It seems that more families are becoming homeless, or "housing insecure" as a consequence of the financial mess we are in. I've seen several stories lately about families living with relatives, living in tents, or living crammed together in hotel rooms.
Our government is pouring out billions to bail out banks and financials. A smaller sum has been dedicated to helping homeowners who meet certain requirements.
Where is the safety net for people scrabbling at the edge?
There are a lot of pictures here showing effects of the Great Recession around the world.
I was inspired to write this by the pictures of yet another family living out of a motel room. And then I saw the picture of the man living in the tent city in California. God damn! That is exactly the phrase that came to mind when I saw that and I'm not one to swear lightly, or often.
What is keeping so many people from getting back on their feet?
Often it is a few thousand dollars. Money to get into an apartment, or other rental. Security deposit, advance rent, utility deposits...it all adds up to a few thousand dollars, maybe two, or three.
Certainly the families eking out an existence in motels fall into this group. They are usually paying a premium price for shelter, but can't move into an apartment because their current expenses eat up their funds making it near impossible to save up enough money.
We need First Month Grants, a Federal level program to provide people the funds they need to get back into a secure home. It should be a relatively inexpensive program with a small start up cost. It wouldn't take a lot of money to make a big difference.