A Familiar Cough--A Bleak Reminder

Too often as the director of a busy Illinois suburban homeless shelter I heard that cough that served as living proof of a lack of health care and a brutal lifestyle.

This morning, at the state park I'm calling home for the weekend, my neighbor barked regularly as he struggled under the hood with a malfunctioning engine of a very old SUV.

While he worked wordlessly, his 5-year-old daughter gingerly skirted their campsite, where their very old camper was parked. She looked like she just got home from church, but the family hadn't left their spot. Her blue dress and pretty shoes with white socks belied their camping experience.

Is this family homeless? I'd bet my lunch money they are. If so, they are among the countless others in this southern New Mexico area who are forced to make due because no safety net exists to speak of--no family shelter, very limited other assistance.

I met with the local mayor this week. A nice enough man, newly elected, he seemed unaware of the nature of homelessness among his community's families. I'm sure his agenda is overflowing with critical issues.

Seems to me we need to make the well-being of families critical issues. They've been ignored far too long. It's just like this dad's cough--it doesn't go away, it gets worse and is more expensive and painful to treat. Left untreated, it can lead to dire consequences.

Those concerned about the well-being of homeless families and teens can do something about it. HEAR US is urging people to participate in our Piggies' Campaign, a way to let Congress know that these invisible homeless families and teens are out here, coughing, wheezing, and struggling to get by each day.

When Advocacy Works

Fifteen years ago, weekly (in-between running a very busy homeless shelter) I was trucking down to Springpatch, the much-tarnished capital of IL, to lobby for the rights of homeless kids to get into school.

Little did the small band of do-gooders realize what we would unleash. Now, the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act is the law of the land, under the auspices of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Improvements Act which became law in 2002. It has theoretically revolutionized the way homeless students get into school. They, er, get in.

I present this history lesson to reassure nay-sayers about our chances to change HUD's definition of homelessness to include families and teens. With a strong grassroots push, anything is possible. And that grassroots push is available in our HEAR US Piggies campaign.

This weekend I'm spending time at a homeless shelter campus in McKinney, TX. Tillie and I are parked and plugged in at their transitional apartment building. Lynne S., the director of Samaritan Inn, a pretty darn impressive approach to homelessness, and the only shelter in this affluent county, told me they don't take government grants because of the strings attached. I understand.

If HUD doesn't fund the shelter, that means the 20-some families in their overnight shelter and the dozen or so in their transitional program don't count. Yup. We don't see them. The kids who are riding their bikes round and round their building, circling Tillie with great curiosity, they're not here. Families or teens bouncing from motels to friends' couches and around again, or staying in campers or abandoned buildings, they don't count either.

Oh yes they do! They count, and with the help from countless compassionate ordinary people across the land, we're going to change HUD's definition of homelessness, and this nation's approach to homelessness, to make sure homeless kids count.

Seems to me that it's time for this feeling of powerlessness to be replaced by the can-do attitude reflected in this latest presidential campaign. Sure, Obama has hit a few speedbumps along the way, and that's not surprising considering some of the same people who caused the economic demise we're seeing now are still hanging around the Capitol. But that can't stop us from making the changes so long overdo...like addressing homelessness, in its ever-growing forms, before it becomes the way we all live.

Make Homeless Kids Count!

All across the country well-intentioned people are pursuing
the task equivalent to counting angels on the head of a pin--HUD's Point-In-Time
count, or PIT, where in a 24-hour timeslot volunteers go hither-and-yon to count
homeless adults.

I attended a training where volunteers were told "don't count the kids." I sat
on my hands and practiced meditation to keep from disrupting the session.
Don't count the kids, wait till they're adults then they'll count.

Hopefully this will be the last "Don't Count the Kids" homeless count. With
every new administration comes new policies from HUD, the PIT agency.

But a move is afoot to make sure kids count. Congresswoman Judy Biggert
(R-13th/IL) and a bipartisan group of enlightened co-sponsors have introduced

HR 29, the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2009.

This bill would change the way homeless people are counted, including families
and teens on their own when tallying the numbers. It's an effort that has built
in momentum, and one that needs to happen soon so Congress will actually get the
idea that homelessness among families and teens is as huge of an issue as it
really is.

This blog would be way too long to explain why and how this homeless census got
distorted, and why some people want it to stay that way. In my humble opinion,
it's the money, stupid.

Money for housing and homelessness has been a pittance even longer than I've
been involved, 23 years. Homeless people aren't usually the most political
active and the few people who try to lobby are way overpowered by "the suits"
who are jostling about the halls of Congress with big money concerns.

But we propose to bring some highly visible lobbyists to urge Congresspersons to
join as co-sponsors of HR 29. And you can be a part of this movement to make
homeless kids count.

HEAR US has prepared a simple fax to use to ask your legislator to
join as an HR 29 co-sponsor. On the form is the heartbreaking image of babies
toes, or Piggies.

The fax is overtly designed to capture the attention of the recipient,
identifying babies as part of the homeless population. If they can live with
that thought, well, that says a lot.

So if you want homeless kids to count, join the
Piggies campaign. And get your friends, the people you work or
worship with, your service club...you get the idea. The Piggies form is simple
and designed to be easy to spread over the Internet.

Seems to me we need to turn our election/inaugural fervor into
action. With so many issues clamoring for attention, how about picking one where
the beneficiaries of improved policies are pretty well voiceless and invisible,
not to mention helpless?

Looking at Progress (?) In DC???

Six months ago people thought it was hopeless to try to turn Congress around on the issue of the homelessness definition. For those just joining us, the issue has been that HUD, the federal agency overseeing housing and homelessness, has for the past several years focused on "chronic homelessness" which greatly limits help for kids and families (Congressional Quarterly article).

Word from "a little bird" in DC indicates forward movement for those of us who believe we need to address homeless families and unaccompanied teens STAT!

HEAR US has been part of this campaign, with our Piggies Action, a simple way to nudge your congresspersons. Well, the piggies get the message across. More people are needed to take a few moments to do this little activity.

Why?

Seems to me that we're due for a victory for the little people. Over nation's 1.5 million homeless kids in our country sure qualify as little people. When we can start caring about "the least among us" (not that I consider homeless kids "the least" but they sure lack power and importance) then maybe we're ready to turn a corner on this compassion epidemic I keep hoping for....

Photos c Pat Van Doren, used with permission