Thursday, June 18, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Dunn K, Pedrin-Gizoni M, Williams N
Issue: Homeless people with HIV/AIDS live without shelter and medical care as well as have little opportunity to increase their feelings of self worth by making a productive contribution to mainstream society. Project: This project involves not only traditional HIV/AIDS outreach and case management for homeless people but also focuses on placing homeless people with HIV/AIDS in paid and volunteer jobs in AIDS service organizations. Results: During the 4 years of operation of this project, over 300 homeless people with AIDS have received help getting housing, food, and social service benefits. In addition, 20 of these people have entered into longterm drug/alcohol recovery and have taken positions of responsibility in the AIDS service community as drug/alcohol counselors, outreach workers to other homeless people with HIV/AIDS, or AIDS activists. Lessons Learned: For many homeless people with HIV/AIDS, entry into the "AIDS community" gives them an opportunity to take positions of responsibility and make a productive contribution to others. For many people, this entry into an accepting community environment is a key element in ending lifelong drug/alcohol use as well as criminal behavior.
Issue: Homeless people with HIV/AIDS live without shelter and medical care as well as have little opportunity to increase their feelings of self worth by making a productive contribution to mainstream society. Project: This project involves not only traditional HIV/AIDS outreach and case management for homeless people but also focuses on placing homeless people with HIV/AIDS in paid and volunteer jobs in AIDS service organizations. Results: During the 4 years of operation of this project, over 300 homeless people with AIDS have received help getting housing, food, and social service benefits. In addition, 20 of these people have entered into longterm drug/alcohol recovery and have taken positions of responsibility in the AIDS service community as drug/alcohol counselors, outreach workers to other homeless people with HIV/AIDS, or AIDS activists. Lessons Learned: For many homeless people with HIV/AIDS, entry into the "AIDS community" gives them an opportunity to take positions of responsibility and make a productive contribution to others. For many people, this entry into an accepting community environment is a key element in ending lifelong drug/alcohol use as well as criminal behavior.
Monday, June 8, 2009
David's Story
David Pirtle grew up in a middle-class family in Champaign, Illinois. He graduated from Parkland College, moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and worked as a restaurant manager for 15 years. But then, everything changed. David developed schizophrenia, a brain disorder that can cause people to see hallucinations and hear voices. Once he began showing symptoms of his illness, David lost his job, and then his home. He began hitchhiking his way across the country, eventually ending up in Washington, D.C.
For nearly two years, David slept on steam grates, park benches—wherever he could avoid getting picked up by the police. He was assaulted five times, mostly by teenagers. They threw rocks at him, beat him with a bat, urinated on him, and even covered him with spray paint— just for living on the street.
Eventually David was caught shoplifting, and his probation officer told him that if he was to avoid jail time, he had to take medication for his schizophrenia and stay in a shelter. Today, David works with the non-profit agency Until We’re Home , which fights for the rights of homeless people in Washington, D.C. Author unknown
How do people become homeless?
It’s hard to imagine how someone can go from having a home one day to being out on the street the next. Many homeless people start out with jobs and stable residences, but then social and economic factors intervene, causing a rapid change in their living situation.
The two biggest factors driving homelessness are poverty and the lack of affordable housing. In 2004, 37 million people, or 12.7 percent of the American population was living in poverty, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Many of these people live from paycheck to paycheck with nothing saved in the bank. The loss of a job, an illness, or another catastrophic event can quickly lead to missed rent or mortgage payments and ultimately, to eviction or foreclosure.
Losing a job happens much more readily today than it did a few decades ago, when most people worked for the same company until retirement. The decline in manufacturing jobs, outsourcing of jobs to other countries, and an increase in temporary and part-time employment has nicked away at the foundations of what was once a more stable job market.
Jobs today are not only far less secure than they were in the past, but many also pay less when considering the rate of inflation. In the late 1960s, a minimum-wage job could sustain a family of three above the poverty line. That isn’t the case today. In May 2007, Congress passed the first minimum wage increase in nearly a decade, from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour (by 2009). Say someone works 40 hours per week every week for the entire year at $7.25 per hour. That person will earn $15,080 per year— an income well below the $17,170 needed for a family of three to reach the poverty line. It’s certainly not enough to afford even the smallest apartment in one of America’s biggest cities. For example, consider New York— a recent report finds that an average one-room studio apartment costs $2,000 a month, or $24,000 a year. So, someone making minimum wage, working 40 hours every week— taking no vacation or sick time— misses the mark by almost $9,000! Although an estimated 15 percent of homeless people do have jobs, they simply don’t earn enough to afford housing.
To meet the federal definition for affordable housing, rent for a one- or two-bedroom apartment must not cost more than 30 percent of a person’s income. Yet in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford an apartment by these criteria, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 5 million U.S. households either pay more than half of their income in rent, or live in severely substandard housing.
