As many as 3.5 million Americans are homeless each year. Of these, more than 1 million are children and on any given night, more than 300,000 children are homeless.

While the general impression is that the homeless are primarily the chronic and episodic, those unfortunate individuals often seen living on the streets in the downtown areas of our cities, the fact is that more than half the homeless are families with children. The vast majority of these have been thrust into homelessness by a life altering event or series of events that were unexpected and unplanned for. Contrary to the belief that homelessness is primarily the result of major traumatic events or physical and mental disabilities, there are many top causes of homelessness in America.

Homelessness is, in fact, caused by tragic life occurrences like the loss of loved ones, job loss, domestic violence, divorce and family disputes. Other impairments such as depression, untreated mental illness, post traumatic stress disorder, and physical disabilities are also responsible for a large portion of the homeless. Many factors push people into living on the street. Acknowledging these can help facilitate the end of homelessness in America.

For those living in poverty or close to the poverty line, an “everyday” life issue that may be manageable for individuals with a higher income can be the final factor in placing them on the street. A broken down vehicle, a lack of vehicle insurance, or even unpaid tickets might be just enough to render someone homeless.

Divorce costs and the associated lowering of a family’s total income can cause one or more family members to become homeless. For families that can hardly pay their bills, a serious illness or disabling accident may deplete their funds and push them out onto the street. Today, the rapid, unexpected loss of jobs and resultant foreclosures has caused great dislocation among families and has dramatically added to the number of people without a roof over their heads.

Natural disasters often cause current housing situations to become untenable and costly repairs are often simply not possible. The results of Hurricane Katrina stand in bleak testimony to the power of nature to displace people.

The great challenge for the newly homeless is to figure out how to return to their normal lives. Organizations that build emergency shelters and transitional housing typically work with a larger number of service providers around the country whose mission is to provide the services, such as job training, social skills training, and financial training, that enable these people to regain employment and return to mainstream lives. The progression for these recently homeless is to first be housed in transitional residences where they can learn these skills, to graduate to assisted living in affordable housing while they build up economic reserves and rebuild their employment resume, and then to graduate to full, market rate housing.

Many of these service provider partners are household names, such as Volunteers of America, Rescue Missions, and the Salvation Army. Many others are local organizations formed to address specific homelessness issues in the community. By carefully vetting the qualifications and financial stability of these service providers, organizations that build emergency shelters and transitional housing are able to assure that their facilities are effectively utilized in the fight to end Homelessness.

Ken Larson Hopeless and homeless addicted to Meth

YOU ARE HERE TO KILL ME….AREN’T YOU?

“NO, my name is Eli, and I am here to tell you that God LOVES you”. Suddenly, the fear was gone and I began to cry in a way that I had never cried before. I shared with him everything I had been through, what I had done, who I had hurt and why I had wanted to die, and then I asked him why I should not end my suffering. His response to me confirmed the fact that the Creator of the universe had sent this angel to me to give me “another” chance at redemption. Another offering of God’s Mercy & Grace.

So why Eli, should I not end my pain? “Because child, he said, Your Father says it is NOT your time. There are many things that you have been called to do and NOW is NOT your time, go”. As I stood up and turned, I looked around to touch him and thank him and he was GONE, completely and suddenly gone. I remember having a peace come over me although my sadness was very deep and then began to walk to the nearest pay phone on 79th Street. The call that I would make would also change my life forever, as I called my best friend, who also happens to be the founder of this ministry. Please understand that life has not been perfect since that night but there has NEVER been another second that I have doubted if God loved me or not, and if I ever wondered again why I did not feel CLOSE to Him, it was because I moved way, NOT HIM!

In conclusion, I want to say these few things;

It is ALWAYS darkest before the dawn!

There sometimes will be MUCH sorrow at night, BUT…JOY comes in the mourning!

God will NEVER leave you or forsake you!

When you are surrounded by darkness and despair, LOOK UP, for our Father in Heaven is right there waiting for you to call on the Name of His Son………Jesus. Because…Jesus Saves!

Guy Myers of Sunnyvale, California was better known as “Guitar Man.” He was homeless, yet he always found a place in his heart to help others. Even more than he helped himself. According to his son, Myers battled an alcohol addiction for several years. He slept in the bushes off a major highway and was a fixture at several Sunnyvale locations where he would strum his guitar and sing for passersby. Tragically, the 58-year-old Myers was fatally struck by a car last month. The community has reacted with an outpouring of support. A shrine was erected outside a 7-Eleven store where Myers often hung out, and he was remembered in several online messages. A retired school employee wrote a poem about Myers called, “Ramblin’ Guitar Man.”

