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Advocate says homelessness on rise
Bad economy, job loss is tossing many locals into streets
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
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![[Image]](/content_images/112907_par-01.jpg) |
| Photo by THOMAS MICHALSKI |
| Homeless people like this sleeping man are a common sight all over Pinellas County. |
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PINELLAS PARK – A homeless advocate who has dedicated his life to the destitute said the economy is nosediving and is sending more people into the streets.
The Rev. Lionel Cabral, executive director of the Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission here, said a majority of street people have lost their homes because they cannot meet the escalating cost of living.
“The economy is going down, rapidly,” Cabral said. “We are heading for a deep recession that is and will be affecting people at all economic levels.”
Cabral said 276 Pinellas County residents each week lose their homes due to circumstances beyond their control. While some move in with relatives or friends, others are forced into the streets to fend for themselves.
“The homeless population is not only expanding due to the annual migration from colder climates,” Cabral said, “but also because local residents are losing their jobs and homes.”
Experts believe that most Americans are a paycheck or two away from financial disaster due to job loss or health issues. Many people who purchased homes when real estate was booming cannot afford mortgages and the ever increasing cost of living.
Cabral believes that the cost of living here is reaching that of other states such as New York, New Jersey and California.
“You can’t just believe that the street people we see out there are from other places,” Cabral said. “Some had a roof over their heads just a week or so ago.”
Just recently a couple and their two teenagers were discovered living in a car. An elderly couple, one 79 and the other 80, also were found wandering the streets.
Carbral said not only is homelessness increasing, but there are more poor people who cannot afford basic needs such as food, rent and medication.
He said minimum wage jobs are dwindling as evidenced by the closure of at least one local day labor business. The economy is on a down slide, Cabral said, and that means many jobs in construction and services, the mainstays for day labor, have disappeared.
Cabral said officially there are just over 5,000 homeless people in Pinellas County. But that figure, he said, is not accurate when one considered that 15,288 people lose their homes each year.
“Florida is number one in the nation when it comes to job loss,” Cabral said. “Jobless equals home loss and that means more lawlessness.”
Cabral said homelessness figures do not count the many poor people who still have roofs over their heads. Besides feeding street people, the mission provides bags of food to the impoverished. The amount of those seeking assistance has increased dramatically in recent months.
Cabral said many people are overwhelmed by skyrocketing costs that includes nearly $3 for a gallon of gas and almost $5 for a gallon of milk.
“You would be surprised at the number of needy people both on and off the streets,” Cabral said. “Society is just now understanding that many are pushed into despair by circumstances beyond their control.”
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Article published on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
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