Homelessness has dramatically in 2005, as the new report from the USCM shows. The shortage of affordable housing is the main cause. According to the report, in 87% of the cities surveyed the length of time people spend homeless increased in 2005.
The 2005 findings of the countries mayors show that 14% of requests for emergency shelter overall went unmet in 2005and 32% of requests from homeless families alone went unmet. The report also predicted that unless resources increase, the impact of the Hurricanes may further squeeze services for pre-Hurricane homeless people.
"Because their impact was mainly on people who were already poor, there's a very real risk that beyond the immediate increase impact the Hurricanes will lead to long term increases in homelessness," said Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.
"But a significant portion of the increase is not Hurricane-related: it is just the plain old manmade disasters of high housing costs, low wages, and increasing poverty," she said.
The proposed cuts to Medicaid and SSI, on which many disabled poor and homeless people rely for health care and income, is expected to further deepen these problems.
The Budget Reconciliation bill passed this morning by the U.S. House of Representatives would cut the federal Medicaid program by $6.9 billion over five years. The cuts would allow states to charge low-income beneficiaries higher co-payments and premiums in order to receive services, resulting in fewer people being able to access Medicaid services. The bill would also allow states to stop providing certain services to Medicaid recipients, including glasses, hearing aids, and crutches.
The bill will also force certain disabled persons who are owed disability benefits to wait longer to receive their benefits. The current system for applying for disability benefits is long and a person may wait for one to two years in order to receive benefits. Under current law, those who are owed back payments may receive the back payments in a lump sum once they are found eligible, provided that the back payments do not exceed the value of a years worth of benefits. Under the new law, if the payments exceed three months worth of the maximum monthly benefit, persons found to be eligible will have to receive the payments in installments. The maximum monthly payment in Fiscal Year 2006 will be $603.
"This will delay people from finding housing," said Foscarinis. "Instead of getting a payment large enough to pay the security deposit and first month's rent, some people will have to wait additional months until their installments provide them with enough funding."
