Addressing the Perception of Homelessness

Addressing the Perception of Homelessness

by Lily Arnold, Guest Contributor

There is a common stereotype among the average American that most homeless people are alcohol or drug abusers that have in some way or another contributed to their own situation, and this perception is causing a huge amount of apathy which is unnecessary and unhelpful to the 630,000 homeless people in the US.

A More Common Problem than You Might Imagine

The truth is that homelessness affects a huge variety of people in the US and it is more common than many people care to believe. Far from being a problem for drug and alcohol abusers, it is actually a problem that is experienced by 3.5 million people in any given year, with over a third of those being children. These remarkable figures, recorded by the National Law Centre on Homelessness and Poverty, highlight the true extent of the issue. Single men account for 44% of the homeless, single women 13%, families with children account for 36% and unaccompanied children around 7%. The issue is far reaching in our society, and if the general public were aware how easy it can be for ‘ordinary people’ to become in a situation of homelessness, they would want to do more to help.

Common Causes

Financial issues are a large contributing factor which can lead to people being without a home including poverty due to unemployment, no available affordable housing in the area, inability to get financial support from the state, and so on. Families can quickly end up without a home if the main earner is made redundant and they can no longer afford rent. Without adequate emergency housing in place to cater for the growing demand, there is simply nowhere to go. 44% of homeless people said that they had done work in the last month; however the average wage for those people was almost half of the national poverty line amount meaning that finding affordable housing options was simply not possible.

The stereotype of homelessness and substance abuse is rooted in reality, with research from SAMHSA showing that a large percentage (34.7%) of homeless people are currently suffering from a dependency on alcohol and illegal drugs. These figures are well above the national average for substance abuse, but are still a long way off from the perception that all homeless people are addicts. The issue is extremely complex, and those people who are suffering from substance abuse problems need assistance and support to get back on track with their lives. There are huge gaps in our system that are resulting in people falling into desperate situations, where drug and alcohol dependence can develop. The rates of substance abuse were highest in single homeless men, 40% of whom have previously served in the armed forces. This highlights the pitfalls in the system, allowing those who have previously served for our county to end up living on the streets.

Mental illness is another large scale problem connected to homelessness, with a fifth of people living without a home requiring help for mental illnesses of differing severity. If there is no adequate help in place to cater for the needs of these people, how can we expect the situation to improve? Someone who is suffering from a mental illness that requires treatment is unlikely to be able to help themselves out of their current situation, and their condition could be getting worse.

Positive Action in Our Communities

Homelessness is a complicated issue and there is no simple resolution, but one thing  is for sure, the first thing we need to do is raise public awareness of the issue and get more people involved in helping out our fellow Americans who are in need. Tackling the causes of the problem is not necessarily going to help those who are currently living on the streets, but understanding how to prevent thousands more people each year ending up without a home will reduce numbers moving forward.

There are lots of initiatives and schemes in place to help those in need, but we always require more volunteers and helpers to get involved. Positive things happen in communities where people are willing to look past judgment and stereotype to help out their fellow people. Why not try to help educate those around you so that we can raise awareness of the issue and help out those in need? Food and shelter for all should be our aim as a society.

Other articles by Lily:

http://www.lose-weight-diet.com/2012/03/21/dukan-diet-fad-fat-buster/
http://blog.boostherbs.com/post/2012/03/06/PCOS-Herbal-Healing.aspx
http://fibroviv.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/writing-visual-journal-for-stress.html

AHNC Update & Action Alert...today is Lame Duck Call-In Day to Congress!

Update & Action Alert   Greetings! Remember that today is Lame Duck Call-In Day to Congress!   Join anti-poverty advocates for our National Call-In Day on Wednesday, Nov. 28 urging Congress to protect and strengthen SNAP (food stamps) and other low-income programs from cuts in the lame duck session. One in 4 Washington children live in families struggling with hunger. They need you to speak up to protect SNAP, our most effective anti-hunger and anti-poverty program. It's as easy as 1-2-3! 1)  Call 1-888-743-1097 (toll-free number provided by AFSCME). 2)  Ask to speak to your Senators and Representative(s) and convey this message: I am calling [MEMBER's NAME] to urge him/her to protect and strengthen SNAP andreject any and all SNAP cuts that might be on the table during the Fiscal Cliff negotiations, including the harmful cuts contained in the House Agriculture Committee-passed bill and the Senate Farm Bill.  SNAP cuts - or any other cuts in low-income programs - would increase hunger and poverty and shift the pain of deficit cuts onto those who aren't responsible for creating the deficit. 3)  Spread the word!  Urge your networks to participate TODAY!    There's a 4th step for people who tweet or use Facebook:   Click here for sample tweets and Facebook posts on how #SNAPworks and why it's important to call Congress today! Follow us on

