CORRELATION BETWEEN HISTORIC CUTS TO FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS AND CONTEMPORARY MASS HOMELESSNESS

[Sapphire Blue]

NEW REPORT DOCUMENTS CORRELATION BETWEEN HISTORIC CUTS TO FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS AND CONTEMPORARY MASS HOMELESSNESS

Communities call for the new Congress to take a new approach to addressing and ending the national crisis of homelessness

(Excerpt)

“Without Housing: Decades of Federal Housing Cutbacks, Massive Homelessness and Policy Failures,” documents the correlation between these trends and the emergence of a new and massive episode of homelessness in the 1980s which continues today. It particularly focuses on radical cuts to programs administered by the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), which administers funds for rural affordable housing. Available online in PDF format, the report also demonstrates why federal responses to this nationwide crisis have consistently failed.

Created in partnership with five other organizations, the report uses federal budget data and other sources to document that:

HUD’s budget has dropped 65% since 1978, from over $83 billion to $29 billion in 2006.

The Emergency Shelter phenomenon was born the same year that HUD funding was at a drastic low point. In 1983, HUD’s budget was only $18 billion, the same year that general public emergency shelters began opening in cities nationwide.

HUD has spent $0 on new public housing, while more than 100,000 public housing units have been lost to demolition, sale, or other removal in the last ten years.

Federal housing subsidies are going to the wealthy. In 2004, 61 percent of these subsidies went to households earning more than $54,788, while only 27 percent went to households earning under $34,398.

More than 600,000 identified homeless students went to public schools in the 2003-2004 school year, according to the US Department of Education.

Federal support helps homeowners instead of poor people. In 2005, federal homeowner subsidies totaled more than $122 billion, while HUD outlays were only $31 billion – a difference of more than $91 billion

According to Paul Boden, executive director of WRAP, “The Administration’s current ‘Chronic Homeless Initiative’ is just the latest in a series of inadequate flavor-of-the-month distractions from the real problem. It does nothing to address the huge cuts to federal affordable housing funding that caused mass homelessness. Housing is a human right, which a democracy should advance, not restrict.

Those on the frontline of homelessness – homeless people and the providers who serve them – are drowning in a sea of blame. We have joined together to speak truth to power: until federal affordable housing programs are restored and expanded, homelessness will continue to grow.”

http://wraphome.org/wh_press_kit/press_release_wrap.html

[JeffR]

1. K & R

An urgent problem and a national disgrace...

[Sapphire Blue]

3. Thanks, JeffR!

:hi:

[nashville_brook]

2. KnR for real DEM initiatives

[Sapphire Blue]

4. Thanks, nashville_brook!

:toast:

[bridgit]

5. appreciate it, thanks, k&r'd, we here in cali are sometimes taken back...

home some years recalling our experience with Ronald Reagan and much of his shenanigans about these very issues; creating homelessness right around this time-frame, "taking control of (our) destinies" read here: 'union busting, don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you, there's plenty more where you came from, you are now a Human Resource', and the reclassification of mental maladies causing much of the same...it's messed up

[Sapphire Blue]

6. A good description of the reagan experience. So much damage.

[Sapphire Blue]

7. kick

:kick:

[Pushed To The Left]

8. K&R. In a country as wealthy as ours, it is inexcusable

for Americans to have to live on the streets! I despise conservatism more and more each day.

[druidity33]

9. i'll kick it...

and rec it...

for my homeless (and always bordering on homeless) friends and their families.

[robcon]

10. The dollars are deceptive.

My father worked for HUD years ago. Almost all of their spending years ago was on the FHA - a middle-class and upper-class boondoggle... a subsidy for the wealthy and a boon for the suburbs at the expense of the cities.

So don't cry about the old days when we allegedly spent a lot of federal money on housing. Very little of it went to the poor.

[Jcrowley]

11. Cut military spending

house the homeless

feed the hungry

k&r

[Sapphire Blue]

15. Yes, indeed.

[TahitiNut]

19. That's why I support Kucinich. (even though some say he's "unelectable.")

I can't help but suspect that some who claim he's "unelectable" are motivated by some desire to avoid these issues of critical concern.

[Jcrowley]

21. You have tapped into something there

What makes someone "unelectable?" How did it get to that point before the race even began? Is he cosmetically undesirable? Not tall enough? Speaks too clearly and for the disadvantaged?

Maybe being unelectable means hasn't sold his soul to the highest bidding political action committee. Maybe being unelectable means not having a cadre of special interest lobbyists. Maybe unelectable means willing to speak truth to power and criticize the Pentagon. Maybe being unelectable means the entirety of US politics has swung so far to the right that conservatives are mislabeled centrists and someone who has even a mild social agenda is seen as a whacked out lefty (which we need more of BTW).

