Homeless for the Holidays: 'Just Grateful for a New Day'
AOL Real Estate blog By Krisanne Alcantara
While many of us fret over Christmas parties, stocking stuffers, turkeys and gifts, there are currently 633,782 Americans who don't have a bed or warm meal to come home to this holiday season. Though the federal government and local communities have fronted vigorous efforts to increase the number of beds available to the homeless over the past four years, that alarming statistic still remains steady. In fact, of that 633,782, there are an estimated 238,000 families who are homeless -- a number that has spiked, according to the latest figures.
This disturbing rate of homelessness in America, revealed just this month, has lit a fire beneath local homeless support services. Homeless shelters such as New York City's NYC Rescue Mission already house 120 homeless men each night, with plans to expand to 250 beds per night in 2014. Currently, NYC Rescue serves 500 meals per day across breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Over Thanksgiving the shelter served 1,000 meals, with over 50 turkeys.) In addition to the nightly beds offered (individuals are selected at random via a lottery system) and the hot meals prepared on a walk-in basis, NYC Rescue -- like The Bowery Mission and the Third Street Shelter, also in New York City -- offers an intensive Residential Recovery Program for homeless men. The nine-month program not only offers long-term food and shelter for 30 needy men, but also educational and rehabilitation services.
Such services and programs are especially necessary during the winter holidays, when the weather and the season's emotional associations can be especially hard on the homeless. Despite widespread perceptions, many homeless individuals are not criminals, vagrants or substance abusers. Many of them are just like us -- they simply want to support themselves and their families. Some are even working families who send their children to school and are simply trying to regain their financial footing. Some lost their homes due to natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. In any case, it's been shown that homelessness can "happen to anybody" and that homeless people, like regular people, are merely trying to build a better life with the resources at hand (even if very limited).
Interviews conducted by AOL Real Estate also found that many homeless people are, despite their situations, highly thankful this Christmas season and deeply appreciative of the essential non-material things in life often overlooked by the general population.
