|
.jpg)
Recent Similar ArticlesCenter City:
|
Crisis In The Streets: Forum Confronts Homelessness in Philadelphia
by
Philly IMC | 11.28.2006
This past Tuesday the 21st, an audience of about 120 concerned Philadelphia citizens gathered at the Arch Street United Methodist Church to talk about a topic that often gets overlooked: homelessness in this city.  We Will Work to End Homelessness "Homelessness is not an adjective for a person, it's a temporary position." - Rev. Hynicka The forum was sponsored by Young Involved Philadelphia (YIP) and included panelists Rev. Robin Hynicka of the Arch Street Methodist Church, Kristen Edwards, outreach coordinator for Project H.O.M.E., Eleanor Daly, Director of Advocacy for the Mental Health Association of South Eastern PA, Rob Stuart, President of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and Roosevelt Darby Jr., Deputy Director of the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness. Each panelist was first given time to speak before entertaining questions and concerns from the audience. Roosevelt Darby Jr. first spoke upon the growing problem of homelessness in this city, which is reflected in recent data. This summer's homeless number was the highest since 1997 and the previous winter's street census as the highest in recorded history. Homeless care and shelter is now a $1.4 billion industry and Mr. Darby belives that the problem is only getting worse. The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness is mainly an advocacy group that has recently prepared the 2010 Plan To End Homelessness for "rallying our resources in support of solving the shame of homelessness in America". The plan attacks the issue from many angles, including Safe Home Philadelphia, as Mr. Darby believes that it all starts with affordable housing. Another key aspect is the "collective consciousness" of the city. As Mr. Darby puts it, the entire city isn't quite ready to believe that no one should be sleeping on the streets, and until then the homelessness problem will not be eradicated. It was brought up later that even though many homeless people do have jobs, their wages are not enough for them to have a home of their own. Gentrification and the real estate market have made it harder than ever to find affordable housing in the city. Kristen Edwards of Project H.O.M.E. spoke next on her organization's outreach services, including the Homeless Outreach Hotline (215-232-1984). Their recent fall seasonal street count in Center City was 404 homeless people, which is an increase of 119% increase since 2000. Ms. Edwards attributes homelessness in Philadelphia in a large part to poverty, as 25% of Philadelphia residents live at or below the poverty level, making payment for housing a challenge. For a neighborhood perspective, Rob Stuart of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association spoke on his neighborhood's women's shelter, which he believes the neighborhood not only embraces but celebrates. He also briefly spoke upon the ineffectiveness of uncomplianced feeding of homeless people in a neighborhood without a permit and that there should be enforcement of established policies. Next to speak was Eleanor Daly, Director of Advocacy for the Mental Health Association of South Eastern PA. Ms. Daly concentrates on services to support individuals with mental health and/or substance abuse disorders. Most of her patients are from the Philadelphia city and most of them are homeless. She spoke briefly on situations that put homeless people in even more of a disadvantage. One example is if that when they discharged for the Philadelphia county jail, they are done so without their necessary medication. If they are lucky, they are given a token to take public transportation to a shelter for the night, but at two in the morning this isn't always easy. In this way, they are forced back into the system because they are never given the resources that they need. To that end, her organization attempts to teach self-advocacy skills so that the people she helps can better take control of their lives. She also went about addressing the problem with homeless shelters as they are not pleasant places to be to the point that some people feel far safer on the streets. In the second half of the forum, questions and suggestions on the problem were taken from the audience. Many issues and aspects were addresses, notably a suggestion that current and future mayoral candidates spend one night or a weekend in a shelter to become more versed on the problem. Further on that point, it was brought up that this is the time to make homelessness a major issue in the upcoming 2007 mayoral election. Rev. Hynicka discussed the Arch Street United Methodist Church's Grace Cafe, which will be opening again soon for the winter and is in need of volunteers. The evening ended with the promise of further action and discussion as perhaps people left with a different outlook on this visable problem in our city.
|
|
© 1999–2008 Philadelphia Independent Media Center |
|
Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by PhillyIMC.
|
Comments
Homelessness in Philadelphia
Submitted by Marina Schlotzhauer (not verified) on Thu, 11/30/2006 - 8:42pmWhat about all the house surplus that the Philadelphia housing authority has on their hands?Sitting there doing nothing? Many of these houses need repairs, but they could be better used as someone's home...
Why not do something with that?
Post new comment