Although we may believe that hunger and homelessness exist only in faraway lands, the unfortunate reality is that people are suffering in our own towns and neighborhoods.
About 3.5 million people [1] experience homelessness in the United States throughout the course of a year. This means approximately 1% of the U.S. population will be homeless at some point in a given year. Although women, men, individuals, families, elderly, and youth are all affected, the disturbing reality is that 38-39% of those suffering are children. And these numbers are growing. Research shows that from 1987-1997, the number of beds in homeless shelters doubled, if not tripled, in the states and communities surveyed.
In addition, 10% of Americans suffer from hunger or food insecurity on any given day[2]. Food insecurity is a lack of access to safe and nutritious food and/or an inability to obtain food in a socially unacceptable manner (for example, needing to rely on charity, scavenging, or other means).
Sometimes we make over-generalizations about people who experience hunger or homelessness. It’s easy to oversimplify these issues. Maybe we blame society or large, seemingly unchangeable external factors as causes. Sometimes even the most well-meaning citizens blame the people who are suffering by saying they made poor decisions or are lazy or unreliable.
In reality, multiple factors can contribute to people experiencing hunger and homelessness. These include (but are not limited to):