Peeler on 10/18/2008 @ 07:34AM PT
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I don't think any veterans should be homeless. I veterans were willing to give their life for our freedom. They should at least be able to have a home and live(able) wage job. I also think it's interest that I have been homeless in two of the meanest cities to the homeless Atlanta and St. Louis. I guess I know I am really a survivor now. Thank God

Posted by Ly Syin Lobster on 10/19/2008 @ 02:25PM PT
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In Phila there are many homeless. I think we could all at least buy a cup of soup or coffee for them. For two cups of coffee you can sit in Dunkin Donuts for hours. The food banks need tons more food.They have kept a friend of mine alive for a full year till she got a place. We need to help them one on one. Ellen Valle

Posted by ellen valle on 10/22/2008 @ 03:57AM PT
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I knew (years ago) a man in San Juan PR who was homeless, the funny part was, that he was a vet from WW2 or/and (bad memory) Korea, and he told my parents that he chose PR to be the place where he'd like to be homeless. I don't think I'll ever forget him.
Besides that, my school is trying to create a shelter for our homeless students, do you have any suggestions or ideas that could aid in us starting one? (like where we could get grants or any information you have).
Thank you!

Posted by Priscilla V. Quinones on 11/20/2008 @ 02:50PM PT
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I guess the number of comments might mirror the public concern for this situation. In truth, it becomes a "popular" issue occasionally, like child abuse, hunger,...

In 1996 I was working with a non-profit and all of the situations described applied. In San Diego, I encountered three other sitiuations, Gathering up shopping carts and taking any useful items by the police. i.e. Took a vets shopping cart and his hair cutting (professional) equipment. He had brought these tools with him when he lost his apartment...only way to make even chump change...he went to homeless VA agency to find no help from the agency. Staff of the agency pitched in to help him, in this exception.

For Christmas the youth shelters began to give out "survival" back packs: even then we knew that once you are out there it is hard to get back even if you are working from the streets.

At the same time i was working with youth. One told me that he and others had beat up a homeless guy so much that he landed in the hospital (the kids did not call for help) When I asked him why he responded that "god, he was just a worthless bum and we were tired of just walkin' around."

I'm glad to see this cause here.

Posted by Mary Powell on 01/27/2009 @ 11:37AM PT
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The VA system is horrifying to the homeless veterans. Every homeless veteran MUST convert to the 12-Step Religion or they are labeled "Treatment Resistant" and thrown back to the streets. This is true. If a homeless veteran has a beer at a ball game, the VA claims that is substance abuse and requires tens of thousands of dollars in detox & "treatment" (yes, homeless do go to games).

Posted by August Jones on 02/14/2009 @ 07:09AM PT
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I led a study of homelessness in Miami. We held an open meeting for the homeless themselves to come talk with us. We also gather a lot of facts. Frankly, that was difficult as most studies have a strong bias of one kind or another.

I guess I was most shocked at the attitude of the local HUD officials: they really did not consider homelessness to be part of their mission.

Posted by Jim George on 02/24/2009 @ 10:42PM PT
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I'm a survivor from one of the meanest cities in this country, San Francisc. Its not just doc martin wearing bald headed, white supremacists beating up the homeless, the police enjoyed it just as much. Once after getting out of San Francisco General from an attack by a skin head gang, three cops threw me to the ground, tossed my meds (antibiotics and pain killers)down a sewer drain and told me point blank "either I leave or the next lesson will be even worse". Since I had a couple of relatives in the Bay Area, I went and stayed with them till I got better.

Posted by Erik Nash on 04/04/2009 @ 10:24AM PT
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this is really readable and informative. thanks shannon!

Posted by Catherine An on 05/18/2009 @ 10:19AM PT
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It is a good thing that homeless are starting to spread support for themselves through the internet!

There is a pro homeless wiki at http://urbancampingoly.wetpaint.com/

It's a neat idea! We can input our experience to help others face the things we had to go through.

Posted by Aloisious Mason on 07/29/2009 @ 10:35AM PT
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Hello everyone I'm homeless also,and have no one in my family here to help me and am at this present time under a doctors care , because I helped someone else out that is also homeless and because I would not have sex with this person he shatered my left tibia platu,this happened last year in Aug. after my husband left me behind with everything of his mine to move by myself and no one at my church would take me in until my situation changed so I'm homeless once again in my home state of NC.

Posted by Desirree Marlena Clonch-Huff on 08/01/2009 @ 07:49AM PT
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Mr. Jones hit it on the head. I am in VA housing as I write this, as I am a disabled and homeless Vet myself.

The Va is tell me they are going to take all of my income and give me 90 dollars a month, which is interseting in that my child support is Only 250 dollars a month. When told about this problem the answer I was given was "well when you leave the Va you can catch up then". They had no answer when asked "what do I tell the State Of Alaska when they come after me about the back child support"

The Va will tell you they are here to help the Vets, but a lot of us "older" vets are still waithing for it to happen.

Posted by James Brouillette on 10/12/2009 @ 08:01PM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.