*Homeless 101*

- Where To Start -

If you're reading this I will assume you are doing so in an effort to understand the plight of the homeless and possibly even be looking for ways to help them.

That's a (very) good thing.
Educating yourself with the dynamics of homelessness will empower you to help on a level that you feel most comfortable and gratified with.

Please Read On -
there's probably a lot that you haven't stopped to consider when it comes to reaching out and helping the homeless.
First Off
Ask yourself just how much you're willing to do and put out in regard to the homeless. Do you want to just donate blankets, hats and gloves in the winter,? Pass out water bottles and toothbrushes in the summer? Or simply write a check and be done with it?

It all comes down to how close you want to get to the homeless and how much effort, time and money you're willing to contribute. Once you have that figured out, it's time to move on and take some action.

Why
The reason a person is homeless is something that gets over-looked a lot of the time. Some folks feel the reasons are an unimportant factor and we should just  tend to their needs and not ask why. The majority of people assume all homeless are addicted to drugs/alcohol and that it's hopeless to even try and help them. And then there's those that would rather not acknowledge their existence at all. Out of sight, out of mind. But the problem is that the numbers of homeless have grown to such an alarming amount that in this day and age, there's no escaping their presence. No matter how hard people try.

We have an epidemic of homelessness happening and it's growing by the minute.
We need to get serious in finding solutions and we can't do that unless we address the reasons WHY people are falling into the homeless population in record numbers.

Personally, I think the reasons why a person ends up homeless is very important and don't see how they can get any long-term help until those reasons are genuinely addressed.

One of the biggest elephants in the room, (that many people refuse to talk about in regard to change), is the lack of affordable housing, especially here in Seattle. People don't earn enough income to put and keep a roof over their heads and those that get social security and other paid benefits, (like our Vets), don't get near enough either.

Here is a rundown on how much apartments cost to rent in the Seattle area.

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center - 1,685.86 $

Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Center - 1,261.54 $

Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center - 3,335.00 $

Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Center - 2,181.00

*Link To Source

So, until Seattle/King County can come up with a way to get some kind of rent control there will only be more and more people becoming displaced and ending up on the streets with no way out. And little is being done to prevent homelessness. When a person is deemed disabled by it's states own doctors and they're only given $120, (sometimes even less), a month to get by as they wait to get social security, that's nothing more than perpetuating homelessness. And for many that end up with such a meager amount of income as they wait to find out if they get social security, (which can take up to two years), they lose what housing they had and can't even rent the tiniest room. Many use the money to place everything they own in a storage unit and then sneak in and out of it to sleep.

With a system like this, one that doesn't even try to help people keep their homes, I just don't see anything about our homeless dilemma getting better. As I see it, it will only get (much), worse before it gets better.

We MUST asses each homeless case individually.
How can we ever meet their needs and offer worthwhile, long-term help if we don't?

I'm going to be exploring all the reasons people are homeless and the list is probably longer than you think. Then I'm going to write about the ways we can help everyone according to why they're homeless. In some cases, the answers are close to none and there are some homeless that no matter what is done to get them off of the streets - that is where they will always end up. It's their comfort zone and as much as some homeless say they want to get off of the streets, many have found it hard to adjust to a life away from the streets - this is especially true for those addicted to alcohol/drugs.

In the meantime, especially here in Burien, a lot of people are discussing ways in which the homeless can be dealt with. One of which is to ban panhandling.
Well, that's certainly a method of taking action but it really doesn't do much good. Not unless they offer the homeless something else to improve their plight. And that's the hard part, figuring out exactly what Burien can offer the homeless in place of allowing them to panhandle.

I'll share my views on panhandling in my next blog post.

It all comes down to one step at a time and the many steps it will take to really get the homeless off the street and also, to prevent decent, clean and sober, law-abiding people to not lose their housing and end up on the streets as well.

- Music Selection For This Post -

It's Been Awhile - Staind