Reflections on Family Homelessness

Today is Ash Wednesday, which begins the start of Lent for our Christian friends. This is a time of seasonal reflection, and we thought we would take the opportunity to provide some educational awareness of the challenges families experiencing homelessness face.

About 35% of the homeless population in the United States, consists of families with children. The lack of permanent shelter for these children drastically affects their lives. They are not only affected emotionally, but health wise as well. Children experiencing homelessness get four times as many respiratory infections, twice as many ear infections, and are four times more likely to have asthma than housed children.

So what causes homelessness? One of the main causes for a family to end up without a home is that there is a lack of housing for low-income families. Only 25% of those considered eligible for federal housing assistance receive help, due to lack of funding. There has recently been an increase in evictions because the cost of living is constantly rising. It is hard for low-income families to keep up with rising housing prices, when their income isn’t doing the same.

As we enter this season of reflection, we ask you to keep the families we serve in your hearts and spirits. For ways you can help our families this Lenten season, please visit our Get Involved Page.