Here in Detroit, regular visitors to our popular Greektown neighborhood — a dining and shopping destination — became very familiar with an elderly woman known as “Greektown Stella.” Stella Paris was believed to be in her mid-90s when she died last month at a Detroit nursing home. For nearly three decades, she lived on the streets of Greektown, frequently screaming in Greek at passersby. The feisty, eccentric woman suffered from schizophrenia. She was loved by family and strangers, but her mental illness often made life difficult. The police allowed Greektown Stella to sleep and wash her clothes at the nearby headquarters and kept a watchful eye on her safety. Despite her quirky and combative personality, Stella was a beloved fixture in Greektown.

These are examples of individuals who were homeless, but who touched numerous lives. In Myers’ case, he seemed to care more about other people than he cared about himself. He just wanted to make people happy with his music. Stella Paris provided a colorful part of Greektown’s history and will be missed by many. In their own unique ways, they created lasting memories for many. I have met some amazing people homeless. Charlie is my newest. He rolled into town about 2 weeks ago. He has been all through the mexican desert, different places around the world before he became homeless. He has put more then 25,000 miles on his bike. he is finally ready to settle down somewhere and he has decided Alamogordo N.M. is the spot. I helped hike all his stuff up in the mountains, a bike, pack, food and tent and camping gear. I took him to a spot close to the creek, where I do alot of hiking. Today I went up to check on him. I was just about to cut off to his spot and there he was, happy as heck. You see, charlie loves Jesus and lives a christ centered life, always wanting to help people. He was smiling  and said I got a new job. A forest service survey crew came up on his camp and they talked awhile. Otis the survey boss is also a christ centered man and they offered him a job. They offered him a place to sleep inside, he excepted. Way up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, how amazing.  

Communities that embrace the homeless, drug addicted, mentally challenged, and the poor and needy is what america needs. Helping others, no matter what.  How we end Homelessness is one program at a time, one person at a time. Offering beds and meals. Offering life skills and community action programs. affordable housing with rehabilitation programs in effect, so that when they replapse they are offered help instead of losing their housing. God’s love and listening, not pointing fingers, and doing something.

KMT Mission 4 Life is a movement to help the homeless Please help. Thanks in advance. Go to: www.kmtmission4life.com for details and links on how to help the homeless.

Call it the NIMBY syndrome. It is happening in New York City, where middle- class homeowners are on trial on charges of setting fire to a foster home for infants. In tiny Louisa, Ky., it is the battle cry against a proposed hazardous-waste incinerator. It has cropped up in Berkeley, where residents banded together to keep out a drop-in center for the emotionally disturbed. The acronym stands for “not in my backyard,” and it symbolizes a perverse form of antisocial activism. “Everybody says, ‘Take care of the homeless, take care of the boarder babies,’ ” says New York City Mayor Edward Koch. “But when you need a facility, they say, ‘Not in my backyard.’ ”

Such problems are growing because there are more homeless, more AIDS victims, more drug addicts, more prisoners, more garbage, more toxic waste. The result is budget-busting pressure for more services that many people do not want in their vicinity. But beyond the fiscal debate, there is a painful ethical dilemma for many communities: Who should bear the burden of the common good? As often as not, neighborhoods are rising up to resist responsibility, and in some cases are turning to violence. “Too often we assume that the human being can achieve a good life without attending to the collective good,” says Dr. Willard Gaylin, head of the Hastings Center for ethics in Briarcliff, N.Y.

In April 1987 the tranquillity of Gladwin Avenue, in the Queens section of New York City, was shattered when a fire erupted in a two-story house that the city had rented to use as a foster home. Today five respected citizens who live on the block each face up to 25 years in prison if they are convicted of arson. “These are nice middle-class people, not hoodlums,” says Defense Lawyer Jacob Evseroff.

Gladwin Avenue is white. The foster children and the workers who care for them are black. Local residents, many of whom joined in a lawsuit against the home, fretted about falling property values; others argued that the babies’ visiting relatives might commit crimes. “They don’t belong here,” says Mary Meyer, a retired waitress. “The city pushed this down our throats.” That sense of alienation was accentuated by the city’s failure to hold public hearings or educate the neighborhood about its plans. “It’s a racial issue, but it’s also a political issue, an economic issue, a class issue and a fear issue,” says R. Susan Motley, a city official.

The element of fear is understandable for families that have saved for years to buy a home. Who wants a garbage dump next door? Or wants to invite recovering drug addicts to walk their sidewalks? “Put it in Nancy Reagan’s backyard!” was the shrill cry when neighbors demonstrated against a proposed drug treatment center in California’s San Fernando Valley. While many worries may be unfounded, experts believe planners and politicians must address the emotions people develop in such situations. Perry Norton, an emeritus professor of urban planning at New York University, advocates tax abatements for homeowners who live near an undesirable public facility, or a guarantee on the resale value of their homes.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967772,00.html#ixzz0wstkYsDJ