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LIFE

School-age children fastest growing segment among local homeless

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Comments (15)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

(Updated 3:46 pm)

By Tina Firesheets
Staff Writer

HIGH POINT — The number of homeless individuals in Guilford County is the same. But more school-age children are without homes.

They stay in emergency shelters, hotels, motels or with friends or relatives because their families lost their homes or cannot afford housing. And most of them are between preschool and fifth grade.

See a full report in Thursday's News & Record or on the e-edition.

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

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nemo0037

February 15, 2012 - 1:44 pm EST

Mitt Romney says there's a "safety net" for the very poor in this country, so he doesn't see a need to worry about them. I wonder how hard he thinks about how well this "safety net" works, because this sort of story makes me think the "net" has more than a few holes in it.

justified

February 15, 2012 - 2:28 pm EST

What do you do to help these people?

Only you will know if you the truth

nemo0037

February 15, 2012 - 2:42 pm EST

Is helping the homeless a universal moral imperative? If so, should not every one who can afford to do so be happy to help them out? That's what a "social safety net" is created for, so that the nation's population of tax-payers join together to help those who are helpless. Sadly, such thinking is deemed "evil" by an awful lot of people, who think that everyone should face the consequences of bad decisions, even if the bad decisions were made by parents, o r employers looking for $5 a day labor or whatever else.

Traveler

February 15, 2012 - 3:06 pm EST

The safety net is susposed to provide basic necessities. As I read the article, these homeless children are staying in shelters, with family, or friends. That's a safety net.

A safety net was never intended to provide a middle class lifestyle. It was not designed to provde every American with a home.

There are numerous organizations, most of which receive some public funding, that provide shelter for families, especially children, who have no home.

I am enough of a conservative to suggest that anyone who works for mininum wage or who depends on government assistance should not have children. They do not have the money to properly provide for a child. Isn't there some personal responsibility?

Rolling

February 15, 2012 - 8:57 pm EST

Yes, the poor, the disabled, perhaps even gay people are not allowed to have children, it should be law. Didn't the Nazi's do that to some extent? I think it was called hereditary health cards.

Tell us, aren't you "conservatives" the ones that want to get rid of contraception education and or assistance and want to outlaw abortion?

Every one should have your values shouldn't they?

Traveler

February 15, 2012 - 11:13 pm EST

You are incorrect about what I said.

Anyone, without prejudice, who can provide for a child should be able to have a child or children, as long as they have the money to provide for that child. When the taxpayers pay for someone else's children, that's when I have a problem.

Statistics from the General Accounting Office estimate it takes about $250,000, today's money to raise and educate a child to age 21, mininum.

Please tell me how someone on government assistance or making mininum wage is going to provide that $250,000?

When the taxpayers have to pay for someone's children, then they have a voice about that person having children.

If you can pay your way, go ahead. If you want me to pay your way, wait a minute, I choose not to.

caramichele

February 15, 2012 - 2:48 pm EST

"The data show a 62 percent decrease in homeless individuals..."

This is incorrect. The data shows that there has been a significant drop (which may be 62%) in the number of *chronically* homeless people in Guilford County from the baseline year (2007), when the number was over 200, to now, when the number has dipped below 100. But that is chronic individuals only, and the vast majority of that drop occurred between 2007 and 2008, when our community received 100+ HUD vouchers to house chronically homeless individuals. Since that time, the number of chronically homeless individuals has remained somewhere around 100. We did have a drop this year, but it's not yet clear whether it's statistically significant or whether the lower number is related to the difficulties in counting chronically homeless people. The overall total of homeless people (not including the school count) has remained around 1000 people for the past five years, including this year. The HUD count uses a different definition of homelessness than the school (DOE) count, which is why the numbers vary greatly.

MaryNSmith

February 15, 2012 - 4:40 pm EST

If I could personally ask the members of theBush and Obama adminstration a question it would be this: "When the housing crisis began, why instead of spending money to help families stay in their homes did you fund a Neighborhood Stabilization Program with the goal of only buying vacant foreclosed properties?" Could be that you wanted to provide a backdoor bailout to the banks.

Traveler

February 15, 2012 - 11:24 pm EST

Great question.

In hinesite, that might have been a better solution.

In the heat of battle, everyone was scared that the world economy would collapse; it's what both parties decided.

Hinesite has a much better view of the world than immediate reaction.

SocietasEruditorum

February 16, 2012 - 9:10 am EST

"Hinesite?" Really? I guess that must be a place to keep ketchup. Perhaps you meant "hind sight," as in "looking back."

General Greensboro

February 16, 2012 - 9:17 am EST

@ SE: "Hindsight" is usually one word.

Doug Johnson

February 15, 2012 - 5:18 pm EST

nctruth,, yes I am proud to be a conservative.
Tell what we do, I put my record on helping folks, up against yours.
Damn well put it up on Biden.
Am I on? Come now you talk the talk, can you walk the walk.
Wonder how many of these children, their parents spend, money on the lottery, smokes and alcohol?
I seen children, denied ice cream, while dads and moms, scratch those darn lottery ticks.

Rolling

February 15, 2012 - 9:06 pm EST

I can easily verify. Publish it.

b-logical

February 15, 2012 - 8:47 pm EST

If money would stop being spent on the egos, the benefits, the perks, the earmarks, the ridiculous, the unneccesary, the vacations, the fraudulent, etc. imagine how many could be helped. We need to pay the politicians like the part time employees they are - working less than 32 hours a week. Most part timers have NO benefits. A fortune in salary and benefits could be used elsewhere. We have to make cuts to help people - let's do it!! Start with the US Governement -shrink it down-balance a budget-stop spending - start saving - punish the fraudulent and help the truely needy.

We need to stop waiting and complaining for this disfunctional government to take care of everyone. I would like to see more people who are able helping at the shelters, working with the Urban Ministry, filling the food bank, donating blood, etc. It is time to STOP complaining and get off our backsides and HELP people. We must not allow human kindess to die.