subject: Foreclosures And Homelessness - A 21st Century Phenomena [print this page] There are now more homeless families in the United States than there have been since the Great Depression.
Only five years ago it was quite rare that foreclosure was a factor in how a family became homeless. But now social service agencies have been reporting that over the last several years approximately 10% of the people that they've helped became homeless because of foreclosures.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless "Foreclosure to Homelessness 20009" survey, foreclosures were a factor that led to homelessness for 15% of the newly homeless in the Midwest. In many cases soaring unemployment rates were the antecedent to the foreclosures.
Throughout the United States a combination of the real estate bust and joblessness has resulted in previously unheard of foreclosure rates.
It's bitterly ironic that most of the families that became homeless because their homes were foreclosed actually did not own the homes. They were low-income renters.
When their landlords stopped paying their mortgages these families were left to scramble to try to find new housing. In many cases the families had little if any savings. Many were living paycheck to paycheck.
Nonetheless, they often found out that they would no longer have a roof over their heads on very short notice.
Homeless shelter executives are reporting that families such as these usually never needed any help before. Consequently, they had no idea about where to go and what to do. And, as you might imagine, many felt humiliated by their circumstances.
People will often give their home up before they give their car up. When families become homeless they usually try to camp out in their cars, especially if they live in a warmer climate.
To accommodate families such as these, cities such as Ventura, California designated car-camping areas.
To exacerbate the problem even more, people with some means whose credit was tainted found it difficult if not impossible to rent another home or apartment because of their credit rating. As a result many families in this situation are now living in extended stay motels, where they pay their rent on a weekly basis.
The whole family is usually crammed into a single motel room. Instead of cooking in a kitchen they are cooking on hotplates. However, with increasing unemployment even this option often comes to pass rather quickly.
A lot of families try to stay with their friends and family, occupying attics, basements and extra bedrooms. This type of hospitality, though, is rather rare.
As hard times in the United States continue, as paychecks go the way of the wind, homeless shelters are taking in families who have run out of any other alternatives.
These shelters use homeless shelter software to help them to monitor their new residents.
