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homeless facts
and suggestions
What do you do when you see someone holding up a
sign, "Will Work For Food"? Do you roll down your window
and give them money? Do you pretend you didn't see them?
Nobody likes to be confronted by the homeless -
their needs often seem too overwhelming - but we all want to treat
them fairly and justly.
Never give cash to a homeless person
Too often, well intended gifts are converted to drugs
or alcohol - even when the "hard luck" stories they tell
are true. If the person is hungry, buy them a HOT - NUTRITIOUS meal.
Talk to the person with respect
Taking time to talk to a homeless person in a
friendly, respectful manner can give them a wonderful sense of civility
and dignity. And besides being just neighborly, it gives the person
a weapon to fight the isolation, depression, and paranoia, that
many homeless people face.
Recognize that homeless people (and their problems)
are not all the same
The homeless are as diverse as the colors of
a rainbow. The person you meet may be a battered women, an addicted
veteran, someone who is lacking job skills...the list goes on and
on.
Homelessness isn't forever
Most people are homeless for less than one year.
Did you know that?.....
- The typical homeless family is a single, 20-year-old
mother with two children under the age of six.
- Over half of all homeless children never have
lived in their own home. Over forty percent have been homeless
more than once.
- Over one-third of homeless families have an open
case for child abuse or neglect; one out of five have lost at
least one child to foster care.
- Less than six percent of the homeless are that
way by choice.
- Many homeless people are among the working poor.
A person earning minimum wage can't earn enough to support a family
of three or pay inner-city rent.
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| Two trends are largely responsible for the
rise in homelessness over the past 15-20 years: a growing shortage
of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in
poverty. |
| Almost 30% of homeless children have been homeless
more than once |
| Emergency shelters across Canada are bracing
for the chilly blast of winter and realizing that they do not
have enough space to accommodate the hundreds of people now
living on the streets. |
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