Homeless Population Decreasing, But Not In Monterey County
by Richard Kuehn on 09/04/13
View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez,
Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas,
Seaside And Soledad California
I have been glad to
see that there have been a number of stories recently about the economy
recovering. There was even a story about
how the homeless
population in the U.S. declining, dropping 17% since 2005. Veterans, I was happy to see, are on the
street 17% less than in 2009 when the recession was in full bore, according to
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Much of the reduction is, ironically, tied to
the recession. President Barack Obama
implemented his stimulus program in 2009 and 2010 to boost the economy, and
part of this was a federal investment in housing. In Monterey, unfortunately, we are not so
lucky. There has been quite an increase
in the homeless population since a homeless person murdered a shopkeeper in
Santa Cruz and the authorities started to aggressively chase people out of
town. Dorothy's Place in Salinas, sadly,
supports a number of homeless senior citizens who are on the street. We applaud there good work. It's difficult to raise money for a
non-profit despite the increased economy.
Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to