Advocacy Update & Action Alert from AHNC

Update & Action Alert   Greetings! Vote for 2013 AHNC Legislative Agenda: Remember to vote by Tuesday, Nov. 27 for AHNC's legislative priorities in Olympia:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AHNC_2013_Leg_agenda_vote_online . More information about each of these issues is included in meeting notes from recent coalition meetings, as well as short descriptions online. Action Alert: Join the Lame Duck Session Call-in Day to Congress on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Join anti-poverty advocates across the nation and call 1-888-743-1097. Ask to speak to your Senators and House Member(s) and convey this message: I am calling [MEMBER's NAME] to urge him/her to protect and strengthen SNAP (food stamps) and reject SNAP program cuts contained in the Senate Farm Bill and the House Agriculture Committee-passed bill. When calling your Representatives, also ask him/her to co-sponsor House Resolution 760 opposing SNAP cuts. (Note: Rep. McDermott has already co-sponsored - you can thank him!) Congress reconvenes on November 26 for the Lame Duck session. Budget negotiations will begin in earnest and it is expected that the Farm Bill will be included in any "grand bargain." We must get Members to support SNAP by weighing in with House and Senate leadership and the White House insisting that any grand bargain not increase hunger and poverty in this country. PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR NETWORKS ASAP - ASK THEM TO JOIN THE NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY TO PROTECT SNAP! Election Results   Check out this document to see current election results - more information about the elections is included in our meeting notes (see link in top section).        Legislator Forums on Revenue: Spread the word and plan to attend 2 upcoming community forums hosted by legislators in communities around the state to highlight budget problems for upcoming session, potential strategies to raise revenue, and opportunities for constituents to get engaged: Tuesday, Dec. 4 @ 6pm at Tacoma Community College (6501 S. 19th Street Room 11, Tacoma) Thursday, Dec. 6 @ 6pm at Shoreline Community College (16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline) Partner News: The Children's Alliance has launched its annual Member and Community Survey here:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/kidsandcommunity . Please take a few minutes to tell them what's important to you so they can learn more about what kids and families in your community need. Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition's Obesity Prevention Summit on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Shoreline Conference Center. For more info, see: copcwa.org Save the date! Friday, Feb. 22 is Hunger Action Day in Olympia - registration info coming in early December. Follow us on

WSDA NEWS: Demand remains high for food banks statewide

For immediate release:  Nov. 21, 2012 (12-22)    Contact:  Hector Castro (360) 902-1815

Demand remains high for food banks statewide

OLYMPIA – New figures gathered by the state Department of Agriculture show there remains an increasing need for food assistance, with 1 in 5 Washington residents visiting a food bank at least once during this past year.

Between June 2011 and June 2012, there were more than 8.6 million visits to food banks across Washington state, 500,000 more visits than in the previous year, according to the figures collected by the WSDA’s Food Assistance Program.

“These numbers show that, in the coming holiday season, we can expect that food assistance programs will be stretched to meet the need in many communities,” WSDA Director Dan Newhouse said. “My hope is that new partnerships we’ve formed with ranchers and dairy farmers, as well as farmers producing a variety of fruits and vegetables, will help to fill this need and that others will also step up their efforts to help the hungry among us.”

The WSDA Food Assistance Program uses both state and federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide food and money to food banks, meal programs and tribal voucher programs in Washington that help feed families in need. Often working with the state’s agriculture community, the Food Assistance Program works to alleviate hunger and provide access to safe and healthy food.

Some key facts about feeding the hungry this past year:

·         The Food Assistance Program distributed 474 truckloads of USDA commodity foods to more than 1.4 million families.

·         A total of 134 million pounds of food was distributed, 4 million more pounds than in 2011.

·         Each person received an average of 15.68 pounds of food with each visit.

·         On average, clients visited their local food bank six times in the past year.

·         WSDA works with nearly 500 emergency food providers.

            Every donation counts. Those who would like to help can contact the Food Assistance Program atfoodassistance@agr.wa.gov or 360-725-5641.

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Meet Our Members: Walla Walla

Washington Food Coalition members in Walla Walla serve their local community and beyond! 

Helpline serves as a central hub for families to come to and receive a food card, which serves as their 'pass' to the 3 local food banks in town. These 3 food banks are St. Vincent De Paul, Salvation Army, and Pantry Shelf. Helpline also keeps emergency food on hand so that they can give families enough to get through if a food bank isn't open at that time. All 3 food banks receive food from Blue Mountain Action Council, a local food distributor for hunger relief. Click here to read more on how they all work together. 

Empty fridges hope to be filled soon at Helpline

An impromptu beef donation allowed Helpline to recently hand out extra food.

Handmade blankets have been stocked for winter months.

Samantha Riggle, Executive Assistant, works with a faithful volunteer.

Hygiene items are kept on hand to help families in need.

Numbers of people helped continue to rise each year at St. Vincent de Paul. 

Director Skip from St. Vincent de Paul is with faithful volunteer Marie in front of 'Marie's Corner', where she prepares Christmas items for resale in the retail store they run.

Cheerful volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul have fun while serving their neighbors!

Clothes and household items are sorted and displayed so that food bank clients at St. Vincent de Paul can pick them up when needed.

This massive stock of boxes represents clothing and household donations to St. Vincent de Paul from the last 30 days. These will be sorted and sold in their retail store to support the food bank and charity office work.

The St. Vincent de Paul retail store.

Bins from a recent food drive at Blue Mountain Action Council's food distribution warehouse await sorting.

Great idea! Blue Mountain Action Council has these shopping carts customized so that they easily accommodate the loading and unloading of CSFP boxes (these boxes are for low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, other new mothers up to one year postpartum, infants, children up to age six, and elderly people at least 60 years of age).

Blue Mountain Action Council staff proudly showing off their good-looking potatoes that were recently donated. 

Delicious Dave's Killer Bread that was donated to Blue Mountain Action Council.