9/26/11

Gearing up for the cold weather; it's our "busy season".  Many homeless men will forgo an organized shelter during mild weather to be able to use whatever substance they wish, as much as they want, whenever they want.  Shelters put a crimp in one's mood-altering routine.  But with the onset of colder and wetter months, the men will come in.  The winter of 2011/2012 is looking like a potential record season for admissions.  The bed count has not significantly dropped since March.  Running bed counts at 60% capacity during the summer months has never occurred before.  Here's my take:
1.  The number of men entering the shelter after losing their room or apartment has tripled.  These men are the "marginal poor".  They have no financial safety net.  No family.  No friends.  When they're laid off and unemployment benefits lapse, they're out on the street.
2.  Social service programs have lost state/federal funding.  Housing assistance programs are scrambling to provide for women with children.  Single men are at the bottom of the list for aid.
3.  Hospitals have reverted to "shipping" indigent discharge patients anywhere to get them out of their facility.  In the business this is called "dumping" and hospitals are very good at dumping.