Homelessness, hunger on the rise
In the middle of the festive holiday season, local government leaders received some decidedly depressing news: Hunger and homelessness are on the rise in many of the nation’s major cities. According to a survey of 25 cities by the Washington, D.C.-based United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) and Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexho USA, a food-service and facilities management firm, 88 percent of the cities reported an increase in requests for emergency food assistance in the past year compared to the previous year, and 80 percent said there had been a rise in emergency shelter requests. On average, requests for food assistance and shelter grew 17 percent and 13 percent, respectively, in the surveyed cities. “This survey underscores the impact the economy has had on everyday Americans,” USCM President and Hempstead, N.Y., Mayor James Garner said in a press release.
Fifty-six percent of the cities said that food-assistance facilities had to turn people away because of a lack of resources. That percentage is the highest since the 1997 survey. On average, 14 percent of food assistance requests went unmet in the surveyed cities during the past year.
More than 50 percent of the cities reported that, during the past year, food assistance facilities had to decrease the number of food bags provided to each person and/or the number of times each person could receive food. Among the other findings: nearly 60 percent of those who requested food assistance during the past year were members of families; also, 39 percent of adults who asked for emergency food were employed.
The survey identified a host of factors that contributed to the hunger problem. Most cities said that unemployment and employment-related problems were the leading cause; other factors include the lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, mental health problems and high medical expenses.
The survey also reported bleak findings on homelessness. Eighty-four percent of the cities said that emergency shelters had to turn away homeless families during the past year because of insufficient resources. Again, that percentage is the highest since 1997. On average, 30 percent of requests for emergency shelter went unmet in the surveyed cities during the past year.
The survey estimated that in the participating cities, single men accounted for 41 percent of the homeless population, families with children for 40 percent, single women for 14 percent, unaccompanied youth for 5 percent and that 17 percent of the homeless were employed. The average homeless person is homeless for five months, the survey found. Among the causes of homelessness: lack of affordable housing, mental illness and low-paying jobs.
The cities surveyed are not optimistic about the immediate future. Eighty-seven percent of the cities expect emergency-food-assistance requests to increase in the next year, and 88 percent say requests for shelter will rise.