Homelessness in Chicago

The discussion we had in our small groups today brought forth many shocking and important numbers. The only that bothered me the most was concerning minimum wage. The reason this bothered me so much is that it is connected to so many other aspects of their lives. The minimum wage cripples people, especially poor and homeless people, to the point where they can no longer provide for their family. The statistics we saw were mortifying. The worst one we saw was that it would take someone 133 hours a month working minimum wage ($5.15 at the time) to afford a two bedroom apartment in Chicago. It would take someone 116 hours making that amount to even afford that in Illinois. There is no state where working a full time minimum wage is enough for a family to afford that size of an apartment. Though minimum wage has risen to about $7.25, inflation makes the conditions basically the same. This low number allows people to be underpaid and overworked with no legal consequences to the employer. Also, with the high cost of daycare, there is no way for a single parent to even work the necessary hours to just afford the apartment. And then there is food, utilities, school supplies, heating and air conditioning, car payments and gas, and clothing for their children. Supposing that a person could earn the necessary money for rent, that is only the beginning of their living expenses. There also are just not enough places to live in this price range. There are about 200,000 families earn under the median income in Chicago but only 38,000 affordable housing units. In Chicago, 8.15% of the homeless are children, there are 26,000 youth who experience being homeless every year. If these statistics don't shock people into doing something about the problem, I don't know what will.


http://www.chicagoreporter.com/sites/default/files/assets/infographics/homeless-graf.jpg


http://www.sheddlight.org/homeless%20in%20Chicago.jpg

Most of these people are not lazy or stupid, they just need help getting back up on their feet. A huge number of are veterans (7.22%) or mentally impaired (5.14%) and need assistance. Whether is be from gracious donations, government aid, or job and education programs, something has to be done. The problem is only getting worse, and one day it could be one of us who loses everything in an instant.