Posted on October 27, 2010
This week’s blog was written by Koury Wilson, one of VSH’s fall communications interns.
The beginning of the millennium witnessed an economic crisis in the US that has forced thousands of families around the country into homelessness. A lack of affordable housing, government support, and an increase in foreclosures put financial and emotional strain on those trying to support their families. This is particularly true for many who are raising their children alone.
According to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), on a single night there were 643,067 total homeless persons across the country. Of those, two-fifths (37 percent) were part of a family, and most (79 percent) were sheltered in emergency shelters or transitional housing.
Unfortunately the lack of financial stability is only one of the many problems families face when struggling to maintain shelter. It’s found that homelessness “…can affect how children learn, can lead to depression, and can be misdiagnosed as learning disabilities.” Many families also face the possibility of separation and foster care when the government is involved.
The 2010 Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness states, “each year, 30,000 youth ages 16 and older transition from foster care to legal emancipation or ‘age out’ of the system. One quarter of former foster youth experience homelessness within four years of exiting foster care.”
Recent studies of teenage homelessness have chronicled even well-to-do school districts that are experiencing a surge of students who have reported becoming homeless. South Chandler, Ariz. found of their 38,000 students, 563 don’t have permanent housing.
“We have families who have lost everything, dads who had (investment) properties that didn’t go well, an engineer who hasn’t been employed for a year,” Mundle said. “This isn’t your poor immigrant.”
A statewide Summit on Family and Youth Homelessness took place on Oct. 21 at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to create a plan of action in how to move Virginia forward in ending homelessness statewide and in localities. The event provided a series of 10 sessions held throughout the day discussing topics such as the role of faith communities in preventing homelessness and implementing financial strategies.
Virginia Supportive Housing plays an important role for families in central Virginia. VSH owns four supportive housing properties located in Richmond’s Cary Street, Highland Park, and Southern Barton Heights neighborhoods that house 16 families with children who are transitioning from homeless shelters and transitional housing programs. Some may see this as a small step compared to the thousands of homeless families nationwide, but VSH continues to be a model in housing services that have proven effective.
The federal plan has a goal of ending homelessness for families, youth, and children in ten years. However, even as the economy and the job market slowly improve, many are still struggling to find their way back on their feet, and it’s a crisis that continues to grow. Given the strong relationship between family & youth homelessness and adult homelessness, this issue has the potential to undermine all our existing efforts. It must become a top national priority. As long as there is still open discussion of a resolution and programs like VSH that prioritize to help prevent and support those experiencing homelessness, this problem has the potential to be eradicated.
Posted on October 19, 2010
This week’s blog was written by Koury Wilson, one of VSH’s fall communications interns.
VSH NAMI Walks Team 2010
It was a beautiful day when the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Virginia held their annual fundraiser, NAMIWALKS Virginia. The 5K event is orchestrated to raise awareness, educate the community, and bring together advocates as they celebrate hope and wellness.
NAMI is a national grassroots mental health advocacy organization which through their efforts, educational programs, and awareness works hard to improve the lives of adults and children with mental illness and their families. It organizes NAMI Walk events in localities all across the nation to raise funds to support the organization so they can continue its mission.
The Richmond-based event was held the morning of Saturday, October 9 at Innsbrook in Glen Allen. Participants had the option of walking the entire distance or as far as their legs could take them. Virginia Commonwealth University’s Pep Band was stationed in the middle of the walk as participants strolled by with their dogs and their friends.
It was a record turnout for NAMIWALKS Virginia and many chose unique ways of expressing their advocacy including one group who walked the entire distance backwards to challenge the stigma of mental illness.
Kristin Yavorsky, VSH’s director of clinical services, has a personal connection with NAMI. She has several family members with mental health disorders and while in grad school, interned for the organization and worked as a community organizer in a state office. She along with other members of staff participated in the fundraising event.
“It’s an opportunity for people who care about [mental health issues] to come together,” said Yavorsky.
Alongside employees, several of VSH’s tenants, who reside in three housing locations, also attended. Participation in community-wide events can be empowering and therapeutic for people who have formerly experienced homelessness. It also allows clients who are experiencing mental illness to break out of isolation and meet new people.
“Getting the clients involved is in part what the day is about, says Yavorsky. “It gives everyone a chance to support the cause and clients with mental health disorders have the opportunity to participate and interact.”
VCU social work grad student and VSH intern, Robin Gahan, thrives on the message NAMI is bringing to the community.
