Families Don’t Stand a Chance

Communities: Prepare for Surge of Homelessness

If you dare/care, my book gives a reader-friendly overview of family homelessness.

At my recent presentation, I decided to pull out all the stops. I selected 2 families from my latest book, Dismazed and Driven — My Look at Family Homelessness in America, to jar the audience into the brutal reality families encounter. These accounts were post-homelessness, shining a glaring light on the long-term impact of trauma and homelessness.

What pushed me beyond my usual “civil/subtle” approach? I’ve known these 2 families for years — both crawled out of homelessness with grit and determination — and both now teeter on the edge of losing it all, despite their best efforts.

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‘Not Homeless Enough’

I’m tired of those who maintain that families doubled up or in motels on their own dime, or more likely bouncing between doubled up, crappy motels and their vehicles (if “lucky” enough to have one), are “not homeless enough” to be considered for what paltry help is available through our nation’s housing assistance programs run by HUD.

This is a long-lasting standoff between those who guide HUD’s policies and those of us who know what families endure in communities across the land. We’ve gotten legislation introduced for years to begin to fix our nation’s failed…