Although the government offers some low-income housing, the numbers of reasonably priced dwellings have been dwindling over the years. Government support for low-income housing fell by half between 1980 and 2003, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. In the same period of time, more than 2 million low-rent units vanished from the market, either demolished or converted into higher-rent apartments. One million single room occupancy (SRO) housing units also vanished from the market. These units often are used to house people with mental illness or substance abuse problems. People today can wait an average of three years for housing vouchers. Often, they wait in shelters or on the streets.by Stephanie Watson
The two biggest factors driving homelessness are poverty and the lack of affordable housing. In 2004, 37 million people, or 12.7 percent of the American population was living in poverty, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Many of these people live from paycheck to paycheck with nothing saved in the bank. The loss of a job, an illness, or another catastrophic event can quickly lead to missed rent or mortgage payments and ultimately, to eviction or foreclosure.
Losing a job happens much more readily today than it did a few decades ago, when most people worked for the same company until retirement. The decline in manufacturing jobs, outsourcing of jobs to other countries, and an increase in temporary and part-time employment has nicked away at the foundations of what was once a more stable job market.
Jobs today are not only far less secure than they were in the past, but many also pay less when considering the rate of inflation. In the late 1960s, a minimum-wage job could sustain a family of three above the poverty line. That isn’t the case today. In May 2007, Congress passed the first minimum wage increase in nearly a decade, from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour (by 2009). Say someone works 40 hours per week every week for the entire year at $7.25 per hour. That person will earn $15,080 per year— an income well below the $17,170 needed for a family of three to reach the poverty line. It’s certainly not enough to afford even the smallest apartment in one of America’s biggest cities. For example, consider New York— a recent report finds that an average one-room studio apartment costs $2,000 a month, or $24,000 a year. So, someone making minimum wage, working 40 hours every week— taking no vacation or sick time— misses the mark by almost $9,000! Although an estimated 15 percent of homeless people do have jobs, they simply don’t earn enough to afford housing.
To meet the federal definition for affordable housing, rent for a one- or two-bedroom apartment must not cost more than 30 percent of a person’s income. Yet in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford an apartment by these criteria, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 5 million U.S. households either pay more than half of their income in rent, or live in severely substandard housing.
Although the government offers some low-income housing, the numbers of reasonably priced dwellings have been dwindling over the years. Government support for low-income housing fell by half between 1980 and 2003, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. In the same period of time, more than 2 million low-rent units vanished from the market, either demolished or converted into higher-rent apartments. One million single room occupancy (SRO) housing units also vanished from the market. These units often are used to house people with mental illness or substance abuse problems. People today can wait an average of three years for housing vouchers. Often, they wait in shelters or on the streets.by Stephanie Watson
Friday, June 5, 2009
Metro Vancouver homeless count hides many
By Carlito Pablo
As a volunteer in this year’s homeless count, Michelle Patterson didn’t expect to find a lot in her assigned section in Vancouver’s West End. But she found four homeless men.
Patterson, a researcher and an adjunct professor at SFU’s faculty of health sciences, said that what struck her later was that she and her buddy almost missed seeing any of these people. According to her, they were tucked away in hidden spaces like small passageways in underground garages. When interviewed by Patterson, the men claimed that there are several other homeless people in the West End, and more living in Stanley Park.
Patterson spoke to the Georgia Straight on April 8, the same day the Metro Vancouver regional steering committee on homelessness released preliminary figures from the 2008 homeless count. The results show that 2,592 individuals were found homeless by volunteers in a 24-hour count from March 10 to 11, representing a 19-percent increase from the last count in 2005. Count organizers themselves stressed that this new figure, as were the previous ones in 2005 and 2002, is an undercount.
“Homeless people find these little nooks or crannies where they’re not going to be interrupted and asked to leave,” Patterson said by phone. “There’s no accepted or consistent methodology for estimating the scope of the problem.”
In February, the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction at SFU released a study principally written by Patterson on housing issues facing those with addictions and mental-health problems.
Drawing from various existing data sources, the authors of Housing and Support for Adults With Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British Columbia stated that there could be up to a total of 10,500 people in the province who are “absolutely homeless”. These are “people who live on the streets, [and] cycle through shelters and rooming houses”, according to the report.
But even that estimate of 10,500 homeless people throughout the province may be a low-ball figure. “Given that homeless counts are considered to grossly undercount the homeless population, we would expect this figure to be a low-end estimate,” the same report said.
The document also noted that about 75 percent of the estimated “absolutely homeless” people have “problems related to mental illness and/or addiction”.
The 2008 homeless count by subregion
> Vancouver: 1,547
> Surrey: 386
> New Westminster: 124
> North Shore: 113
> Tri-Cities: 95
> Maple Ridge: 90
> Burnaby: 86
> Langley: 80
> Richmond: 54
> Delta: 17
Source: Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness
In her phone conversation with the Straight, Patterson said that using the same assumptions from the study, Metro Vancouver may have up to 8,000 homeless people.
