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Homeless in Our Community ’ <br />Interftith Outreach & Community Partners CIOCP) <br />2000 Report <br />A glimpse of homelessness... <br />...homeless since September 2000. a family of four pays $300 per week for shelter in a hotel. <br />One parent works full-time, the other pan-time so that she can be available for the children. She <br />drives them to school so that they don't have to change schools. ’Their credit history prevents <br />them from securing permanent housing... <br />...a single working mom had a breakdown after the death of a child. She lost her job and she <br />and her other two children became homeless... <br />...a single individual has been homeless for more than a year. He stays with friend to friend to <br />friend, and often sleeps in his car. He is unable to maintain consistent employment because of a <br />chronic physical illness... <br />...a family moves to Minnesota for a and fmds that their housing plans have fallen through... <br />The numbeTs <br />/ lOCP served 66 homeless households (167 individuals) in 2000. <br />/ Forty-five percent are single parent families, 39 percent are individuals. 11 percent are cou­ <br />ples or families without children, 5 percent are two-parent families. <br />/ Forty-one percent of homeless households are from the community. Fifty-nine percent are <br />referrals from lOCP member churches, schools, agencies, or employed in the community. <br />/ Sixty percent of homeless households were working when they experienced homelessness. <br />/ Half of the homeless people are children. <br />Twenty years ago, a homeless person in the metro area would most often be a single man. <br />Today, more than ever before, a homeless person is likely to be a child. The average age <br />of a homeless child in the Twin Cities is just six and a half, a first grader. Another <br />alarming statistic shows that more and more homeless families are working. In fact, it is <br />estimated that one quarter of area homeless families with children receive most of their <br />income from work. (20'*’ Anniversary Report, Family Housing Fund, 2000). <br />Definitions <br />*11115 report includes information provided by individuals who experienced homelessness in this <br />community in 2000, and sought assistance from lOCP. It does not provide an actual count of <br />homelessness in the community*. <br />A household is considered **homeless** if it lacks permanent shelter. ‘The homeless people <br />ser\*ed by ICXTP live in cars, tents, parks, shelters, hotels, doubled up with friends or ftunily, <br />churches, streets, campsites, or, in most cases, a combination of th^.