THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 41 lines
Temperatures began their September slide last weekend, reminding most of us that the cool, crisp days of autumn will soon be here.
To social workers, lower temperatures mean much more than falling leaves and football season. Social workers know that the area's homeless population will soon embark on its annual struggle to survive winter.
Even estimating how large the Hampton Roads homeless population is perplexes the experts. By their very nature, homeless people live ``off the grid.'' They don't show up reliably in census data nor on most other governmental measures.
And their numbers tend to ebb and flow. People living on the margins of society can suddenly find themselves homeless when they lose a job or relapse into substance abuse. They may live in the streets for a few months, and then have their fortunes reversed as they gain employment and a place to live.
Homelessness has brought unpleasant urban realities to our region, forcing cities - especially Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Portsmouth - to tackle the problems of poverty in innovative ways.
The federal government is encouraging cities to go beyond providing just a hot meal and a clean place to sleep every night. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has just awarded $675 million in grants to 266 communities around the nation to aid the homeless.
Norfolk and Virginia Beach got some of Washington's largess, about $2.5 million combined.
The money is designated for localities to develop long-term solutions for homelessness and not just to focus on immediate needs of food and shelter. The federal dollars should allow communities to offer a wide range of services to the homeless, including job training, family counseling, child care and substance-abuse treatment.
Allowing localities to find their own long-term solutions to homelessness is the right way to cope with this frustrating problem. And the timing couldn't be better. by CNB