The Number of People without Homes Is Increasing As Foreclosure Numbers Rise

December 22nd, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosure

The number of people without homes is increasing as foreclosure and default numbers are rising. There is also an increasing demand for food. Those dealing with the problems relating to food and shelter were not quite prepared for this sudden rush.

At a Mayor’s conference it was said that out of 25 cities 19 had seen a rise in homeless numbers during last twelve months from October this year. In four cities there was a decrease and reports from two other cities were inconclusive. On an average an increase of 12% has been noted. All the cities in the country have not come under the survey but this seems to be the general tendency. The demand for help in food increased in 20 out of the 25 cities surveyed.

For many years the country has not seen such a horrific scene of people rushing to seek the shelter of a roof. Many are staying in motels while others are putting up with friends and relatives. They can also be considered as homeless as they have no proper address of their own. This situation has occurred following the foreclosure crisis – the worst of its kind since the Great Depression.

Nan Roman is the President of National Alliance to End Homelessness of Washington. She commented that the situation was “very depressing” especially because during the past few years much progress had been made in reducing the number of homeless people. She was speaking at an interview.

The recent report shows a reversal in trends from the findings of a survey conducted by USA government in July. According to the government report the number of chronically homeless people in America went down by 15% to touch the count of 1.6 million from 1st October 2006 till the end of September 2007. Roman said that the present tendency shows that the numbers are going to increase considerably. There is usually a pause when a crisis occurs in the family and homelessness sets in.

What is making matters worse is that the foreclosure crisis has negatively impacted on the budget of the cities. Now the cities have fewer funds to do more work.

Bush had appointed Philip Mangano to supervise the homeless problem. He said that it would be foolish to wait for actual statistical figures to roll because it is clearly evident that the numbers of families without houses and homes are astronomically rising with the foreclosure crisis.