In this land of plenty and this land of opportunity over 600,000 American's experience homelessness on any given night with 138,000 being children under the age of 18. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the national rate of homeless persons is 19 per 10,000 people with the highest in Washington DC of 106. Veterans are homeless at the rate of 27 for every 10,000 veterans, with DC again being the highest at 156. The lack of affordable housing is considered the primary cause of homelessness. The government agency HUD (Housing & Urban Development) has seen its budget slashed by over 50% resulting in the loss of 10,000 units each year of subsidized low income housing. 13% of the nation's low income housing has been lost since 2001. This country needs 7 million more affordable apartments for low income families, but because we don't have enough, 11 million families spend over half of their monthly income on rent. Add on top of this the over 5 million homes that have been foreclosed on since 2008 (1 of every 10 homes with a mortgage) and it easy to understand why this country is where it is with our lack of ability to help the homeless.
Homeless children as defined by the federal "No Child Left Behind" program includes not just those living in shelters or transitional housing, but also those sharing housing of other persons due to economic hardships, living in cars, parks, bus or train stations or awaiting foster care placement. Using this definition, the National Center for Homeless Education reported in September 2014 that local school districts have 1,258,182 homeless children in a public school which is an 8% jump from 2013 as reported by Mic.com. Youth homelessness has increased 72% in the last 7 years. Many of these homeless youths exchange sex for food, clothing, shelter and other basic needs. 75% of homeless youth have either dropped out or will drop out of school. 48% of homeless youth drink heavily versus 18% of their counterparts. As a caring society, what can we do about this?
Sports Illustrated (SI) just published a fascinating article on how more than 100,000 students on school teams are homeless. In the Mobile, Alabama county school system, 27.6% of homeless students competed for middle and high school teams. In Kansas City, Kansas 20% of homeless students competed. SI concludes that athletic programs are keeping homeless athletes away from outside factors that derail their chances for a successful future. Coaches often become mentors and surrogate parents and pregame and postgame meals provide essential nourishment while kids benefit from the exercise and structure in sports. We should be looking on how we can get more of these homeless kids involved in sports based on what SI learned.
Homeless veterans are another story. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that 1.4 million veterans are considered at risk for homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and substandard housing. 49,933 of these veterans are homeless on any given night. America's homeless veterans served in World War 11, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. Half of our current homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era. 8% are female while 40% are African American or Hispanic.
The Washington Post reported our new Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Bob McDonald (retired Chairman, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble who was confirmed 97-0 by the Senate on July 29, 2014) announced an additional $207 million in funding for rapid-assistance grants to help 70,000 veterans keep their homes or return to permanent housing. Also, an additional $62 million will be dedicated to a rental assistance program that would bring more than 9,000 chronically homeless veterans off the streets. Totally the VA has committed more than $1 billion in 2014 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans. They have changed their approach to a "housing first strategy" where they are focusing on providing veterans a place to live first and then help them with drug abuse, job searches and mental health. Previously the VA had insisted on health services first before offering housing.
Homelessness cannot be solved by the government alone, especially in times of government gridlock and lack of funds. This is a major problem that affects all of us, whether it involves the classmates of our kids or the war hero who was dedicated to protecting our country. There are many ways the average citizen can help by donating or volunteering. The Covenant House opens up its doors to help homeless youth. Stand Up For Kids helps homeless street kids. Move for Hunger helps collect food for those in need. Support Homeless Veterans works to get these forgotten heroes off the streets. And at DollarDays on our Facebook page, we are giving away 1,000 blankets to needy homeless shelters around the country, so be sure to nominate the shelter in your community.
We all suffer when we allow our neighbors to go homeless, even for just 1 night. Our society suffers when we deny any of our children a good night's sleep and a nourishing meal. With the limitless potential that many homeless youth have to make a lasting positive contribution to our communities, whether it is in science, humanities or sports; we cheat not only them but ourselves by not allocating dollars, either in the taxes we collect or the disposable income we can spare. Every child, or veteran or family in need should have a shot at attaining our American dream, and with a little help from all of us, America can help those 600,000 a night who suffer. This is one issue that is not political.
from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1G2JpjZ
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Homeless children as defined by the federal "No Child Left Behind" program includes not just those living in shelters or transitional housing, but also those sharing housing of other persons due to economic hardships, living in cars, parks, bus or train stations or awaiting foster care placement. Using this definition, the National Center for Homeless Education reported in September 2014 that local school districts have 1,258,182 homeless children in a public school which is an 8% jump from 2013 as reported by Mic.com. Youth homelessness has increased 72% in the last 7 years. Many of these homeless youths exchange sex for food, clothing, shelter and other basic needs. 75% of homeless youth have either dropped out or will drop out of school. 48% of homeless youth drink heavily versus 18% of their counterparts. As a caring society, what can we do about this?
Sports Illustrated (SI) just published a fascinating article on how more than 100,000 students on school teams are homeless. In the Mobile, Alabama county school system, 27.6% of homeless students competed for middle and high school teams. In Kansas City, Kansas 20% of homeless students competed. SI concludes that athletic programs are keeping homeless athletes away from outside factors that derail their chances for a successful future. Coaches often become mentors and surrogate parents and pregame and postgame meals provide essential nourishment while kids benefit from the exercise and structure in sports. We should be looking on how we can get more of these homeless kids involved in sports based on what SI learned.
Homeless veterans are another story. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that 1.4 million veterans are considered at risk for homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and substandard housing. 49,933 of these veterans are homeless on any given night. America's homeless veterans served in World War 11, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. Half of our current homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era. 8% are female while 40% are African American or Hispanic.
The Washington Post reported our new Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Bob McDonald (retired Chairman, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble who was confirmed 97-0 by the Senate on July 29, 2014) announced an additional $207 million in funding for rapid-assistance grants to help 70,000 veterans keep their homes or return to permanent housing. Also, an additional $62 million will be dedicated to a rental assistance program that would bring more than 9,000 chronically homeless veterans off the streets. Totally the VA has committed more than $1 billion in 2014 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans. They have changed their approach to a "housing first strategy" where they are focusing on providing veterans a place to live first and then help them with drug abuse, job searches and mental health. Previously the VA had insisted on health services first before offering housing.
Homelessness cannot be solved by the government alone, especially in times of government gridlock and lack of funds. This is a major problem that affects all of us, whether it involves the classmates of our kids or the war hero who was dedicated to protecting our country. There are many ways the average citizen can help by donating or volunteering. The Covenant House opens up its doors to help homeless youth. Stand Up For Kids helps homeless street kids. Move for Hunger helps collect food for those in need. Support Homeless Veterans works to get these forgotten heroes off the streets. And at DollarDays on our Facebook page, we are giving away 1,000 blankets to needy homeless shelters around the country, so be sure to nominate the shelter in your community.
We all suffer when we allow our neighbors to go homeless, even for just 1 night. Our society suffers when we deny any of our children a good night's sleep and a nourishing meal. With the limitless potential that many homeless youth have to make a lasting positive contribution to our communities, whether it is in science, humanities or sports; we cheat not only them but ourselves by not allocating dollars, either in the taxes we collect or the disposable income we can spare. Every child, or veteran or family in need should have a shot at attaining our American dream, and with a little help from all of us, America can help those 600,000 a night who suffer. This is one issue that is not political.
from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1G2JpjZ
via IFTTT
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