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The Homeless—A World ProblemAwake!—1988 | March 8
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The National Coalition for the Homeless maintains that the number of homeless people in the United States is between two and three million. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on the other hand, reports that “as best as can be determined from all available data, the most reliable range is 250,000 to 350,000 homeless persons.” Whatever the actual number of the homeless, however, everyone agrees it is growing.
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The Homeless—A World ProblemAwake!—1988 | March 8
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In recent years, however, authorities dealing with the homeless have noted a new trend. The New York Times quoted a member of the Coalition for the Homeless in Chicago as saying: “We’re seeing the trend of needs change drastically from just ‘the poor’ to ‘middle class suddenly poor.’ They lose their jobs, their credit cards and their mortgage. It’s definitely not your stereotypical wino in the alley anymore.”
Similarly, the director of a social service agency in Connecticut observed: “Unfortunately, there is a misconception about who homeless people are. It’s not the bag person who drifts from one city to the next. It’s actually families who can’t afford to rent anymore because of high rents, lack of jobs, divorces.” According to a report released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors last May, a survey of 29 major cities revealed that families with children made up over one third of the homeless, and that was a 31-percent increase over the previous year.
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