- Organizing Sponsors
- Participating Sponsors
Poverty
Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some basic necessities, like housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.
Eroding Work Opportunities
While the last few years have seen growth in real wages at all levels, these increases have not been enough to counteract a long pattern of stagnant and declining wages. To compound the problem, the real value of the minimum wage in 2004 was 26% less than in 1979 (The Economic Policy Institute, 2005). Although incomes appear to be rising, this growth is largely due to more hours worked. Declining wages, in turn, have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent.
Decline in Public Assistance
Current Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits and Food Stamps combined are below the poverty level in every state; in fact, the current maximum TANF benefit for a single mother of two children is 29% of the federal poverty level (Nickelson, 2004). Thus, contrary to popular opinion, welfare does not provide relief from poverty.
Housing
A lack of affordable housing and the limited scale of housing assistance programs have contributed to the current housing crisis and to homelessness. According to HUD, in recent years the shortages of affordable housing are most severe for units affordable to renters with extremely low incomes. Federal support for low-income housing has fallen 49% from 1980 to 2003 (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2005).
Lack of Affordable Health Care
For families and individuals struggling to pay the rent, a serious illness or disability can start a downward spiral into homelessness. In 2004, approximately 45.8 million Americans had no health care insurance. That equates to 15.7% of the population (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005).
Domestic Violence
Battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness. In a study of 777 homeless parents (the majority of whom were mothers) in ten U.S. cities, 22% said they had left their last place of residence because of domestic violence (Homes for the Homeless, 1998). In addition, 50% of the cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005). Nationally, approximately half of all women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence (Zorza, 1991; National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2001).
Mental Illness
Approximately 22% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005).
Upcoming Events
The Denver Project
A Curious Theater Production
FREE tickets for the DU community!
Classes are welcome. First come, first served.
Thursday, May 15, 8pm Reception at 7:15 There will be a talk back with actors and homelessness advocates after the performance.
Contact Karen.Bensen@du.edu to reserve your ticket!
Video Features
Watch a video about the event.
Watch a student-produced documentary of the event.