Veteran Homeless

Going off the Previous article, here is an informational page from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans from which I've extracted some interesting and, to me, surprising statistics. Interesting as well given what both candidates just expressed during the debates last night about helping our nation's homeless and disabled veterans get back on their feet.

the nation's homeless veterans are mostly males...single, most come from poor, disadvantaged communities, 45% suffer from mental illness, and half have substance abuse problems....and account for 23% of all homeless people in America.

With an estimated 400,000 veterans homeless at some time during the year, the VA reaches 25% of those in need ... leaving 300,000 veterans who must seek assistance from local government agencies and service organizations in their communities.

In addition to...extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income, and access to health care -- a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse, compounded by a lack of family and social support networks.

Programs that seem to work best feature transitional housing with the camaraderie of living in structured, substance-free environments with fellow veterans....it is critical that community groups reach out to help provide the support, resources and opportunities most Americans take for granted: housing, employment and health care.

The website goes on to suggest that a great way to provide help is to look up a local organization that works with homeless veterans issues and see what you can do to get involved.

Source: National Coalition for Homeless Veterans; Facts & Media

How do you (and who does) define homelessness?

A recent New York Times article documents the debate currently taking place in Congress over whether to expand the definition of homelessness:

to include about a million additional people — a subset within the group of children and their families in desperate need of stable housing

Other propositions under consideration advocate smaller expansions of the definition, and it is as yet unclear which motion will be agreed upon between the two parties. The stakes, of course, are high for those on the cusp of the current definition. For example:

In the 2006-7 school year, the Education Department categorized 688,174 children as homeless. But only 32 percent of those children lived in shelters or outdoors. The rest failed to meet HUD’s criteria for homelessness and so were ineligible to receive emergency shelter or priority on waiting lists for public or subsidized housing.

The other side of the debate questions whether an expansion in the number of people classified as homeless would spread funds too thin, leaving those already perceived as homeless with even less support. As Steve Berg of the National Alliance to End Homelessness puts it, "When push comes to shove, when you’ve got people in apartments and people in shelters and on the streets, the people in the latter group need the help more.”

What, indeed, does it mean to be homeless? Does it strictly mean you have to be living on the street, or might it include the two families barely getting by while crammed into one apartment? Given how much of a preconceived stereotype one may have of the term homelessness, this is an interesting question.  And important as it always is to address this issue, it becomes especially consequential in light of the current housing crisis and economic downturn.

Congress is expected to vote on the resolution within the month.

The full article: Capitol Strives to Define ‘Homeless’

The OFFICIAL asap blog

Today is a very special day in the illustrious if not overly lengthy history of our group.  This being the introductory post, let us sketch out in brief our tentative goals:

With this blog we seek to raise an awareness and achieve a better understanding of issues pertaining to hunger, poverty, and homelessness both in St. Louis and America, as well as around the world.  Any and all mediums that serve to further these goals are welcome, be they newspaper articles, blogs, descriptions of recent events, personal experiences, and the like.

Further, we will use this space to publicize ASAP activities and causes, in addition to those of the many other social change groups on campus.

Our hope, ultimately, is that this open, communal forum will allow us to both stay abreast of current events relating to hunger and homelessness, and to gain the deeper understanding of those issues that is so important to solving them.

So become a regular visitor and invite as many others as you can to do the same!  Exciting!  Stay tuned!