The segment of homeless people aged 55 and over is growing. One outreach worker has noticed that many of the older people who sleep at shelters don't need to be there.
Link: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/05/09/elderhomeless/
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5 comments:
I would like to give Petroskas a big round of applause. What that man is doing for these men is wonderful. Many of them have been living on the streets for years. I can only imagine how hard it would be to get out of a rut like that. It is too bad that many people out there do not know of the resources that are available to them. If you don't know how to help yourself, I can imagine that it would be pretty tough to make the necessary changes in your life.
Did you see any similarities between the individuals described in "Living on the streets" and those in the "Helping people off the streets" series from the Los Angeles Times? One common theme I saw is the issue you mention: "How hard it would be to be out of a rut like that." Both describe the complexities of guiding individuals who are homeless to a more stable life. My friend Kelly talks about his work in Minneapolis in a blog he's been writing for a year or so. You can read it at:
http://homelessinminnesota.blogspot.com
It is so amazing to thinks that Petroskas has helped so many people off the streets. Like Stephanie said, many of these people do not know that the resources are available to them so it makes the situation hard to escape from. I could not imagine living in the shelter that was described in that article. From the pictures it just reminds me of the county jail, which is not a fun place to be either! I am so glad that there are shelters like that to help these men get off the street but at the same time, I could not imagine living there. It is interesting that the stats in that article said the homeless population is growing. In our text book, it said that the number of elderly people in poverty has gone down. At least I think that I am remembering that right! Interesting to see the difference in our text and in this article. Please correct me if that is wrong but I believe it is not. Hopefully, the numbers of homeless do continue to go down as services are introduced to them.
Pam
You are right, the number of elderly people in poverty has gone down significantly - thanks esp. to Social Security (and also to pensions). But the number of elderly homeless can go up even as the percentage of the elderly who are is going down. Why? Because the number of people turning 55 is growing rapidly each year as a result of the aging of the Baby Boomer generation.
I can see that as a result of that article that the number of homeless are greatly increasing. I do not however feel as though they want to be homeless but rather than they are too proud to get the kind of help that is needed. With four or more generations of Veterans in my family, I have been taught that a persons pride is something that should never be changed. I would like to see more housing being built for people rather than just increasing the number that go into shelters. I think the homeless especially in Minneapolis need to have their own place, have help finding jobs they are capable of working at, and living on their own rather than relying on shelters or soup kitchens. Just a thought!!!
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