Post Type: ARTICLES
I met a young mother some days ago who said to me, “every time I make a step forward, there is always another issue with my children receiving the right services and then also I am about to be homeless again.” She has a young child under the age of 8 years old and an income of $775.00 from SSI; $100.00 from HRA. She receives Food stamps of $47.00, is currently being sanctioned because the older child did not meet certain criteria and so she is struggling to pay her bills.
There are solutions to her crisis; however there are certain steps that has to come into play before this mother and others can be helped. The current system has some solutions but with so many constraints, that young mothers often will forgo going into the system, and struggle with low paying jobs. The ‘Administration for Children and Families'(ACF), within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides national leadership and creates opportunities for families to lead economically and socially productive lives. ACF’s programs are designed to help children to develop into healthy adults and communities to become more prosperous and supportive of their members.”
Looking at the homeless population now, it is a yawing mouth waiting to trap and dislocate families. The statistics give us some numbers but still no solution. An apartment in NYC ranges from $1200 to 1700 for a one bedroom, and it all depends on the location. The average income per year for an apartment that is subsidized in $32.000; a person on SSI only makes $7500 per year they cannot afford these apartments; but they are being told to apply. This is mis-information and fraud. In New York, where the shelter population has reached levels not seen since the Depression era, the count in January estimated 64,060 homeless people in shelters and on the street in January 2013, or 13 percent more than in January 2012. Among large cities, only Los Angeles had a larger percentage increase. Its homeless population rose by 27 percent, although its total of 53,798 was lower than New York’s. Homelessness, especially among families, has been growing in the city even as the local economy has recovered, and the new data underscores the challenges facing the mayor-elect, Bill de Blasio, who made affordable housing a centerpiece of his campaign.
The population of New York City homelessness reaches a all time high, more people are homeless now than before. Families are residing temporarily in shelter apartments that are too small to accommodate a family of four, one bedroom to house all these people There is a demand for this mission, in Westchester County there are two other agencies that services young mothers, qualification is that they have to be at a certain age, and fit into their criteria; issues with such facilities is that these young women are not always housed after their child is born, they are either sent back into the same situation; what the covering circle does is to assist these young mothers with tools to move towards greater independence. They are given tools to enhance their future and that of their child. The children are protected in that the workers are bonded and licensed to work with the child (ren). The child is taught basic skills so that when they leave the covering circle they will be enrolled in head start or kindergarten. The mothers will be able to enroll in a market job, with advancement to higher education. The statistics states that in NYC there are over 2.0000 or more young mothers in shelters waiting for apartments.
National unemployment averaged 9.3 percent in 2009, up from 4.6 percent in 2006. Real (inflation-adjusted) average household income fell from $60,533 in 2006 to $59,067 in 2009 (in 2006 dollars). In addition, food prices increased substantially during the early part of the recession Food security is the ability to consistently provide adequate food for active, healthy living for all household members. A 2011 ERS study found that food security among low-income households increased by 2.2 percentage points from late 2008 to late 2009, while it remained unchanged among households with incomes somewhat above eligibility cutoffs for SNAP. Increased 0.8 percent in 2010 and is forecast to increase 3 to 4 percent in 2011•since the inception of CDIP in 2005, investments in the program have enabled the collection of data indicating how consumer behavior and market dynamics shape diet quality and health outcomes. Under the CDIP initiative, ERS has partnered with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to gather and track information on changing food habits, attitudes, and dietary behaviors of U.S. consumers through a consumer behavior module in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Over the years while working with these young mothers who were struggling, I realized that the system was not fully assisting them with so many roadblocks and challenges. Over the years the human service field has changed, some for the better, but in some cases it has become stagnant. Most of the new rules put in place by the authorities only leaves young mothers and their assigned Social Workers more handicapped. I believe that these young mothers are either homeless or dislocated from family through conditions that are way beyond their ability to comprehend. They are ill equipped to handle the responsibilities of being mothers. They require skills of learning how to maintain themselves in the community. They require the to be taught skills they will need to survive in the work environment. All these needs have to be met through comprehensively packaged solutions that can be facilitated through a partnership of Government and Charities that focus on this challenged sector of the population.
Article Is By Winsome Daley – President of ‘The Covering Circle Bread Basket’ in NY
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