Number of homeless families dipped in Des Moines, but is expected to rise over the next year
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Dec 22, 2015 | 9:20 pm
2 min read time
360 wordsAll Latest News, Arts and CultureThe U.S. Conference of Mayors’ study on hunger and homelessness provided a profile of the issues in Des Moines and in 21 other U.S. cities.
Read an article from today’s Business Record AM Daily about the report’s assessment of 22 cities’ efforts to alleviate hunger.
In Des Moines, the number of homeless families decreased by 9.1 percent over a one-year period that ended Aug. 31, and the number of homeless individuals dropped by 0.6 percent.
- Among homeless adults in Des Moines, 35 percent are severely mentally ill and 18 percent are physically disabled.
- 15 percent are employed, 11 percent are veterans, 23 percent are victims of domestic violence, and none are HIV positive.
- To accommodate an increase in demand, shelters consistently have had clients sleep on overflow cots, in chairs, in hallways or in other subpar sleeping arrangements. In addition, shelters have distributed vouchers for hotel or motel stays because shelter beds were not available, and they have introduced weather amnesty programs.
- Shelters had to turn away homeless families because there were no beds available but did not have to turn away homeless individuals.
- For the next year, city officials expect the number of homeless families, the number of homeless individuals and resources to provide emergency shelter to increase moderately.
The report also highlighted an effort to end homelessness among veterans in Des Moines. Under that effort, representatives from a range of organizations meet every two weeks to make a case-by-case assessment of every identified homeless veteran. The process has accelerated the placement of homeless veterans and is being used as a model for other other targeted populations in Polk County, according to the report.
Nationally, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased in 58 percent of the survey cities responding and decreased in 42 percent of the cities. Across these cities, there was an overall increase of 1.6 percent in the total number of people who were homeless.
Asked to identify the three main causes of homelessness among families with children, 85 percent of respondents cited lack of affordable housing, 55 percent cited poverty, 35 percent cited unemployment and 35 percent cited low-paying jobs.
Click here to read the full report.
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