November was national Homelessness Awareness Month. It hardly got noticed. Nearly as invisible as about 1 million homeless people living in this nation.

The holiday season may seem an odd time to launch an effort to increase awareness of homelessness, but it isn’t. Homelessness doesn’t take a holiday. In fact, the stress of the season often increases the number of homeless.

In New York City, a record number of people were reported to be homeless just after Thanksgiving. That sad statistic has been seen in Los Angeles and Sioux Falls and experts predict that the sluggish economy and rising rents are now combining to “produce higher homeless rates across the country.”

There is some worry in Lewiston and Auburn that the number will increase here, too.

It’s tough to put a number on the homeless in Maine because, unlike NYC, people are not likely to be out sleeping on sidewalks or park benches. It’s just too cold and there are available shelters.

Last January, the city of Lewiston conducted a survey of people without permanent housing in the Twin Cities, and identified 304 homeless. Of those, one-third were children.

Although many sought shelter from local agencies, most stayed with friends or family, in cars or in motel rooms. These people didn’t have permanent housing or any likely prospect of obtaining it.

We may not see them downtown every day, but they are here. And, if we follow national trends, there are likely to be more in the coming months.

The first organized effort to identify the number of homeless in Lewiston-Auburn was conducted six years ago by Auburn city employee Reine Mynahan, and the results launched LASH — Lewiston-Auburn Services for the Homeless, a coalition of various local support agencies and individuals.

LASH will conduct another survey in January or February to more completely identify the number of homeless, essentially updating the survey taken a year ago. At the same time, it will conduct an “assets survey” to identify what support services, like shelters, are available to the homeless. The goal of these separate surveys is to identify need and resources, and match the two.

New York City is doing the same thing, on a much larger scale, of course.

It’s important to identify the homeless and ask probing questions about their history because a lot of homeless adults grew up homeless, or in foster or institutional care. If we can figure out that connection, we may be able to lower the number of homeless adults over time.

Reducing the number of homeless adults with families will also reduce the number of homeless children, increasing their odds of establishing permanent residences as adults.

The result might just be more homes and fewer publicly funded support services.


jmeyer@sunjournal.com

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