THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406150003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By WILLIAM E. SLEASMAN and KATURA CAREY-HARVEY
DATELINE: 940615 LENGTH: Medium
Had the editor even read the plan cited, it would have been evident that ``Priority: Home'' is first and foremost not a HUD study. It is the collaboration of 17 federal agencies on what has become an intractable and shameless problem in America.
{REST} The 17 agencies range from diverse Cabinet-level agencies, such as the departments of Agriculture and Justice, to councils and agencies like the U.S. Postal Service and Domestic Policy Council. That these groups could address a problem which had been neglected since 1949, when the goal as expressed in the Housing Act was to provide ``a decent home and suitable living environment for every American,'' is a positive accomplishment and should be commended. Each of these agencies surveyed service providers and met with countless organizations and individuals, most in a position to know about homelessness. It is indeed a plan which offers plausible solutions.
The plan does not redefine ``home-lessness.'' The definition as of January 1993 now reads: ``Homeless persons are those who are sleeping in shelters or in places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks or abandoned buildings. To avoid the trauma and disruption caused by sleeping on the street or in a shelter, persons will also be considered to be homeless if: (1) they are being evicted within the week from dwelling units or are persons being discharged within the week from institutions in which they have been residents for more than 30 consecutive days; and (2) no subsequent residences have been identified; and (3) they lack the resources and support networks needed to obtain access to housing.''
The cause of homelessness has its roots in various policies, events and ways of life for which some of us are responsible and from which some of us actually prosper. The list of homeless includes veterans, mainly from the war in Vietnam; the deinstitutionalized mentally ill; intact families pauperized by the loss of a job; single parents, usually women, without the resources or skills to break the cycle of poverty; runaway youth, many of whom have been abused.
Family status is only one factor in a myriad of relevant characteristics, none of which causes homelessness. In fact, the fastest-growing portion of all of these groups is children.
The editor's use of phrases such as ``spotlighting homeless families'' and ``Uncle Sam wants to dry people out while at the same time buying the drinks,'' reflects a culture and economic bias, poor taste and low level of journalism.
The Portsmouth Area Resources Coalition, whose mission is ``to serve the community by helping people meet basic human needs and to provide opportunities for self-sufficiency,'' I am surprised that you did not understand your suggestion about having government contract with the Salvation Army and other private groups to address this problem is exactly what the homeless-aid plan calls for. The difference is that the federal government recognizes its role and investment in alleviating the problem.
PARC is comprised of four agencies, including the Salvation Army, Oasis, Wesley Community Service Center and the Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project and has marshaled more than 50 congregations to alleviate poverty. It is not a source of pride to say that PARC was created in response to the decline of federal dollars allocated to assist the less fortunate, but it is the truth.
Homelessness is a very pervasive and complex problem. Those of us who work hard to reverse the effects of the federal disinvestment for the past 12 years believe that editorials such as these do not serve to enlighten but to whip up the hate for those in poverty. We applaud the plan and encourage you to read it before maligning it and perpetuating your distortions.
by CNB