I’m Worried…

Today, the government said that the economy lost 63,000 jobs last month. It’s the second month in a row of declines. Couple that with another announcement today… The rate of foreclosures on home mortgages reached a historic high. In fact, of the 46 million first mortgages in our country, 3.6 million are past due or in foreclosure.

I’m not one to keep an eye on the unemployment rate or foreclosure rate. I usually keep an eye on the demand for homeless services—the people who enter the front doors of homeless agencies. That’s why I’m worried.

I think my worrying is justified. It’s a simple fact… you lose your job--and in an economy like this, the competition for another job is stiff—then you can’t pay your rent or your mortgage. The odds of becoming homeless go up.

You can’t afford your mortgage payment, and you lose your credit, and lose your home. The difficulty of getting an apartment because of bad credit is significant. The competition for rental units, when 3.6 million home owners are now seeking rental units, is high. So rents go up. (Simple supply and demand.) The odds of becoming homeless also go up.

It becomes a bad, sad cycle.

All across the country, mayors are telling us that homelessness is going down. I’m having difficulty buying that political jargon.

Sure, we can clean up downtown Skid Row. But are we putting these people in affordable housing? Or are we simply sweeping them into another community. The Los Angeles Times has been covering the new tent city that propped up in Ontario, a city about an hour east of Los Angeles. Ontario never had to wrestle with homelessness like they do now—300-400 people squatting in a tent city. I’m wondering if this is a result of sweeping.

I’m also worried, because homeless agencies across the country are being blamed for “managing homelessness.” They say that because homelessness has not been solved in the last twenty years, it’s the fault of homeless agencies.

I think it’s the other way around. Bad government policy—not building enough affordable housing, not growing a living wage job economy, allowing people to leave government institutions without a housing plan (jails, hospitals, foster care, etc.)—is increasing homelessness. And yet, when these very people become homeless, and turn to compassionate homeless agencies, the homeless agencies are the blame for homelessness.

I just don’t buy it.

We need good government and community planning. That means more affordable housing, living wage jobs, and a social service safety net to catch people when they fall. We do this, and we don’t need homeless shelters any more. They can proudly go out of business.

I’m worried… because I don’t see it happening.

(Pic from LA Times)