Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 6, 2002
Study shows plight of Denver's homeless growing worse
Estimated 25,210 people are homeless in metro area each year
By Alwen Bledsoe
Each night about 50 homeless children go to sleep inside Samaritan House of Catholic Charities. According to a recently released study, the plight of homeless children is only growing worse.
Conducted by The Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative and the Colorado Department of Human Services, the study counted and surveyed metro Denver's homeless population Oct. 23, 2001. It found that children in families make up over one-third of Denver's homeless population. Of the 9,670 homeless counted Oct. 23, 3,522 were children in families and 396 were youth between 10 and 21 on their own. It estimated that about 25,210 people are homeless in metro Denver each year.
Homeless children in families is one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population in the Denver area, according to the study. The number of homeless families has increased 48.5 percent from 2000 and 94 percent since 1998, the study said.
Father John Lager, O.F.M. Cap., is the executive director of Samaritan House.
"It affects the whole fabric of our society," he said of the increasing number of homeless families. "When family life is jeopardized by insecurity and a lack of stability, it has profound implications in the future generations."
Frightened and often abused, homeless children frequently become violent later on, Father Lager said.
The survey found that inability to pay rent or mortgage and unemployment were the two highest causes for homelessness. Domestic violence was third.
Low-income jobs often don't pay enough to cover the high costs of housing in Denver, Father Lager said. He added that a majority of those who come to the shelter have been employed within the last 12-18 months.
Jessyca Jackson, 26, has been living at Samaritan House with her husband and their five children for the last month and a half. A search for a new job and the allure of lower costs of living plunged the family into homelessness earlier this year.
Jackson's husband Ellis had just earned his commercial driver's license, but his on-road job meant long hours away from his wife and kids. So the family caught a Greyhound bus and moved to Jackson, Miss., hoping for better work. But to no avail, said Jackson. The family moved back to Denver with no place to stay.
"I was embarrassed," Jackson said. "I knew we could do better than what we were doing. I didn't ever think we were going to get on our feet."
A friend helped the family apply for Samaritan House where they were granted shelter for 90 days.
Ellis now works full-time for RTD, and with the help of loans, Jessyca is starting a college program and training to be a medical assistant, she said.
Despite her husband's income finding housing is still a challenge.
"It's just so expensive," Jackson said.
With five children the family can't qualify for anything less than a four-bedroom apartment. Jackson said she's hoping to move the family into a transitional housing program soon.
The October 2001 study found that 32.1 percent of the total homeless population in the Denver metro area are employed. A Dec. 12, 2001, U.S. Conference of Mayors study of 27 major U.S. cities found that 20 percent of the homeless population are employed in full- or part-time jobs. It also found that low-income households pay an average of 44 percent of their income on housing.
Despite the challenges of homelessness, Jackson is remarkably optimistic. She no longer feels hopeless about her family's situation, she said.
"You can always overcome homelessness, even if you have to go to the labor pool everyday to get money or stay in a motel, you know. You can always overcome it," she said. "`Cause I know we were feeling down in the dumps like `We're never going to get out of here. We're just always going to be going from shelter to shelter.' No, but you can do it. Everybody can get over this little hump."
Samaritan House is the largest shelter in the Denver area, according to Father Lager.
"I love it," said Jackson, "If it wasn't for places like this people would be out, you know. They wouldn't have nowhere to go."
The shelter's mission is to treat each person it meets with compassion and love, Father Lager said.
"These are the key things the Church calls us to do: be a family, a light, and a sign of hope for people who find themselves in the darkness of homelessness, distress and fear," he said.
Contact Us
