Picture collected from the website Housing Families First
“Who are ‘the homeless'” in Richmond VA.
Factors that contribute to a person becoming homeless
- Poverty
- Lack of affordable housing
- Job loss
- Lack of health care
- Mental illness
- Substance abuse
- Domestic violence
(These are some factors; however, the factors are not limited to this list)
Factors found from Front Steps website, article titled U.S. Homelessness Facts
10 Facts about Homeless- According to Huffington Post
- Over half a million people are homeless
- One quarter of homeless people are children
- Tens of thousands of veterans are homeless
- Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among women
- Many people are homeless because they cannot afford rent
- There are fewer places for poor people to rent than before
- In the last few years millions have lost their homes
- The government does not help as much as you think
- One in five homeless people suffers from untreated severe mental illness
- Cities are increasingly making homelessness a crime
Facts from Huffington Post blog post: 10 Facts about Homelessness
Biblipgraphy
Amber, Chick-Fil-A (November 21st, 2016) Personal Interview
Anderson, K. (1978). Retrieved December 4, 2016, from http://www.empowerhouseva.org/
Carl’s (November 18, 2016) personal interview
Empowerhouse (November 23rd, 2016) personal interview
Fredericksburg Regional Continuum of Care 2015 Point-In-Time Count Report. (2015). Retrieved December 1, 2016, from http://www.fredericksburgcoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/PIT-Count-Report-Winter-2015.pdf
Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2016, from http://www.fredfood.org/
Glasmeir, A. K. (n.d.). Living wage calculation for Fredericksburg city, Virginia. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/51630
Goldberg, E. (2016, July 18). Restaurants Officially Have No Excuse Not to Donate Leftover
Food. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/restaurants-that-dont-donate-because-of-liability-are-just-making-excuses-experts-say_us_577d6f92e4b0344d514dd20f
Hollingsworth, E. (2016, November 24). Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank sees dip in
donations. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/fredericksburg-regional-food-bank-sees-dip-in-donations/article_96239b07-7493-5d66-8b57-ca3c6d8c28eb.html
Homeless shelters and supportive housing. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2016, from http://www.shelterlistings.org/city/fredericksburg-va.html.+
Kanis, R., McCannon, J., Craig, C., & Mergl, K. A. (2012). An End to Chronic Homelessness: An Introduction to the 100,000 Homes Campaign. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23(1), 321-326. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.umw.edu/docview/1001308362?accountid=12299
Katie Lewis, 7-11 (Nov. 28, 2016) personal interview
Micah (November 23, 2016) personal interview
Micah Rapid Re-housing. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from http://www.micahfredericksburg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Community-rapid-re-housng-presentation.pdf
Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.micahfredericksburg.org/
Parfitt, J., Barthel, M., & Macnaughton, S. (n.d.). Food Waste in Supply Chains. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org.ezproxy.umw.edu/content/royptb/365/1554/3065.full.pdf
Proctor, B. D., Semega, J. L., & Kollar, M. A. (2016, September 13). Income and Poverty in the
Proven Solutions – Coalition For The Homeless. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/ending-homelessness/proven-solutions/
Richards, R., MPH, & Smith, C., PhD. (2006). The Impact of Homeless Shelters on Food Access
and Choice Among Homeless Families in Minnesota. Retrieved November 18, 2016,
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.umw.edu/science/article/pii/S1499404605000333
Rose Benedict ( November 22, 2016) personal interview
Stephanie Smalley (November 21, 2016) personal interview
Umble, A. F. (2015, February 13). Friends helping the area’s homeless. The Free Lance-Star. Retrieved from http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/friends-helping-the-area-s-homeless/article_a59a51f2-c72b-5ab2-88ed-b8e865d0300b.html
United States: 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.census.gov.ezproxy.umw.edu/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256.html
Valerie, Ruth House (Nov 16, 2016) personal interview houseofruth.org
We Don’t Waste. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wedontwaste.org/learn-more/about/
Weekly Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://students.umw.edu.ezproxy.umw.edu/coar/coar-programs/
Wiltz, T. (2015, June 26). States Struggle with ‘Hidden’ Rural Homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2015/6/26/states-struggle-with-hidden-rural-homelessness
[Chick-fil-A’s Logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://vandalsdining.sodexomyway.com/dining-choices/commons.html
[Giant Logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant-Landover
[House of Ruth Logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.transitionalhousing.org/li/dc-house_of_ruth_for_women_and_children_washington_dc
[Micah’s Logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.micahfredericksburg.org/
[Survey Monkey Logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/06/surveymonkey-expands-into-app-insights-after-quietly-acquiring-renzu-founded-by-zynga-alums/
Mary’s Shelter
Housing women and their children, Mary’s Shelter helps to provide a shelter and to work with individuals to educate, secure housing and much more.