Of course the truth of the matter is that Kucinich will not get anywhere near the White House. What does that tell us about how completely perverted is the (s)election process? Who decides? Is the game rigged?If so what are our proper responses if we are serious about real change rather than altering the window dressing?

[Judi Lynn]

29. He never had an air of swaggering self importance which appeals to the primitive among us.

They identify narcissism, theatrical emotionalism, and simple, easy-to-remember sloganeering with leadership.

Dennis Kucinich is more thoughtful, more observant, and that adds up to "scary" to stupid people.

[nam78_two]

41. Very true

Also "personal stories"....That seems to get a lot of points.

[TahitiNut]

30. One thing I've noticed over the years is that 'loyalists' always regard principled people ...

... with distrust, even when they agree with them. 'Loyalists' call themselves pragmatists, of course, a brand of consequentialist that abandons long-term goals for short-term advantage. There's a kind of mob mentality about it - refusing to trust someone unless they can be bribed or blackmailed. I personally think that's the core of the opposition to Kucinich, as it was the opposition to (the now-deified) Paul Wellstone and even Martin Luther King, Jr. We seem to almost immediately forget the "condemnation with faint praise" and enmity shown to such individuals upon their death - when it's finally "safe" to applaud them without fear.

:eyes:

[thingfisher]

34. Well said.

I hope the Kucinich is unelectable crowd will shut up long enough to let him prove otherwise.

[bobbolink]

23. I did too, but Kucinich has dropped support for poverty issues.

It wasn't "popular" enough.

So much for leadership. :(

So, my support now is for Edwards. I have to vote my own best interests.

Too bad it comes to that.

If more cared about those of us who aren't making it, things could be very different.

But..... being alone and isolated, I have to be for me.

[eridani]

46. What do you mean "dropped support for poverty issues"?

He's a clear leader on real universal health care, while Edwards stumbles around the issue. And if we keep having $1 trillion per year of military spending that is unaccounted for, how do you propose to fund anti-poverty programs? Not to mention which, Kucinich has always been against H1b visas, whereas Edwards has been less consistent on this.

[cadmium]

12. Important thread

I can't delve into it deeply at the moment but hope to get back to it next week. The massive numbers of Americans that are without housing is a national disgrace.

[OzarkDem]

16. Its a big problem for cancer patients

People suddenly faced with a an emergency, life threatening illness, have to take large amounts of time off work for treatment. Personal savings are burned up pretty quickly trying to cover rent. More and more these people are having to live in homeless shelters (all public housing is full and waiting lists are at least 1 - 2 yrs). Some move in with friends or family.

Due to research, screening and better treatments, more and more people are surviving cancer these days, but there's no safety net for them. The biggest problem is housing.

[bobbolink]

18. I'm one of them, and don't know how much longer I can hold on.

Really, just the isolation is a killer.

Where is everyone on this??

[goclark]

13. Sapphire ~ You are the heart of DU

You always take the time to remind us of what we really need to be about as Democrats.

[G_Leo_Criley]

14. kick for democratic values

:kick:

glc

[bobbolink]

17. Isn't this worthy of a decent protest???

There are more people dying in this country from poverty than are dying in Iraq, but it doesn't seem to inspire the support.

Why is that?

I don't even know what to say anymore... I feel like a damned orphan in the Dem party.

THanks for posting this.. I wish more paid attention.

:loveya:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

20. First we have to pry the blindfolds from Americans eyes

We're going to have to shake everyone by the scruff of their collars and force them to view the problem first. Then we're going to have to slap them upside their heads and make them admit that most of the government programs that once addressed this issue have dropped the ball, hell, most aren't even on the playing field anymore. Then there's the issue of charities, fewer and fewer places are allowed to shelter the homeless in the US. Largely due to regulations that prevent homeless from being in certain neighborhoods and the ones that do remain don't have the power to solve the problem, merely ease the suffering for those few fortunate people who are able to avail themselves of their use.

You'd think the growing number of homeless in the US would be enough wake people up, but sadly many people only see what they choose to see.

Don't give up hope, it can and will be done.

:hug:

[bobbolink]

24. How do we go about waking people up?

Seriously... I really don't know.

I've been talking calmly and politely to people, and I get politely shown the door.

I get angry, and I'm shown the door.

What does it take?

I said to one pastor that the reason they could so easily ignore us is that we've been too quiet. If a bunch of us poor folk and our (supporters!)start taking hatchets to church doors, or at least nailing our 95 complaints to church doors, maybe someone would begin to hear.

Until then....we silently die, one by one. How can one have hope in that?

