There is a new face of homelessness around the nation, although one Milwaukee emergency homeless shelter director described it as “invisible.” They are families, and they are the homeless with the biggest problem.

At the beginning of 2008, homeless families accounted for 38 percent of the nation’s homeless population, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. It’s a number sources estimate has significantly grown in recent months.

“They are young, living on their own in the world for the first time, and they are having trouble making ends meet,” said Ken Schmidt, executive director of Hope House, 209 W. Orchard St.

Hope House provides shelter and services to homeless and low-income individuals, offering both food and education.

Schmidt said shelters around Milwaukee have trouble accommodating families because they seek help in groups, and space is often already used up. It is easier to find a bed in an overflow shelter around the city for a turned away individual than for two or more people looking to stay together, he said.

The Hope House, on the near South side of Milwaukee, serves 60 individuals each day. People are selected on a first-come, first-serve basis, like many of the larger shelters around the city, such as the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, 830 N. 19th St., and the Salvation Army, 324 N. Jackson St.

Hope House must turn away 10 to 20 people each night, Schmidt said.

Homeless families, after being rejected by shelters, must stay someplace else, like friends’ or neighbors’ attics and basements. For this reason they are not in the public view like many other homeless people, prompting Schmidt to describe the families as “invisible.”

Roots of homelessness
Individuals and families have their own reasons for homelessness.

Robert Greene, an adjunct professor and expert on the history of homelessness and social justice, said that historically, many factors contribute to homelessness. These factors include loss of work, loss of affordable housing and substance abuse problems.

These first two factors have especially contributed to the new rise in homeless families.

The Milwaukee Continuum of Care surveyed Milwaukeeans in shelters one night in January. Of those surveyed, 36 percent listed “lost job/can’t find work” as the reason for their homelessness. Forty-nine percent of unsheltered homeless listed the same reason. Among the sheltered, 20 percent listed substance abuse problems, and 15% said eviction was one cause of their trouble.

High housing costs, foreclosure, and family break up were also more prevalent reasons.

The National Center on Family Homelessness attributes family homelessness to economic hardship and domestic violence. The organization also raises many concerns about the psychological effect of homelessness on the youngest members of families: children.

What about the children?
The center estimates that 1.35 million children will experience homelessness over the course of a year, and that on a given day more than 200,000 children have no place to live. Among these children, 83 percent have been exposed to a serious violent event by the age of 12 and 11 percent have seen their mother abused by a male partner.

Being homeless is defined as lacking a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime residence, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Homeless children become sick four times more often than non-homeless children, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness. Among homeless school-aged children, 47 percent exhibit problems with anxiety, depression, or withdrawal. In addition, 36 percent behave in delinquent or aggressive ways. Only 17 percent of non-homeless school-aged children have these problems.

Homeless children’s performance in school is hindered by their situation. Homeless children are less likely to attend pre-school, less than half are proficient in both reading and math, and more than one-third have to repeat a grade at some point, according to the National Center.

Greene pointed out the effect this has on families, describing homelessness as a “vicious cycle in which people move in and out of it (homelessness), remaining at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.”

Getting at the root
Organizations are finding that providing shelter and food is only temporary relief, and alternative methods have been sought to find long-term solutions to homelessness, Schmidt said. These solutions include education and drug abuse rehabilitation programs. The best approach to helping the homeless, individuals and families alike is case management, Schmidt said.

Case management is helping each person (or family) on an individual basis. This means working with them, addressing their problems and attempting to provide a solution. Methods of case management range from moving people into permanent housing to helping them pay rent to finding them employment.

“Case management is a demonstrated effective approach, and has proven cost effective,” Schmidt said.

People helped through case management are less likely to reappear in the homeless system, he said.

Another Milwaukee organization is based around this idea.

Community Advocates is a non-profit organization that provides proactive case management services for homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless.

The organization evaluates “clients” individually, and then assesses what they can do to help, said Director of Development Sue Potts. For families, the Community Advocates attempt to provide stable emergency housing, a valuable resource for those looking to keep their children safe.

Serious trouble in Milwaukee
Statistics regarding homelessness trends in Wisconsin are promising. However, in Milwaukee this is not the case.

In 2008, Wisconsin had the the fourth lowest percentage of population homeless in the nation, with 0.10 percent. Oregon finished with the highest percentage of homeless at 0.54 percent, according to a HUD report.

Also, Wisconsin showed an overall decrease in the homeless population from 2007 by 3.53 percent.

Milwaukee is experiencing different trends.

According to 2008 census numbers and the Continuum of Care’s homeless count, the city of Milwaukee would rank within the top 10 worst homeless population percentages, with 0.27 percent.

A Community Advocates news release from this October stated that the 2008 Milwaukee homeless population was up 13 percent from 2007, and growing every day.

Joe Volk, executive director of Community Advocates, stated in the release, “If we were to conduct this survey tomorrow, I would expect to find that even more individuals and families have been rendered homeless because of the deepening recession and continued unavailability of jobs in Milwaukee. … We don’t have an adequate safety net in place to provide for the families who are losing their jobs.”

Both Volk and Schmidt said the funding they need is not available to make the difference they want to make.

Schmidt said the main message people must understand about the homeless and homeless families is they should not be classified or written off. He also said there is much work to be done with homelessness.

Volk said Marquette students can help by volunteering in one of the many community outreach programs or shelters near campus. He said now, more than ever, organizations are in need of help.

Schmidt said one bright spot of the situation is the great desire he sees among the homeless to take part in his education programs.

“These are people who are having serious troubles in their lives,” he said. “They are just individuals who are for a part of their life without a place to stay.”