some homeless educated, employed, study in Maryland finds FWD
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Thu, 15 Jan 1998 17:58:13 -0800 (PST)
FWD from the Baltimore Sun, Jan 14, 1998
CITY HOMELESS CUT ACROSS LINES
EDUCATED, EMPLOYED NOTED IN GROUP'S STUDY
By Ernest F. Imhoff (Sun staff)
The homeless in Baltimore include the college- and high school-educated, the
newly poor and the employed, according to information released yesterday by
Action for the Homeless.
"The findings show new facts confirm some recent trends and should also
serve to dispel common myths about people who are homeless," the
organization said.
The surprising portrait of the poor came from in-depth interviews late last
summer and fall with 48 people living in shelters. They were among 3,000
homeless estimated by the nonprofit agency to live in Baltimore at any one time.
The sampling showed:
Almost 30 percent had some college, and another 35 percent had graduated
from high school or had a GED.
42 percent had never been homeless previously.
50 percent said they had slept on the street, in an abandoned building or
in a car in the past.
17 percent had full- or part-time jobs, and 55 percent had been employed in
the last year.
25 percent said disabilities kept them from working.
42 percent had children with them. The average number per family was two,
their average age was 6, and almost half were school age.
Statewide, more than 40,000 shelter admissions for men, women and children
were tallied. The number would have been higher, but people were turned
away on 33,772 occasions for lack of space.
No cheerier was the somber annual report on the state's emergency food
situation: 10.6 percent more individuals and families -- 117,547 people --
needed food from pantries and soup kitchens last October than in October
1996.
The Maryland Food Committee said having a job didn't necessarily mean
having enough food.
The report quoted conditions in 172 emergency food outlets. A third of the
people getting free food had jobs. Almost half the recipients had children.
The increases have been about 20 percent each of the past few years, but
the jump was lower last year, partly because some pantries ran out of food.
Seventy percent said they needed more groceries. And 56 percent said they
had more customers because food stamps were reduced.
"You've heard about the good economy," said Ralph E. Moore, the food
committee's chief operating officer. "America and Maryland are wearing the
emperor's clothes. The emperor has no clothes. He has no house. He has no
food. The good life is for the upper echelons."
Both reports were revealed at a news conference staged amid the noise of
more than 1,000 poor people talking as they lined up to get free medical
help and other services at the annual Opportunity Fair at the Convention
Center.
The two groups organized what they called the "good news" of 60 agencies
joining for the fair.
"The other news is bad, and it's getting worse," Robert V. Hess said of
declining conditions for the homeless and hungry. "These findings scare
us." Hess is president and chief executive officer of Action for the
Homeless and the Maryland Food Committee.
He said Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, a Democrat whose district includes parts
of Baltimore and Baltimore County, plans to introduce a $10 million
emergency food bill in the General Assembly.
The homeless group and food committee also will push for an increase from
$500,000 to $2 million in state funding for Service Linked Housing, a
program for the poor.
Hess drew cheers from several dozen bystanders when he said: "The
government has a responsibility, and it's time for them to show up. If we
can put $500 million into two sports stadiums, we can find $12 million for
the poor."
The sample of 48 homeless people was divided equally between men and women,
with a mean age of 36. The ethnic breakdown was 75 percent
African-American, 17 percent white, and others. Veterans made up 19
percent.
The most common reasons given for being homeless were substance abuse,
family problems, loss of a job or inability to find a job and homes damaged
by water or fire. "Health issues among those interviewed were significant,"
the report said.
For example, 46 percent said they had a chronic physical health problem; 40
percent reported having a mental illness; 23 percent admitted liquor or
drug abuse, and another 42 percent said they once abused substances. They
said barriers to addiction treatment were lack of health insurance, medical
aid and self-motivation, and having to care for children.
Ann Ciekot, deputy director of Action for the Homeless, said the group
would urge the legislature to increase spending for addiction treatment and
"make health care accessible to all Marylanders."
Ciekot said the group also wants the state to maintain funding for the
homeless and to create a Maryland minimum wage of $7.70 an hour. That
compares with the federal minimum of $5.15.
The free services provided yesterday during the Opportunity Fair came in
for praise.
Jack Gordon, who said he had slept in city shelters, gestured toward the
booths, and said: "This is good. But do it more often."
Originally Published on 1/14/98