As for shelter--no thanx. I need an actual place to live.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

27. It requires a collective movement, and that's never an easy task

One of the reasons that too few people are willing to admit there's a problem is due to the fact that homeless are, in effect, driven underground by society. We need media, and good luck with that, I've been writing everyone and gotten not a nibble. I do know a group at UT who are considering a documentary, however. That would be helpful, but not nearly enough. I think that a letter writing campaign starting at the beginning of the 110th congress is also a good idea.

DU is a great place for brainstorming and not a bad place to help spread ideas, but the solution won't come from here, it has to come from many places.

I understand about the shelter. They're a wee little bandage on the gushing wound and in effect not doing anything to stop the hemorrhage. Often they're a frightening experience in themselves, and no matter what there no way to live.

[bobbolink]

37. Could we just get a "collective movement" going here at DU?

:hi:

Seriously, that would be such a boon to my spirits!

And, I think at least a part of the solution could come from here. I mean, look what happened with the voting issue, because it was seen as important. Surely the same could happen with homelessness and poverty.

And, yes, a letter writing campaign! Let's start with that, eh?! Pleeez!

THank you so much for understanding about bandaid solutions! You wouldn't believe the things that have been said to me. ANd, that idea that I should be happy with a small room with a bathroom down the hall... that is soooo offensive! Really, sometimes I just wonder where peoples' heads are!

I didn't know you'd been writing to media. First of all, thanks for that--it helps my spirits just to know that. Maybe we can figure something out with that, too.

Thanks again!

[hfojvt]

38. did you see my posts about an existing documentary?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=153x6371

[bobbolink]

48. Replied--please post this in GD! Why can't DUers get behind this!

A documentary is so important! We need our own Al Gore in our corner, waking people up, and lighting fires under them!

Thanks so much for this info, and I hope you will keep pushing this!

As you can see, it's not something people want to hear about. :cry:

[AbbyR]

42. I am now working on upping my income

I can no longer afford to write for a small newspaper. But once I have taken care of that (updating credentials) I want to work on freelancing stories of the homeless. I'll be back asking for folks to interview and photograph then - but right now I have to survive, and I'm barely keeping a roof over my own head.

[thingfisher]

35. You are not alone Bobolink.

I fear many more people are going to be faced with some very bad times, people who are used to a middle class lifestyle. It doesn't take much to plunge a middle class person into poverty.
The harsh truth is that the poor have no political clout so who gives a crap?
As the poor increase in numbers perhaps the powers that be will be forced to take some action to avoid the shame of public exposure as heartless creeps.

[leftofthedial]

22. they had to cut the HUD budget

after raygun's buddies pillaged it for their own benefit

[bobbolink]

25. How..... comforting..... Well, then, now that we know that... we can die in peace.

[Sapphire Blue]

28. They CHOSE budget cuts, while much of America stood by silently. Why wasn't Congress SWAMPED...

... w/calls, letters, and emails demanding funding be restored to human needs programs instead of being cut? I called every damn member of Congress, both Houses, Dem & rep, demanding they vote against those immoral budgets. I begged people here to do the same. I know some did. But so many of the threads that I posted sunk.

Why did so many citizens in this country stand by, silently watching, or worse yet, not even caring?

[cadmium]

33. This is important--Thanks Sapphire. The roots of homelessness

are multiple but the end condition -- millions in our country without a place to live---is an indictment of our society and defacto evidence ou failure.

[leftofthedial]

36. homelessness is a silent problem

homeless people are generally either "invisible" to us or we wish so strongly that they were that we just drive by or walk by without noticing


I've written a couple of songs that deal with homelessness and despair and the triumph of the human will. Without fail, when I perform them, someone comes up to me and thanks me, tells me that they used to be homeless or have some other personal connection with the issue.

If indeed one measures the greatness of a country by how well it treats its poorest, weakest citizens, then we are a hideously narcissistic, self-indulgent, unempathetic culture. Personally, I blame capitalism.

[Stardust]

26. Can't afford to fund housing (need over a trillion $ for the war.)

[me b zola]

31. k&r

[shanine]

32. kick

[bobbolink]

39. The question is, is it important enough to "liberals" to want to

restore housing???

Sounds like, from a lot of the posts I've seen on other threads, many would rather blame the victim, or just sneer at the RW, and let it go at that.

That doesn't provide a comfortable home.

So, liberals, what about it? Are you content with these cuts, and the resulting homelessness?

[nam78_two]

40. K&R.nt

[flamingyouth]

43. Recommeded

Thanks for posting. These are tragic statistics.

[Cleita]

44. I'm happy to see that it's finally documented.

It was hard to argue the case when you could see it happening but no one with authority was reporting it the way it should have been.

[bridgit]

45. kick...

:kick:

[G_Leo_Criley]

47. K & R n/t

:kick:

glc

[Sapphire Blue]

49. kick

:kick: