Mtyhs about Homelessness

When I read articles like "Five myths about American Homeless" by Dennis Culhane published by the Washington Post online, I start mentally counting people I knew who were homeless in Long Beach.

The first myth "Homelessness is usually a long-term condition". Culhane says "it is relatively rare". Perhaps statistically when counting people who were homeless for one day. Except the people who have died, I saw the same faces in 1994, that I could put names to in 2004, 5, 6 and still see on the streets in 2010. That does not seem 'rare'. Rare would be few and far between. I likewise met long-term homeless in Arizona, Orange County and other L.A. county cities. I may even have met a few in New Brunswick, N.J. and Dallas, TX.

Second myth: "Most of the homeless have a severe mental illness." The operative word there is: severe. Culhane's calculation is '13 to 15 percent" of homeless have severe mental illnesses. He pointed out a fact about homelessness: the most visible homeless are usually those with mental handicaps. I add, the long-term homeless, because many of them are unkempt and/or panhandle ~ sometimes aggressively; thus, hard to miss.

Myth three: "Homeless people don't work." I already know homeless people work ~ I met a few while I was still gainfully employed and homed. Met many more while homeless in Long Beach. However, I disagree with the "45%" figure. I think it much lower for homeless in Long Beach.

Interesting, according to Urban Institute that percentage of homeless who worked in the past 30 days was "14 percentage points lower than the employment rate for the general population last month."

I agree 100% with the myth that "Shelters are a humane solution to homelessness". I do understand, somewhat, why they are run like jails ~ the crime: being homeless. The you are homeless because you are a hopeless sinner ear-assaults is neither humane, nor helpful.

The fifth myth has to do with poverty. I do not think it is a myth that there will always be people living in poverty ~ poor people. A common myth or actual fact is that the U.S. government is trying to tax away our middle class, leaving either the wealthy or the poor.

Can not say if college educated people with well-paying jobs were middle class, but met many of them on the streets while homeless in Long Beach.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070902357.html