AS UNEMPLOYMENT, FORECLOSURE, EVICTIONS SURGE, Homeless Shelters are Filling Up!
CHICAGO AREA SHELTERS SEE UP TO 39% INCREASE IN IMMEDIATE HOUSING DEMAND VERSUS ONE YEAR AGO!
To me, it happened about 15 years ago. It was a hot summer day, and I had parked near the Wilson Avenue Station of the Chicago Red Line L, in the then-economically-depressed Uptown Neighborhood of Chicago. I was on my way to catch a Cub Game at Wrigley Field, about a mile south.
As I entered the station, a panhandler, likely homeless, approached me for some spare change. It was an odd number - something like $1.78 or so - that he requested. I caught his eye briefly, and gave him a buck.
But then, quickly, I noticed he looked familiar. He looked at me, then quickly turned away. You see, I knew this man - but not his name. He knew me. He was a regular customer of mine when I owned a Subway Sandwich Store a couple of years before. He worked at a factory across the street, mainly doing clean-up and machine maintenance work. The factory closed, most employees laid off and thrown out of work. I hadn't seen the man since - but, there he was! A little worn, dirty - but clean shaven, with combed, but oily, hair.
We exchanged no words as we parted company.
How does homelessness happen? How quickly does this happen? And even if you see it coming, do you deny it as a possibility?
Today, here in Chicago and the Chicago Suburbs, as unemployment increases, unsold home inventory remains high amidst falling home values, and down-to-their last dime tenants get evicted for non payment of rent, or find themselves left on their streets when their landlord loses his property to foreclosure, local homeless shelters are predicting a surge in need in 2009.
As you might imagine, most in dire circumstances do everything possible before considering moving to a shelter. They spend any accumulated savings. Do any menial job. Beg for forbearance from their creditors, and their landlords. Live with relatives, if they can - or, even in their car. Eventually, however, a few have no place else to go.
Since October of last year, demand for shelter residence has grown steadily - between 5 and 39%, depending on location. In the Chicago Public Schools, the number of enrolled homeless students increased 20% last November, compared to November, 2007 - to 9,132, according to a CPS Spokesperson, as researched by the Chicago Tribune, in a story by reporters Lisa Black, Lolly Bowean, and Steve Schmadeke.
What is harder to track, however, are those on the edge of homelessness. Most of the homeless never make it to a government-run or private shelter, and are difficult to truly research and keep track of. But some social workers are noticing an increase in the warning signs before possible homelessness - request for assistance in paying utility bills, for example, or rent.
According to Darlene Marcusson, Executive Director of Lazarus House in Wheaton IL, and quoted in the Tribune story, many are living "doubled up." with roommates or other family members. She has seen a 20% increase, 2008 versus 2007, in people seeking help to pay their monthly rent. Living with relatives also puts financial strain on those offering the shared housing.
Mainly, financial troubles begin when the main wage earner in a family loses his or her job. In some cases, it is caused by the death of a spouse, separation or divorce, or extended illness. In the not-too-distant past, those in distress could generate a little cash by selling their home. But, now, home prices are tumbling, equity often negative, and buyers tough to come by.
Many underwater buyers - those whose home value is less than the mortgage balance they owe - attempt to get their lender to agree to let them "sell short" to exit their loan, but such transactions mean zero cash to the seller, and often severely tarnished credit in the process.
Last month, according to the same Tribune article, The Pew Center on the States reported that one of every 33 homeowners who currently have a sub-prime mortgage will face foreclosure over the next couple of years. Chicago not-for-profit group The Woodstock Institute found that foreclosure filings in the City of Chicago and outlying areas increased by 80% between 2005 and 2007, even before the worst of the current housing doldrums took hold.
Troubling numbers, indeed, with little prediction for moderation this year - thus far.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
