Headline: BUSY CENTER HERE SHOWS HOMELESS CAN'T BE IGNORED
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Thu., Sep. 4, 1997
Section: NEWS, Page: 1B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

QUICK: How many homeless people live in the city? How about in St. Louis County?
   If you're like many St. Louisans, you're probably off in your estimate. Nearly half of us think that 5,000 homeless people reside in the city, according to a scientific survey conducted by the Western Wats Center, a polling firm in Provo, Utah. That same survey shows that more than a third of us believe that about 500 homeless folks live in the county.
  
But data from the Housing Resource Center and the St. Louis Human Services Department say 15,000-17,000 homeless people live in the city.
  
Data from the county's human services department indicate that 5,000-7,000 homeless people are in St. Louis County.

The survey results indicate that most people are unaware of the seriousness of homelessness here, says Joan Rice, a spokeswoman for St. Patrick Center. The center, which works with homeless people throughout the area, commissioned the survey of a cross-section of people in the area.
  
"People are often surprised when they find out that we serve 7,000 people a year - and we're just one organization, " she said.

The fact is, many of us don't think about the homeless. Others of us don't want to.
  
Back in the '80s, the homeless were a trendy cause. Comic Relief was set up to raise money to battle homelessness.
  
But today, other, trendier causes have surpassed that of homelessness, and the issue doesn't get nearly as much attention as it once did. But the problem clearly hasn't gone away.

The homelessness survey was conducted so St. Patrick Center could determine the impact of homeless services on average people, Rice said.
  
Those weren't the only questions asked.
  
Some 27 percent of the 400 people surveyed believe that five out of 10 homeless people live on the streets and never seek help from homeless shelters. The actual figure is two of 10.

Why the underestimation among St. Louisans? Rice has some ideas.
  
"St. Louis is smaller than many other large cities, so people here have the perception that homelessness doesn't exist here, " she said.
  
"You're not as likely to see people sleeping on a sidewalk here as you might be in, say, New York."

The difference might also be in the number of homeless people staying in shelters here.
  
In a 1996 survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 39 percent of the cities questioned said they didn't have enough shelter beds for the homeless. St. Louis, on the other hand, has enough beds, Rice said.

The same Conference of Mayors survey showed that the No. 1 cause of homelessness was the lack of affordable housing. That is the case in St. Louis, Rice said.
  
"Not only has the federal government stopped building single-room, efficiency-type housing, but much of that housing has also been torn down, " she said.

"Even a mother making minimum wage can't afford market-rate housing, and the list for Section 8 housing is so long.
  
"We know that a good percentage of the people living in shelters have full- or part-time jobs, but they don't make enough money to afford housing, " she said.
  
The fact is, some of the people we see at work each day may actually be homeless.
  
Some make just enough money to pay for food for themselves and their children.

Many of us think of homeless people as lazy bums, or people who are alcoholics or drug addicts. While that is the case with some, many are actually good people who want to do better but for whom circumstances have not been very good.
  
Fortunately, there are groups here like St. Patrick Center that work on long-term solutions to the problem, such as programs designed to help the homeless get an education and teach them skills so they can support themselves.

Still, it's important that we not forget the homeless.
  
"In order to improve St. Louis, we have to improve the lives of those who live here, " Rice said.
  
"Life may be OK in West County, but here we have a population trying just to make it day by day."


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