Summer Homeless Population Highest in Ten Years

For some this is a numbers game. 621 sleeping outside in Center City alone. Over three thousand more in the City shelter system.

"Without faith in God I couldn’t do what I do," said Rachel recently when I caught up with her in Love Park.

Rachel, 35, has been out on the street for four years. She is one of a rising number of people who sleep here every night without a roof over their heads.

Rachel has spent nights in many parts of Center City. For now she sleeps in Love Park along with scores of others who call this a temporary home. 49 were counted in Love Park in the last census which is taken quarterly by City outreach teams.

Rachel is outgoing with a warm smile. She is unsure of how she will get back to a stable living situation. She hasn't found employment since she's been on the street and has not received the help she's looking for through the City shelters. "I'm tired of the system. They treat you like animals or little children."

Rachel's friend William Corbett, who also stays in Love Park, agrees. "A lot of them [shelter staff] talk to homeless people like trash."

Homelessness in Philadelphia has risen steadily over the last seven years after a decline in the late 90s.

The rise in homelessness comes during an unprecedented development and condo boom. Center City is experiencing a resurgence led by an influx of young professionals. The population in Center City has grown 13% over the last decade. Restaurants and bars are flourishing. Real estate prices are rising.

Census data from 2006 shows that the poverty rate in Philadelphia has also risen recently with 25% of the population living in poverty. For a family of four that means making below $20,444. Philadelphia has the highest rate of poverty of the nation's ten largest cities.

Philadelphia was once seen as a national model in the fight against homelessness. Homeless populations here dropped significantly in the late 90s as new resources were placed into the homeless services system. The most recent rise in homelessness has not seen a similar rise in services or support.

Advocates have argued that the recent rise in homelessness can be attributed to the rise in poverty and a lack of affordable housing. The Center City renaissance and other market factors have helped push up housing prices across the city. The increase in luxury apartments and housing costs has not been met by a rise in affordable housing. Policies like the current 10-year tax abatement, while driving growth, have exacerbated this effect. Philadelphia is one of the largest cities in the country without inclusionary zoning which would mandate a certain portion of new development include affordable housing or money toward affordable housing.

A Housing Trust Fund was created in 2005 which earmarks $15 million a year for affordable housing.

A recent study found that Philadelphia lacks 60,000 units of affordable housing to meet its current demand.

When asked about what could be done to change things Rachel declined to comment but William has some ideas. "Reopen Byberry [Philadelphia State Hospital, closed in 1990]. Because a lot of people need meds and don't want to go back into shelter. They'll stay out here and die in the cold."

"Offer more inpatient for long term care," he continued. "Restructure the shelter system to help them get self-sufficient… [address] the main reason people are reoccurring."

"Shelters need to be organized and provide adequate housing," said Bob Whitaker in front of the Free Library when asked how the next mayor can address the situation. He has been spending most nights recently on the Ben Franklin Parkway though has family he can stay with from time to time.

"There are too many empty houses," according to Timothy Shaw, "for people not to be able to find a place to stay."

He is a Vietnam veteran and has been on the street for three months since an arrest for staying in an 'abandominium' in West Philadelphia. "If they could get a building they could fix it up. People end up just going to waste."

PhillyIMC's Homeless Resource Page

Comments

Summer Homeless Population Highest

Submitted by Robin A. Albright, MS (not verified) on Fri, 10/05/2007 - 8:58am

Good article. I wonder why it takes so long to solve a problem that could have been prevented in the first place if our government agents and political elect could have worked to solve it earlier. Don't close Byberry is one (eat your shirts, deinstitutionalization)--they only go to prison now; stop criminalizing everyone for everything and then refusing to hire them; stop creating debt through homelessness and then criminalizing that; stop creating a PR machine for realty and real estate as a Christ Imposter and end these inflated housing costs (in five years a house that was valued at $200,000 is now $500,000--HOW could that be??); get the City and these private food distributors and other private entrepreneurial types to work together and not back stab each other over some appearance of a hidden profit margin (it's a SHARED problem with MANY working to solve it--no one is trying to show up the City or the Mayor, per se) that others don't know about; don't protect those on the inside who are not helping the problem--some of the staff in some of these places are enough to make people prefer the concrete pavement in any weather--FIRE incompetent staff TODAY.

Are We Insane?

Submitted by phyllis ryan jackson (not verified) on Fri, 10/05/2007 - 10:03am

It was written that "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." That is an accurate description of the city's approach to homelessness. Only housing solves homelessness; we are finding housing in the private market which low wage working families can afford. People need help finding housing; once found, they have what we all need -- the stability and security to face life's challenges. Good shelters are an oxymoron; bad shelters is a redundancy -- stop trying to fix them -- get rid of them, convert what can be converted to housing and use the city funds to create a rational city-based housing subsidy program. Try the approach which is sweeping across the country, because Housing First Rocks!

Housing first is definitely part

Submitted by Aaron Couch (not verified) on Fri, 10/05/2007 - 1:45pm

of the solution.

thanks phyllis for commenting and for the work that you do.

Tip of the Iceburg

Submitted by Bob S. (not verified) on Fri, 10/05/2007 - 4:46pm

With the Federal budget that was passed many more residents and citizens of USA will find themselves homeless.

Many folks will find their way here to Philadelphia PA because of our generous handouts to the homeless compared to the other communities around America.

go here to see cuts http://www.bushbudget.com/

Thank you, Aaron.

Submitted by Tabernacle (not verified) on Sat, 10/06/2007 - 12:29am

What an excellent article. You've really outdone yourself this time, Aaron. It's especially ironic when you consider that Philadelphia has an estimated over 26,000 abandoned houses that Mayor Street could have done a whole lot more with, in his so-called "Neighborhood Transformation Initiative" (this from a man who started his political career championing squatters' rights with ACORN.) Another good resource for information is http://www.thesimpleway.org/housing/

Peace.

Terrible

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 11:46am

This is an awful tragedy. I feel terrible for these people. Youtube to mp3,Convert youtube to mp3,Youtube Mp3

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