Salt of the Earth: Prosperity costs some families their homes

Social justice news
March 2001

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Prosperity costs some families their homes
While the booming economy has been expanding wallets and strengthening job security for most Americans, it hasn't been as good to others. Activists for the homeless argue a combination of rising rent prices, gentrification of city neighborhoods, and a low minimum wage have sent record numbers into the streets. And they're not sure when or if the trend will taper off.

In February New York City reported homeless shelter populations exceeding 25,000 a night, the most the city has seen since the late 1980s. Officials there cited a 2000 study by the United States Conference of Mayors showing the trend is not confined to New York. The 25-city survey revealed a 15-percent increase in the average demand for emergency shelter across the country, the largest increase in 10 years. The demand has grown so much many cities have been forced to turn some people away each night. More and more, those people are children.

According to the Conference of Mayors' report, requests for shelter by families alone shot up 17 percent in 2000. New York and Philadelphia shelter system data indicates the person most likely to become homeless in either city is an African American child under 5.

"From the mid-80s women with children have been the fastest growing group of homeless people," says Michael Stoops, community organizer for the National Coalition for the Homeless. The Washington D.C.-based advocacy group is a network of activists, service providers, and homeless people. "It's ironic that in booming times we still have an underclass of people who can't get by," he says.

Stoops blames much of the recent increase in homelessness on a lack of affordable housing. "[Rental] costs are going up all across America, not just in the major cities," he says. "People are spending too much of their money on housing."

Nan Roman, president of another Washington-based advocacy group, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, agrees. "We're seeing more families and people who have incomes, either from work or benefits, who just can't afford housing."

In addition to rising prices, less housing is available now. Roman says affordable housing is being destroyed to make room for neighborhood renewal efforts. As public housing projects are demolished, cities replace them with fewer units than before. Voucher programs to help poor people rent from private tenants have helped, she adds, but she doesn't know how much. "No one knows for sure if there's been a net loss or a net gain [in affordable housing]," Roman says. "I would guess a loss."

The destruction of affordable housing is one factor that sets this increase apart from the rise in homelessness of the 1980s, but the 1996 welfare reform provisions will prove even more influential, Stoops believes. "When people reach their welfare limits we fully expect to see a dramatic increase in the number of families that are homeless," he says. "No one is prepared for that." Under the 1996 welfare reform act, families face a lifetime limit of five years of public assistance.

Stoops predicts families will first turn to friends and relatives when they lose welfare eligibility, but eventually they'll be out on the street again. "It'll be a gradual increase," he says, "but a tidal wave is coming."

Stoops says the government must provide three things to combat homelessness: more affordable housing, a livable wage, and universal health care. He believes better health care for the poor would ensure that treatment for substance abuss and mental illness would reach homeless people. According to the National Coaltion for the Homeless, around 30 percent of homeless people suffer from substance addiction and 20 to 25 percent are mentally ill.

"We'll be lobbying for major programs, but with conservatives in charge of all three branches I fully expect to see cut-backs proposed," Stoops says. "We'd like to ask for more money, but I don't see that happening."

Because she thinks non-profit and religious organizations have been most effective at working with homeless people, Roman is optimistic about the possibility of more aid to these organizations under President Bush. She insists, however, that government support is necessary. "Non-profits and faith-based groups implement the programs, but we can't sustain them without funding by the government." —Anne Graber
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