November 22, 2009
What's Inside:
Homeless numbers remain steady in St. Joseph
Numbers typically higher in summer months
Numbers typically higher in summer months
Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo
Mike Dee was evicted from the Salvation Army homeless shelter. Having spent two nights on the streets, the former systems analyst for Sprint says he was beaten up in an attempted robbery. As of Friday, Mr. Dee was uncertain how he would get by until a bed would be open for him at Safe Haven on Sept. 9.
The homeless population in St. Joseph remains steady, according to results of a new survey.
The St. Joseph Continuum of Care found increases in several areas of the city’s homeless. The group conducts the counts in compliance with Housing and Urban Development regulations of shelters at least every two years.
A total of seven families with 20 people and two individuals were living in transitional housing programs. Transitional housing has a longer time frame than emergency shelters and typically involves case management support, according to Continuum of Care.
Transitional housing numbers also come from the Noyes Home for Children. The report showed there were 16 youths under the age of 18 in that situation, down just one from January. In addition, more than 300 students in the St. Joseph School District were considered to be homeless.
Numbers remained fairly consistent at the emergency shelters and permanent supportive housing.
There were 96 people in shelters, compared to 94 in July 2008. The summer count listed 15 families totaling 40 people and 56 individuals in shelters. During the winter count, there were a total of 105 in emergency shelters.
St. Joseph has four permanent supportive housing programs. According to the survey, there were 141 people living in permanent housing — 51 individuals, three households without children and 22 households with children.
The city’s unsheltered homeless have increased to 32 from 28 at this time last year. The number is up significantly from the four unsheltered homeless surveyed during the winter.
Unsheltered homeless numbers naturally increase during the summer count as more people camp or are transient, according to the report.
Jennifer Hall can be reached
at jennhall@npgco.com.
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Here is my question on the homeless unsheltered - are they from St Joseph?
We're ALL going to be classified as unsheltered homeless before the current president's term ends....but have hope....maybe his living quarters can be renovated into a shelter for us.
No, most of them are not from St. Joseph. They are from all over the U.S. and Latin America.
well i would say they were from all over latin america and the same amount from st. joe before the mexican influx.note the amount from one family is going up every year. your normal homeless does not breed.your average homeless have a substance abuse problem , and wouldn,t be able to support a family anyway, nor would want one.send them back to their home and their family will all support each other.
dont get me wrong i know there are people who cant afford their house after loosing there job's, but the majority are from south of the border. i wonder if they would tell how many are of mexican decent? naw, not gonna do it!!!!!!!!!!!
Why was Mr. Dee the man shown in the picture evicted from the Salvation Army shelter? I know exactly where the picture was taken and drive by there many times and guess what the people there are doing, getting loaded thats what. The majority of the homeless here seem to find enough money for beer and smokes at the Imperial station. Maybe if instead of getting drunk they devoted more time into finding a job they wouldnt be homeless. Im sure the "Systems Analyst" is over-qualified to menial work however sometimes you need to bite the bullet and take a job beneath you to survive.
Then again if I were homeless I might drink and smoke all day so I wouldnt remember how horrible my life was and the smoking would ensure a shorter lifespan so my suffering wouldnt be quite as long.
Actually, the majority of the homeless in Saint Joseph are single white males. Yes, there were some homeless of Hispanic origin, but they usually find support in thier communities with other Hispanic families/friends. Why the race issue here? I work in social services and can tell you the majority who are homeless are white men. We need to also facotr in mental illness which is a huge barrier in this town due to the ridiculous waiting lists and substandard care. Also, homeless individuals generally have a dual diagnosis-mental health issues and drug/alcohol addiction. Some are straight down on their luck and have no family/friends for support.
well, i apoligise, i dont work your job and i am assumeing there are a lot of hispanics. well, i stand corrected. why did the article say that 15 families and 40 people? sound's like a family has to have 2 kid's to come to 40?hispanic's take care of their own , is that why they live 30 to one house? i gusee you caught me, i must be perdjudice,i dont think they would let me invade there country and make a home there illeagley.
Well donaldo, we do have a large Hispanic population. But the truth is I have worked with white families with lots of children! And I never said you were prejudice-the fact is that in Saint Joseph the vast majority of homeless are white males. I have yet to see 30 people in one single home, but yes, extended family and friends are important and usually will open their homes up to family. What needs to happen is better care for mental illness and substance abuse-we have the Pioneer Program in town and I'm not knocking it, but there are better programs. So calm down Donaldo, 2 minutes ago you were gonna share a snow cone with me!! God Bless! ;)
i still will share a snow cone with you, fact is im buying, we do see eye to eye here. it's just my job to raise blood pressure and haven't done it for a while.