real homelessness

i've been whining inside my head for quite a while.

okay, okay, and i've been whining out loud for quite a while, too.

since march, i've been anticipating my move north to madison. in all that time, the one thing i hoped i'd have settled is far from it. my lease is up in chicago in two weeks, and i will then be officially without a home.

i despaired.

the roommate situation seems to be falling through, and i don't have a job yet that would pay me enough for a one-bedroom, if that's even what i'd wanted. so it seems i might be, as jev mentioned recently, "couch-surfing" for a bit.

or absolutely homeless, as i expressed it to god in prayer, my fist reaching up and then falling on my bed. on my big comfy double bed covered in a pretty purply covered-duvet.

i cringe at the reality of my self-pity. do you know what my house looks like? it's beautiful. in my room alone, i have a computer that sits on my desk near bookshelves and candles and a stereo and lamps and an enormous cd rack. i have two couches and a tv and a coffee table and a pantry full of food.

i am not homeless. and the reality is i have friends who will put me up for a month until i find a place.

so i googled homelessness in america, because the last thing i want to do is deceive myself that this momentary lapse in rent-paying is the same thing as real homelessness, lest i think my suffering is so awful.

if you enter that phrase in google, you'll find that the first sponsored link to your right is from eBay. it looks like this:

Homelessness In America
Whatever you're looking for
you can get it on eBay.
www.eBay.com

sure, the linnk actually goes to book titles along those subject lines. but something struck me as very, very wrong about that little blurb. and not just because i hate that tagline: "whatever you're looking for, you can get in on eBay." (i guess i just disagree.)

anyway, the point is, i thought i'd offer some info about real homelessness excerpted from data listed on the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness (NPACH) website:

Lack of affordable housing leads the list of causes of homelessness identified by the city officials. Other causes cited, in order of frequency include low-paying jobs, mental illness and the lack of needed services, substance abuse and the lack of needed services, domestic violence, unemployment, poverty, and prisoner re-entry.

An average of 14 percent of the requests for emergency shelter by homeless people overall and 32 percent of the requests by homeless families alone are estimated to have gone unmet during the last year. In 88 percent of the cities, emergency shelters may have to turn away homeless families due to lack of resources; in 79 percent they may also have to turn away other homeless people.

Compared to other children, homeless children have twice as many ear infections, four times as many asthma attacks, five times more stomach problems, six times as many speech problems, and twice as many hospitalizations - inlcuding 60% more emergency room visits.

On average, to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, a family will have to work full-time at $15.37/hour, which is well beyond the earnings of low-income households.

this is homelessness. see www.npach.org for more information if you're interested in how you can help.