Foreclosures Leading To Homelessness
Foreclosures are leading to homelessness as the economy further slumps. The advocates over viewing the problem of homelessness said that the cities do not have the infrastructure to cope with the rising tide.
According to a survey held by the Mayors of USA, 19 out of 25 cities have seen a considerable rise in the number of homeless people during the past twelve months from October. Four cities reported a decrease and two cities did not have enough data to come to any conclusive figure. On an average there has been a 12% increase in people without a home. The survey has not covered all the cities of the country.
Right across the country the homeless shelters are swamped with people seeking a roof to survive. Many are putting up at motels until their money lasts or staying with friends and relatives. This is the result of thousands being evicted from foreclosed houses during the worst economic slump since the time of the Great Depression. The demand for food assistance at an emergency level increased in 20 of the 25 cities that had been surveyed.
Nan Roman of National Alliance to End Homelessness speaking at an interview said, “It’s very depressing because we have been making progress in getting it down in the past couple of years.” The recent reports is the opposite of a survey conducted by the government that had been released in July. It had showed that the number of homeless had decreased by 15% from 1st October 2006 till 30th September 2007. Roman commented, “We’re seeing a new trend and I would expect the number to rise substantially.” She was commenting on the gap period when a family crisis begins and the homelessness period begins. What has further aggravated the situation is the strain on the budget because of the foreclosure-triggered recession that has set in.
President Bush had appointed Philip Mangano to see to the problem of homelessness in 2002. He was all praise for the report of the Mayors and said that it would not be prudent to wait for conclusive figures to roll in when it was clear that the problem was worsening. He said, “There is a crisis around families falling out into homelessness.” He gave the assurance that the government under Housing and Economic Recovery Act had made available $3.92 billion to lessen the effects of the foreclosure crisis – homelessness being one of the prime ones.
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