Local Restaurant Cooks Easter Meal For Area Shelter

Great piece on our local TV news.

Local Restaurant Cooks Easter Meal For Area Shelter

Alarming Realities About Homelessness

Read the rest of this article here:

Over 7% of persons living in the United States have been homeless (defined as sleeping in shelters, the street, abandoned buildings, cars, or bus and train stations) at some point in their lives. Homelessness rates have increased over each of the past 2 decades. An estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million people now experience homelessness each year. Approximately half are families with children, the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population. In 1 study, youth had a 1-year rate of homelessness of at least 1 night of 7.6%.

Although 20% of homeless persons maintain full- or part-time jobs, only 5% are privately insured, often through COBRA. The majority of homeless adults are not eligible for Medicaid in most States, and are also not eligible for Medicare. Approximately 23% of homeless persons (and from 3.1 % to 4.4 % of homeless women) are veterans of the armed services, yet only 57% have received healthcare services through the VA system, where long waits for care exist.

Because they usually lack health insurance, homeless persons tend not to get adequate preventive care and appropriate routine management of such chronic illnesses as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and emphysema. They tend to visit emergency rooms for acute illnesses. Besides lack of health insurance, other barriers to care include denial of health problems; the pressure to fulfill competing nonfinancial needs, such as those for food, clothing, and temporary shelter; and misconceptions, prejudices, and frustrations on the part of health professionals. When hospitalized, the average length of stay of a homeless individual, in 1 study, was 4.1 days, or 36% longer than that of low-income, non-homeless individuals, even after adjustment for differences in the rates of substance abuse and mental illness and other clinical and demographic characteristics. The cost of the additional hospital days per discharge ranged from $2414 to $4094 (1992-1993 dollars).

Homeless adults have an age-adjusted mortality rate nearly 4 times that of the general population; their average life span is shorter than 45 years. Homeless women 18 to 44 years of age are between 5 and 31 times more likely to die than women in the general population. Homeless women older than age 44 are only 1 to 2 times as likely to die, and are healthier than their male counterparts. However, homeless women in their mid-fifties are as physiologically aged as housed women in their seventies and are afflicted to a similar degree with chronic diseases, yet they do not qualify for elderly housing assistance.

Homeless women are more likely than homeless men to have experienced childhood sexual abuse and/or foster care and adult partner abuse. More than 50% of all homeless women and children become homeless as a direct result of fleeing domestic violence. The availability of domestic violence shelter beds in the United States is poor; up to 70% to 80% of women, and 80% of children, are turned away on any given night in major cities. Shelters are woefully underfunded; some do not allow children. Average length of stay at a US shelter is 14 days; most allow a 30-day maximum stay. Ironically, women fleeing domestic violence are often not counted in studies of homelessness, since they are considered to have a home (albeit unlivable) or are staying temporarily in shelters.

4 Ways to Help the Homeless

I came across this article written by Mary Fairchild;

Matthew 25:35 : For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in ... (NIV)

In 2007, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimated that 3.5 million people in America (1.35 million of them children), were likely to experience homelessness in a given year. While difficult to measure, the increase in the demand for shelter beds each year is a strong indicator that homelessness is on the rise, and not only in America. According to the United Nations, there are at least 100 million homeless in the world today.

While on a short-term mission trip to Brazil, the plight of the street children captured my heart. I soon returned to Brazil as a full-time missionary with my focus on the inner city gangs of children. For four years I lived and worked with a team from my local church in Rio de Janeiro, volunteering in established ministries. Although our mission was geared toward children, we learned a lot about helping the homeless, no matter the age.

If your heart has been gripped by the needs of the hungry, thirsty, strangers on the streets, here are four effective ways to help the homeless in your community.

1) Volunteer

The most productive way to get started helping the homeless is to join forces with a well-established operation. As a volunteer you will learn from those who are already making a difference, rather than repeating the mistakes of well-meaning but misguided novices. By receiving "on the job" training, our team in Brazil was able to experience the rewards of accomplishment right away.

A good place to start volunteering is at your local church. If your congregation doesn't have a homeless ministry, find a reputable organization in your city and invite church members to join you and your family in serving.

2) Respect

One of the best ways to help a homeless person is to show them respect. As you look into their eyes, talk to them with genuine interest, and recognize their value as an individual, you will give them a sense of dignity that they rarely experience.

While it's wise to exercise caution and take measures to ensure your personal safety when ministering to the homeless, by identifying with the real person behind the face on the streets, your ministry will be much more effective and rewarding. Learn additional ways to help the homeless:

3) Give

Giving is another great way to help, however, unless the Lord directs you, don't give money directly to the homeless. Cash gifts are often used to buy drugs and alcohol. Instead, make your donations to a well-known, reputable organization in your community. Many shelters and soup kitchens also welcome contributions of food, clothing and other supplies.

4) Pray

Lastly, prayer is one of the easiest and most positive ways you can help the homeless.

Because of the harshness of their lives, many homeless people are crushed in spirit. But Psalm 34:17-18 says, "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (NIV) God can use your prayers to bring deliverance and healing to broken lives.

Just One Away...

Just to put things in perspective:

In the state of Ohio on any given night, more than 12,000 people are homeless with more than 1,500 of those persons going unsheltered.

Source: COHHIO’s 2009 Ohio Homelessness Report

In Ohio, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $683. To afford this level of rent and utilities––without paying more than 30% of income on housing––a household must earn $27,326 annually, or $13.14 per hour (assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year.) Ohio minimum wage is $7.30. To afford FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 72 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.

Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach 2009 Report

If these figures are accurate, then there are many people in Ohio – and in the Mahoning Valley – who are but one paycheck away from being homeless.