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Why People Become Homeless…
In Hillsborough County, two trends are largely responsible for the
rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage
of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty.
Below is an overview of current poverty and housing statistics,
as well as additional factors contributing to homelessness.
Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poor people are
frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care,
and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources
cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which
absorbs a high proportion of income that must be dropped. Having
a low income often means a person is an illness, an accident, or a
paycheck away from living on the streets
Two factors help account for increasing poverty: eroding employment
opportunities for large segments of the workforce, and the declining
value and availability of public assistance.
Declining wages have put housing out of reach for many workers:
in Hillsborough County, an individual would need to make nearly $16
per hour at a forty hour work week be able to afford a two-bedroom
apartment at Fair Market Rent which is $816.00 per month. In fact,
in Hillsborough County a minimum-wage worker would have to work
50 hours each week to afford a two-bedroom apartment at 30% of
his or her income, which is the federal definition of affordable
housing. In Hillsborough County, over 15,000 people are on waiting
lists to obtain a dwelling in this range to be able to provide for
their families. Unfortunately many of these families have “worst
case housing needs,” which means they pay more than half their
incomes for rent, living in severely substandard housing or both.
The declining value and availability of public assistance is another
source of increasing poverty and homelessness. Current Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF welfare)
benefits and Food Stamps combined are below the poverty level in
Hillsborough County; in fact, the median TANF benefit for a family
of three is approximately one-third of the poverty level. Thus,
contrary to popular opinion, welfare does not provide relief from
poverty.
People with disabilities must struggle to obtain and maintain stable
housing. People receiving Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) benefits must spend more than 30 percent of
their income on housing costs and are considered cost-burden to
afford housing in Hillsborough County.
A lack of affordable housing and the limited scale of housing assistance
programs have contributed to the current housing crisis and to homelessness.
The gap between the number of affordable housing units and the number
of people needing them has created a housing crisis for poor people.
The gap between the number of low-income renters and the amount
of affordable housing units skyrocketed from a nonexistent gap to
a shortage of 4.4 million affordable housing units - the largest
shortfall on record.
Other Factors
Particularly within the context of poverty and the lack of affordable
housing, certain additional factors may push people into homelessness.
Other major factors that can contribute to homelessness include
the following:
Lack of Affordable Health Care: For families and individuals
struggling to pay the rent, a serious illness or disability can
start a downward spiral into homelessness, beginning with a lost
job, depletion of savings to pay for care, and eventual eviction.
Domestic Violence: Battered women who live in poverty are
often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness.
In a study of 777 homeless parents (the majority of whom were mothers)
in ten U.S. cities, 22% said they had left their last place of residence
because of domestic violence. Nationally, approximately half of
all women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic
violence.
Mental Illness: In Hillsborough County approximately 23%
of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of
severe and persistent mental illness. Despite the disproportionate
number of severely mentally ill people among the homeless population,
increases in homelessness are not attributable to the release of
severely mentally ill people from institutions. Most patients were
released from mental hospitals in the 1950s and 1960s, yet vast
increases in homelessness did not occur until the 1980s, when incomes
and housing options for those living on the margins began to diminish
rapidly. However, many mentally ill homeless people are unable to
obtain access to supportive housing and/or other treatment services.
The mental health support services most needed include case management,
housing, and treatment.
Addiction Disorders: The relationship between addiction and
homelessness is complex and controversial. While rates of alcohol
and drug abuse are disproportionately high among the homeless population,
the increase in homelessness over the past two decades cannot be
explained by addiction alone. Many people who are addicted to alcohol
and drugs never become homeless, but people who are poor and addicted
are clearly at increased risk of homelessness.
Conclusion
Homelessness results from a complex set of circumstances, which
require people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic
needs. Only a concerted effort to ensure jobs that pay a living
wage, adequate support for those who cannot work, affordable housing,
and access to health care will bring an end to homelessness.
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