Vancouver-Kensington MLA David Chudnovsky has his own estimate of the homeless population in the province, and his figure doesn’t differ that much from that of the Patterson-led study. Also drawing from various sources, including the now-outdated 2005 homeless count by the regional steering committee on homelessness, Chudnovsky calculated that there are 10,580 homeless people across B.C.
The provincial NDP’s critic on homelessness, Chudnovsky released these figures in November last year before he started his provincewide consultation with various communities regarding this concern.
Rebecca Siggner works at the Vancouver-based Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia, and she did research for the 2008 homeless count.
“We did find 398 people unable to participate [in the count] and we didn’t include them,” Siggner told the Straight. “That is an indicator of the undercount—the fact that we found almost 400 who aren’t included in the overall number.”
Also not included were mostly young couch surfers who didn’t access social services during the time the count was made.
Siggner noted that the number of homeless people staying in shelters didn’t change substantially because of the fixed supply of shelter units available. However, the 2008 count showed that the number of people staying on the streets rose to 1,547, representing more than a third of an increase from the 2005 figure of 1,127.
The count results also showed that the largest increases in the number of street homeless people occurred in Vancouver, the Tri-Cities, and the North Shore. The number of homeless on the streets more than doubled in the North Shore, Tri-Cities, Burnaby, and Delta.
By Carlito Pablo
As a volunteer in this year’s homeless count, Michelle Patterson didn’t expect to find a lot in her assigned section in Vancouver’s West End. But she found four homeless men.
Patterson, a researcher and an adjunct professor at SFU’s faculty of health sciences, said that what struck her later was that she and her buddy almost missed seeing any of these people. According to her, they were tucked away in hidden spaces like small passageways in underground garages. When interviewed by Patterson, the men claimed that there are several other homeless people in the West End, and more living in Stanley Park.
Patterson spoke to the Georgia Straight on April 8, the same day the Metro Vancouver regional steering committee on homelessness released preliminary figures from the 2008 homeless count. The results show that 2,592 individuals were found homeless by volunteers in a 24-hour count from March 10 to 11, representing a 19-percent increase from the last count in 2005. Count organizers themselves stressed that this new figure, as were the previous ones in 2005 and 2002, is an undercount.
“Homeless people find these little nooks or crannies where they’re not going to be interrupted and asked to leave,” Patterson said by phone. “There’s no accepted or consistent methodology for estimating the scope of the problem.”
In February, the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction at SFU released a study principally written by Patterson on housing issues facing those with addictions and mental-health problems.
Drawing from various existing data sources, the authors of Housing and Support for Adults With Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British Columbia stated that there could be up to a total of 10,500 people in the province who are “absolutely homeless”. These are “people who live on the streets, [and] cycle through shelters and rooming houses”, according to the report.
But even that estimate of 10,500 homeless people throughout the province may be a low-ball figure. “Given that homeless counts are considered to grossly undercount the homeless population, we would expect this figure to be a low-end estimate,” the same report said.
The document also noted that about 75 percent of the estimated “absolutely homeless” people have “problems related to mental illness and/or addiction”.
The 2008 homeless count by subregion
> Vancouver: 1,547
> Surrey: 386
> New Westminster: 124
> North Shore: 113
> Tri-Cities: 95
> Maple Ridge: 90
> Burnaby: 86
> Langley: 80
> Richmond: 54
> Delta: 17
Source: Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness
In her phone conversation with the Straight, Patterson said that using the same assumptions from the study, Metro Vancouver may have up to 8,000 homeless people.
Vancouver-Kensington MLA David Chudnovsky has his own estimate of the homeless population in the province, and his figure doesn’t differ that much from that of the Patterson-led study. Also drawing from various sources, including the now-outdated 2005 homeless count by the regional steering committee on homelessness, Chudnovsky calculated that there are 10,580 homeless people across B.C.
The provincial NDP’s critic on homelessness, Chudnovsky released these figures in November last year before he started his provincewide consultation with various communities regarding this concern.
Rebecca Siggner works at the Vancouver-based Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia, and she did research for the 2008 homeless count.
“We did find 398 people unable to participate [in the count] and we didn’t include them,” Siggner told the Straight. “That is an indicator of the undercount—the fact that we found almost 400 who aren’t included in the overall number.”
Also not included were mostly young couch surfers who didn’t access social services during the time the count was made.
Siggner noted that the number of homeless people staying in shelters didn’t change substantially because of the fixed supply of shelter units available. However, the 2008 count showed that the number of people staying on the streets rose to 1,547, representing more than a third of an increase from the 2005 figure of 1,127.
The count results also showed that the largest increases in the number of street homeless people occurred in Vancouver, the Tri-Cities, and the North Shore. The number of homeless on the streets more than doubled in the North Shore, Tri-Cities, Burnaby, and Delta.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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