GivingMatters.com - Homelessness
The Issue
Homelessness
has many new faces. One of the fastest-growing
groups among the homeless is families. In Nashville, families
account for 16% of the homeless population; single women represent
another 16%, single men 67%, and youth 1%.
People become homeless because they can’t find affordable housing. Of course, there are other contributing factors such as mental health, addiction, domestic violence, disabilities or health problems, post traumatic stress, learning challenges, criminal history, outdated job skills, and lack of a living wage.
Emergency shelters provide temporary relief, but long-term solutions must include access to more affordable permanent housing and the supportive services needed to keep individuals and families in housing.
Facts
Homeless children face unique struggles. According to Tennessee Department of Education, counties served many homeless students in 2008-09
- Metro Davidson County 1,193 students
- Rutherford County 542 students
- Wilson County 214 students
- Sumner 108 students
- Williamson 28 students
- State of Tennessee 929,543 students
- In January 2008, a homeless enumeration conducted by Metro Development
Housing Agency found 2,237 homeless individuals (1,771 in shelters
and 466 on the street). MDHA acknowledges the count method
cannot find and count all people who are homeless in Nashville.
- An estimated 12,000 unduplicated people who are homeless live
in or pass through Nashville each year.
- Almost one-third of Nashville’s
homeless individuals have jobs.
- In the past 2 years, Nashville
has experienced a 12 % increase in the number of people living
without homes.
- The requests for family homeless shelter beds increased
15% in 2008.
- The requests for domestic violence shelter
beds increased 27% in 2008.
- Individuals on disability, whose monthly income averages $541, can only afford to pay $162 per month for affordable housing, including utilities.
Faces
Jan and her sons, Dillon and George, were living in a boarded up house. Every day, the boys, who desperately needed a stable home and school, walked to a near-by college campus to get water. When Jan lost her job and was at the end of her rope, she was fortunate enough to find space in a family shelter where she received 18 months of counseling and job training. With this assistance, she was able to land a job and move into a subsidized two-bedroom apartment with her children.
How you can help:
- Support the recommendations of the Metropolitan Nashville Homelessness
Commission as it works to find public-private solutions to the
growing homeless issue in Nashville. Learn
more at www.nashvillesroadhome.org
- Support
the development of additional permanent, affordable housing units
in Middle Tennessee.
- Support nonprofits that provide one
or more of the related services needed for individuals in permanent
supportive housing, such as mental health treatment, substance
abuse treatment, health care, job training, child care, and transportation.
- Help
keep individuals and families from becoming homeless by supporting
nonprofits that provide financial counseling, crisis intervention,
rent subsidy, or utilities assistance.
- Volunteer with an agency
that assists homeless people, or serve on an agency’s board
of directors.
Return
to GivingMatters.com to learn about nonprofits addressing this issue.
