If you’re like most people, this time of year can be hectic. Between buying gifts, shopping for holiday food and visiting with friends and family, you may not be able to catch your breath. But, if you think about it, the whole focus on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other winter holidays is a focus [...]
We generally associate October with frights and spooks and things that go bump in the night. But, for a child, the real challenges of homelessness can be a far more frightening reality than a few Halloween tricks. Children are far more impressionable and are more likely to experience anxiety if they and their families become [...]
In today’s world, having an identification card, access to a computer, and facilities to maintain your personal hygiene are basic requirements. But, for many homeless people, getting access to the very things that provide us with an identity and human comforts is a challenge. And, oftentimes, these are some of the very things a homeless [...]
We’ve all seen the images of a homeless person sitting along a roadside with his brave dog by his side. While it’s difficult to determine how many homeless people have pets, most studies believe it's between 6 and 24%. These studies also indicate that these pets are well-cared for and often serve as stability for [...]
If you’ve tried to rent a home or an apartment recently, you are acutely aware of how inflation has hit the housing rental market. In 2023, homelessness spiked as many lower-income Americans were forced out of the market. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department estimated that more than 650,000 people were living in [...]
For most people, having a safe and secure place to spend time with their loved ones, to sleep at night or a place to clean up after a long day is a given. Having a home or apartment is something that many people take for granted. But for the more than 650,000 homeless Americans, having [...]
For most of us, filling out a job application or a school registration form may be tedious. But we don’t often worry about what to put on the “address” portion of these documents. When you are homeless, however, not having a permanent address is not only conspicuous on an application but can cause you to [...]
Politicians and the media often seem to focus on the costs of homelessness as these expenses relate to taxpayers. But there are hidden costs in homelessness to the unhoused individual that many officials don’t often consider. Homelessness can adversely affect virtually every aspect of a person’s life. Not only are unhoused people more likely to [...]
During the 2016 presidential election, candidates in the Democratic primary routinely discussed the merits of universal healthcare versus the current system of private health insurance. But for the nation’s more than 650,000 homeless people, having a residence would automatically improve their healthcare situation by sheltering them from the elements. It also provides them with an [...]
Between the 2021–22 COVID-19 pandemic and 2023’s increases in the cost of living, the rate of homelessness in the United States has been steadily increasing every year. In fact, nationwide, the number jumped by 12% in 2023, mostly due to inflation and the high cost of housing. Most people hold the misconception that the biggest [...]
