I've always had an interest in the lives of those who find themselves in the interesting and unfortunate circumstance of being without a place of permanent residence. History knows them as vagabonds, drifters, bums and vagrants, and public opinion of these individuals and what to do with them is about as varied as the individuals you will find on the street. I thought I'd put it all in perspective with a few statistics on American homelessness from around the web.
- Wikipedia says that there are currently 1.6 million Americans in homeless shelters, and that children and families were the fastest growing homeless population in 2002.
- According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, it is estimated that 23% of homeless Americans served our country
- Time magazine estimated that in 2005 and 2006, approximately 1 in 50 children were homeless (though this number is disputed)
- Jan Larson cites research that suggests 64% of the homeless are minorities
- In 2007 it was estimated that 48,000 people in Florida were homeless
As the economy worsens, the threat of homelessness faces more and more Americans each day. People find themselves homeless for many reasons, and find that once they are in the situation, it is often difficult to escape. There is much dispute on how the problem should be handled, and different areas face both different problems and levels of homelessness. This means there is no single answer. My only hope is to raise awareness, and to help you look differently at the man holding a tattered piece of cardboard at the intersection.
**image provided by everystockphoto.com
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