Alan Negron on a bench in front of CHiPS, a soup kitchen he visits in Brooklyn. Photo: Brenda Ann Kenneally
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines the state of homelessness as “an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing” [Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b)].
Tonight, in the United States alone, more than 500 thousand people will be experiencing homelessness. Just in the state of Oregon, there are 14,476 individuals sleeping outside or in shelters each night (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018). Taking into consideration the vast number of people who are without secure and permanent shelter, how did they fall on hard times? According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there are many reasons someone may be unable to sustain their livelihood. Some of those reasons are housing that is out of reach due to a shortage in housing or an inability to afford housing, physical as well as mental health affecting a person’s ability to thrive, survivors escaping domestic violence with nowhere to turn, as well as the impact of racial disparities. Understanding who these individuals are is the first step to humanizing and helping those who have fallen on hard time.
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