Please click on the link below to go to their homepage:
Loisann’s Hope House
The Loisann’s Hope House works to move children and families from homelessness to housing. They provide many support services such as, educational programs, life skills and social skills course, transportation, etc.
Please click the link below to visit their homepage:
Brisben Center
The Brisben Center is a shelter that services at risk and homeless men, women and children. They service the areas of Caroline County, King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Fredericksburg.
For more information please click the link below to their website:
Interview with Empowerhouse
What concerns you most about people in the community who are impacted by homelessness?
With my domestic violence focus, I am of course concerned for their safety if they decide to return to the abuser to avoid homelessness. And safety in general—no one is very safe living on the street or even in hotels.
Why do you think this issue has developed?
For survivors it occurs because they have to leave to remain safe or even alive and then they cannot immediately support themselves as they may not have worked for many years as some mothers do not, or they may have no car, no job at the time of the incident, no car and many other reasons.
For others financial situations, cost of living, lack of affordable housing, limited or no job opportunities, etc.
What are the main challenges we face in dealing with this problem?
Affordable housing, transportation
What could be done to address or improve living situations for these people in need?
Affordable housing and programs like our communities Rapid Re-housing program
What might be the downsides of these actions?
Not enough resources for all who need them
What could be done to help those already affected by the issue?
Affordable housing and programs like our communities Rapid Re-housing program
What might be the downsides of these actions?
Not enough resources for all who need them
What other thoughts about this issue would you like to offer?
If communities pulled together—agencies like ours, churches, social services, businesses etc they can be more successful in ending homelessness—our community is on the right track
What aspect of homelessness due to domestic abuse or homelessness in general does the public most need to talk about?
That we all need to be concerned as it affects not only the homeless but the community as a whole. If we all do our part or even a little bit it makes a bigger impact.
Directly related to domestic violence—SAFETY must be a top concern—if they have no-where to go and especially if they have children they will very likely return to abuse.
Survey Results
Here are the results from survey we sent out:
Question 1:
Out of 57 respondents, 9 said they were not a member of the Fredericksburg Community
Question 2:
Out of the 9 respondents who said they were not a part of the Fredericksburg community, 3 responded “somewhat frequently”, 3 responded “not very frequently” and 3 responded “unsure”.
Question 3:
Out of the 9 respondents who said they were not a part of the Fredericksburg community, 8 responded “yes” and 1 responded “unsure”.
Question 4:
Question 5:
Out of the 9 respondents who said they were not a part of the Fredericksburg community, 5 responded “men”, 2 responded “women” and 2 responded “unsure”.
Question 6:
Out of the 9 respondents who said they were not a part of the Fredericksburg community, 7 responded “urban” and 2 responded “unsure”.
Question 7:
Question 8:
Calvary Chapel helps the community
Just wanted to share some information about what the local Fredericksburg community is doing to help out the homeless people of Fredericksburg! Calvary Chapel of Fredericksburg is helping to feed those who do not have a home or money to give themselves a full Thanksgiving meal. Stay thankful on this beautiful Thanksgiving day! Every little effort helps.
Post from their page:
“Sign up to participate in feeding the local homeless community here at CCFred on Thanksgiving Day, as well as ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are opportunities to prepare food, set-up, serve, clean-up, and provide toiletry bags for individuals to take. See the Display in the Fellowship Hall for Sign ups!”
Website: