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1999 Homeless Report <br />Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners (lOCP) <br />I. Introduction <br />This repon is intended to put a face on homelessness in this community by providing informa ­ <br />tion on the number of homeless people served by lOCP and providing brief profiles on some of <br />the households that have experienced homelessness. This number does not represent the actual <br />number of families and individuals in the community who experience homelessness; many dou ­ <br />ble up w\ Ji fhends or family and do not seek services &om lOCP, and many quietly leave the <br />community. HomeFree, a banered women ’s shelter in Plymouth that provides shelter for home ­ <br />less women and children, is the only shelter in this community. When a family or individual <br />experiences homelessness and seeks refuge at a shelter, they are counted as homeless in the <br />community in which the shelter is located. For these reasons, we are unable to provide an accu­ <br />ral:- count of homelessness in the community. <br />II. Definitions <br />A household is considered “homeless^ if it lacks permanent shelter. The homeless people <br />sert-ed by lOCP live in cars, tents, parks, shelters, hotels, doubled up with friends or family, or, <br />in most cases, a combination of these. <br />«• <br />A household is considered “near-homeless ” if it must evacuate its place of residence and faces <br />one or more barriers to finding replacement housing. Barriers include a low-income, an immedi­ <br />ate notice to vacate, a poor credit or rental history, a large family, and using a Section 8 voucher. <br />Tl. . • Vintage of housing, both rental and ownership, for low-income households in today ’s <br />hous.?A^ vev. In other words, there are more low-income households than there are housing <br />units with prices or rents affordable to these households (affordable is defined as no more than <br />30% of gross household income). This excess demand has driven up the cost of housing, forcing <br />many families to pay more than they can afford, and putting them at risk of losing their housing <br />due to late or panial* rent payments. The tight housing market also makes it very difficult for <br />households with any of the above-mentioned barriers to compete for the scarce, lower-cost units. <br />III. Number of Homeless Served by lOCP <br />lOCP served 53 homeless households (139 individuals) in 1999. Over half of the homeless peo ­ <br />ple served (55%) were children. Almost half (49®/'b) of the households are single-parent families; <br />19 percent are uvo-parent families; and 32 percent are single individuals. Sixty'-eight percent of <br />homeless households are from the community. The remaining thirty-two percent of homeless <br />households are referrals from lOCP member churches, employed in the community, or referred <br />to lOCP from a school or agency. Fifty-nine percent of the homeless households were working <br />at the time they c.xperienced homelessness. <br />IV. Profiles <br />The following are profiles of homeless individuals and families in the community. <br />• Single mom and three children flee from an abusive relationship and become homeless. <br />• Single mom and child become homeless because she cannot pay the rent. She is unable <br />to work because she cannot find affordable child care. <br />• Single man is injured on the job. Unable to work and pay the rent, he becomes homeless. <br />• Single woman has been homeless for years due in pan to serious mental illness. <br />Prepared by Interfaith Outreach & Community Partnen, May 2000