The New Face of the Homeless

The homeless are no longer just the substance abusers, the mentally or emotionally ill, or those physically
unable to work.  The face of the homeless is changing and now includes the “working poor” who live from pay-check to pay-check or others who have simply had a run of bad luck.

To get into a house or an apartment, one may need up to $800.00 just to cover the first month’s
rent and security deposit.  Hourly wages are insufficient, working hours are limited and employers don’t have to provide medical or paid leave benefits such as sick days or paid vacations.

In Tuscola county, in 2008, it was estimated that it took an hourly wage of $11.33 per hour to afford a two bedroom home at Fair Market Rent (FMR). Yet the hourly wage of renters in the County in 2008
was only $8.89 per hour.  Roughly 42% of renter’s cannot afford a 2 bedroom home at $589 per month!

There are public agencies with programs available to help, but they all too often run out of  money or have restrictive guidelines that frequently results in people “falling through the cracks” because they do not qualify. In other words, they are in a difficult situation and earn too much money to receive assistance – the “working poor.”

For example: in our area, in one month’s time ten individuals sought help because they were at
risk of homelessness:

• 7 People needed help with rent
• 4  had less than $350 per month
• 10 children were affected
  

Sometimes people are released from jail and have no place to go for the night with little money. For the sake of our community it behooves us to give these people a real chance to restart their lives before they resort to falling back into inappropriate behaviors in an attempt to get their basic needs met. There is a shortage of available shelter beds in Tuscola county.

In the Huron/Tuscola County 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, the housing inventory for emergency shelter is:

• 1,2 bedroom rental units (maximum 4 adults) for single adults or family w/children;
• Six bedroom, 28 bed house for homeless women and domestic violence;
• One bed for a single man.

Although many mainstream agencies are trying to address the homeless problem nothing moves very fast - it is hard to tell a person that we are working on that problem or the mainstream agencies are already doing that when they come knocking on our door.  The THC realizes that government funding will take time to access and when finally in place will have guidelines that could prevent some individuals and families from receiving the help they deserve – before the costs spiral out of control!

The Tuscola Homeless Coalition

The Tuscola Homeless Coalition will be doing fund raising, seeking grants, and asking for help and support throughout Tuscola county. If you are interested in more information or wish to become involved in this greatly needed all-volunteer service project please contact the Tuscola Homeless Coalition. The Tuscola Homeless Coalition is a non-profit 501(c) 3 charitable corporation. Your contributions may be fully tax deductible.