I guess all of you missed these articles in last Sunday's Pioneer Press on homelessness. Well this is National Hunger and Homelessness Week so I'm glad I brought it up. check them out.
Minnesota homeless quiz http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/7255345.htm (It says over 200 people sleep outside each night in St. Paul) --------------------- So many homeless, so few shelters http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/7255923.htm An excerpt: "Homeless advocates speculate that a combination of factors - the lack of jobs, cuts in safety-net services and a lack of affordable housing - is causing the increased demand for emergency shelter. Families that spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing are particularly vulnerable. "They have no ability to put money aside for a rainy day. If there's any disruption in income - loss of job or the car breaks down - it could be enough to push them over the edge and cause them to lose their housing," Anderson says. And even though the rental market has opened up, low-rent apartments remain hard to find. Ramsey County appears to be worse off than Dakota, Hennepin and Washington counties, none of which is reporting a similar increase in families seeking shelter." And: "At least one agency is spending more money - the Minnesota Department of Transportation - in what Nilsson calls a "poor use of state dollars when we have bigger issues to deal with." Since 1998, the agency has spent $10,000 to install metro-area "transient barriers" - triangle-shaped metal structures underneath bridges where homeless people often sleep and store their belongings." ----------- Helping the homeless http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/special_packages/express_cover_stories/7255927.htm ---------------------------- Resting point, launching pad The Family Place provides day care for homeless families and prepares them to move on with their lives. BY ELLEN TOMSON http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/7255924.htm Natioanl Hunger and Homelessness Week began last Sunday. What have you done this week to make St. Paul a nicer place to live? Food Shelves? Shelters? $$$? Time? Rainbow has the donation boxes right at the door - you can drop you food off right after you buy it. Ren�e Jenson Como NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract _______________________________________________ Stpaul mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul
