One of the most stubbornly persistent myths is that homeless people are lazy and do not want to work.
According to the Minnesota Statewide Homeless Survey, which is conducted every three years by Wilder Research, 30 percent of homeless adults and 42 percent of homeless youth were working at least in part-time jobs at the time the survey was conducted.
On Oct. 22, 2015, the Wilder Research study used 1,100 volunteers and program staff to explore 370 locations throughout the state. There were 3,672 face-to-face interviews with homeless people in emergency shelters, domestic-violence shelters, service centers, encampments and other places not intended for housing.
On that day, the researchers counted a total of 9,312 homeless people, although that does not include the many homeless people who were likely living in cars, sleeping on the streets and elsewhere – places where they couldn’t be known or counted.
The actual total is more like 14,000 homeless people on any given night in Minnesota.
The good news – well, relatively good news – is the 2015 survey showed a decrease in homelessness in 2015 from 2012, a drop of 9 percent compared to a 32-percent increase from 2006 to 2012.
Sadly, the hardest hit are children and youth under 24, African-Americans and American Indians. Children account for one-third of the overall homeless population, which includes those with homeless parents and those who have run away from home. About 8 percent of homeless people have served in the military.
The top reasons causing homelessness are lack of affordable housing, lack of employment, chronic health conditions, mental-illness dysfunctions, substance-abuse issues, history of abuse and violence, physical disabilities, ripple effects caused by discrimination in housing and other systemic inequalities.
About 40 percent of homeless people lost their housing because they could no longer afford increasing rents or mortgages and they lost their jobs or had their work hours cut.
Almost 80 percent of homeless people have at least a high-school diploma or GED.
Wilder Research recommends fighting the battle on two fronts: increasing the availability of affordable housing and providing individuals and families with support they need to remain in a stable housing situation. Good strides toward those goals are being made, but there is much more work to be done.
As the detailed Wilder Research report shows, homelessness is an exceedingly complicated issue with its myriad causes. But we should all realize that and not be so quick to judge when we see someone in the streets holding up a “Will Work For Food” sign.