“My life has been touched by family, friends, and clients affected by mental illness. I have seen the personal struggles they experience and how those experiences are compounded by stigma,” she says.
All of the participants enjoyed the day and look forward to participating in future events as NAMI Virginia and VSH continue to improve the lives of those with mental health disorders.
Posted on October 12, 2010
This week’s blog was written by Cristina Wood, one of VSH’s fall communications interns.
Every year, Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program sponsors a walkathon in D.C. The goal is to register as many walkers as possible, and to use the proceeds to fund their fight to prevent homelessness. But how do people who are homeless feel about this?
A couple years ago, I participated in the walk. For two and half miles, a throng of people march from Independence Avenue towards the Tidal Basin, and the year I happened to participate, it was pouring down rain. I walked along the route with some of my friends amongst the massive crowd, upset that I was drenched from head to toe. But I quickly remembered the reason we were walking –the people who have to sit outside in this rain every day because they don’t have a place to call home.
As I was nearing the finish line on the National Mall and the rain was easing up, the group I was with came upon a strip of sidewalk where at least 10 homeless people were asking for change. I watched as walker after walker, dressed in their unmistakable fluorescent orange “Help the Homeless” t-shirts, walked past these peoples’ outstretched hands and ignored them. They acted like they didn’t even exist.
One man sitting on the sidewalk began to yell, “You’ll walk for me, but you can’t spare a quarter? I walk day in, day out, how is you walking going to change anything?” Mumbles and groans of agreement from some of the other people around him heightened in volume.
I was disheartened that this man singlehandedly discounted what all of us were trying to do in one fell swoop. He couldn’t see that we were helping him indirectly, and that the money we all raised to walk was going to provide more programs and services for him. But from his perspective, a horde of people promenading through D.C. does not put food in his stomach or a roof over his head tonight.
However, although many of us give money to people who are homeless out of compassion, it often has the opposite effect of perpetuating their homelessness. So what is the right response? Rather than giving money, why not offer a sandwich or a few encouraging words? Direct them to shelters or programs they can take advantage of. Many organizations like VSH dedicate their time to making services available to the people who are homeless, and panhandlers should be be made aware of these options instead of prolonging their time on the streets. Donating your time or money to organizations like VSH is much more beneficial and effective in the long run.
Nonetheless, homeless people are just like you and me. We must not act like they are eyesores in our city’s scenery nor should we dehumanize them by pretending like they are not even there. It is a commendable act to donate to charities or help organizations indirectly, but showing you care about the homeless as you walk past them on the sidewalk is a whole different level of compassion. It gives them hope, which may be just what they need to get through another day.
Posted on October 5, 2010
What does the “face” of homelessness look like? We often envision desperate people down on their luck, on the sidewalk or the side of the road, holding strips of cardboard with messages begging for help. But housing crises can happen to anyone.
The faces of renowned celebrities are the faces we are least likely to associate with homelessness. For most of us, images of celebrity go hand-in-hand with images of success, fame, and fortune. So it’s difficult to imagine the likes of actress Halle Berry and comedian Jim Carrey once living out of their cars for months at a time.
Culinary expert Andrew Zimmern of “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” on the Travel Channel experienced homelessness for a year in the streets of lower Manhattan. In his 20s he developed a severe drug and alcohol addiction. “I lived in an abandoned building,” he said. “I was the guy you crossed the street to avoid if you walked by me in New York.”
In 1982 after receiving help in a Minnesota rehabilitation clinic, Zimmern got a second chance and turned his life around by finding a career in one thing he loved – food. He became an executive chef in Minneapolis’ Café Un Deux Trois and eventually established himself as a television host and freelance writer.
British award-winning singer Sonique, real name Sonia Clarke, whose 2000 chart-topper “It Feels So Good” flooded American radio stations, experienced homelessness at the age of 16 after her mother left the United Kingdom to return to her native Trinidad. “Like so many others who are homeless, I felt vulnerable, afraid and alone and my life was put on hold. I felt I was in a big hole,” she said.
By telling their stories, these individuals want to spread a message of hope. Yes, housing crises can happen to the best of us, regardless of our gifts and talents, and it often occurs because of circumstances beyond our control. But a second chance can, in many situations, not just get us back on our feet, but lift us to new and unexpected heights of self-fulfillment.
For many here in the Commonwealth, Virginia Supportive Housing is that second chance. By offering the necessary support – in the form of permanent housing and support services – VSH is able to give hope and help people to lead the productive lives they were meant to live.
