Hunger, family homelessness on rise in U.S. cities

[SoCalDem]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B72DS20091208

Hunger, family homelessness on rise in U.S. cities
CHICAGO
Tue Dec 8, 2009 8:10am EST
Related News

Sat, Dec 13 2008

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hunger is spreading while the number of homeless families is increasing as a result of the recession and other factors, according to a report on Tuesday.


The U.S. Conference of Mayors said cities reported a 26 percent jump in demand for hunger assistance over the past year, the largest average increase since 1991 curious, isn't it? at the end of a twelve-year binge of republican plunder...kinda like now. Middle-class families as well as the uninsured, elderly, working poor and homeless increasingly looked for help with hunger, which was mainly fueled by unemployment, high housing costs and low wages.

The 2009 report is based on a survey of 27 cities, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco, that comprise the group's task force on hunger and homelessness. Looking ahead to 2010, cities said they expect it will be difficult to meet increased demands for food due to the impact of state and local budget cuts, a decrease in grocery store donations and higher food costs.

Just over three-fourths of the cities reported a jump in homeless families due to the recession and lack of affordable housing. Individual homelessness, on the other hand, was level or down in 16 of the cities. "This is an indication of the success of policies aimed at ending chronic homelessness among single adults with disabilities," the report said.

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[Craftsman]

1. As he economy continues to deteriorate I expect to see more hunger

My wife and I have stopped eating out and are starting to keep a fuller pantry.

[varelse]

2. So

how long before the much-vaunted economic recovery begins to bring some relief to the poor (new and old)?

[SoCalDem]

3. look on a micro level..

Let's say you and your spouse went on a trip somewhere, and your teenagers were left behind, on their own..

When you left, there was money in the bank, zero balances on the credit cards, the house was in fine shape.. the cars too..

Now you come back to find that there was a kitchen fire, and part of the roof was damaged,.there's blue tarping on that part of the roof..no one paid the utility bills, so there's no water, or electricity..

Those teens used all the bank account money for parties, and junk food... No one bothered to maintain the cars one is broken down, needing expensive repairs....one of them was in a wreck and since no one paid the auto insurance, you now owe 2 more years on a wrecked car..

The teens max-ed out your credit cards, and there is a mailbox overflowiing with "past-due" bills in it...along with letters telling you that your interest rates have quadrupled, and your credit line has evaporated.

now you are both back to work, and you find yourself without credit to fix anything, months behind on basic bills,thousands in debt to credit cards, in possession of two worthless cars and a damaged house.. will you be "making everything nice" in a matter of months?

[varelse]

4. I'd be shipping a couple of teenagers to the nearest military training facility

oh, wait...

[SpiralHawk]

7. "Smirk." - Chickenhawk Republicon Homelander Borrow & Spend FAIL Freaks

[Tailormyst]

5. I don't know what we are going to do.

The future looks pretty bleak for those who live on the brink. I think we can no longer count on government to help the common man. I think many of us are going to need to learn to live differently.

[SoCalDem]

6. and sadly, so many of the oldsters who lived through the depressions are now gone

their tips would be helpful, but so many younger folks have only known good times..

and during the depression there was a stark difference..most people had little, but they were also not in debt when the crush came..