The Obama administration will start 2010 by spending $1.4 million to keep thousands of homeless assistance programs operating through the winter and beyond, a broad initiative that will help many African-Americans who are destitute.
The announcement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will help an unprecedented 6,445 programs across the country to continue offering critically needed housing and services to homeless people and families.
Racial and ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans, are disproportionately among those living on the streets. Homeless advocates say 42 percent of the nation’s total homeless population is African-American, and 45 percent of America’s estimated 131,000 homeless veterans are black.
“As we move into the coldest time of the year, it’s critical that no program risk running out of money to keep their doors open,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a statement. “These grants will make certain that those programs on the front lines of helping the homeless have the resources they need to house and serve persons who might otherwise be forced to turn to the streets.”
Homelessness continues to be a largely urban phenomenon as 71 percent of homeless people are located in large cities, like Washington, D.C. As the winter season begins, health officials are concerned. Last month, the District experienced a record snow storm that dumped 17 inches of snow across the region.
And for black Americans in Wisconsin, unemployment statistics reached a new high in October – 22 percent. Nationally, the unemployment rate is 10 percent, but according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, nearly one out of every two black men in Milwaukee is not working, compared with 18.1 percent of white men.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Black Caucus has criticized President Barack Obama for not doing enough to help African-Americans at a time when the unemployment rate for blacks has soared to 15.7 percent.
But according to the Obama administration, HUD’s homelessness grants are reducing long-term or chronic homelessness in America, which will benefit many black Americans.
Homeless advocates said more than $738 million is being awarded to 2,997 projects that provide permanent housing solutions for homeless families and individuals, including persons who are chronically homeless; more than 3,200 local projects that serve families with children will receive over $733 million; nearly 1.6 million people use emergency or transitional housing programs over the course of a year; and on any given night, about 664,000 people are homeless.
The Obama administration has highlighted the homeless problem through policies and initiatives and high-profile appearances. Earlier this year, First Lady Michelle Obama visited a soup kitchen that feeds the homeless. Miriam’s Kitchen, which is located near the White House, serves 300 people everyday.
Barbara Poppe, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said efforts to help the disenfranchised are working.
“This public-private partnership has demonstrated tremendous success at ending chronic homelessness,” Poppe said, “and we are now working to build partnerships to end homelessness among veterans and prevent family, youth, and child homelessness.”
