The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

Loading Recent Classifieds...

Homelessness still a problem in Bucks

When 45-year-old Brian
Kelly was found dead of
probable hypothermia in his
tarp shack in Bristol
Township early last month,
many were no doubt
shocked by the news.
However, in reality, the
only thing noteworthy about
the story was his actual
death, not the fact that he
was homeless and living in a
tent in the woods with several
others just like him.
William Burns, director of
the American Red Cross
homeless shelter on New
Falls Road, says the facility
has been full for months.
“This is not new,” he says.
“There’s a camp in
Morrisville with over a hundred
guys in it. Any wooded
area, you’re going to find
homeless living there.” He
mentions known camps in
Croydon and the “Tent City”
where Kelly was found.
Established in 1881 by
nurse Clara Barton, the
American Red Cross is well
known for its emergencyrelief
efforts in natural disasters
such as Hurricane
Katrina, but equally important
are the numerous local
community services the
organization performs.
Among them are providing
needed blood to area hospitals,
educational programs
on health and safety, and
emergency shelter for the
homeless.
Burns blames “endemic
poverty and absence of
affordable housing” for creating
the homeless problem.
More specifically he cites a
lack of affordable housing
for an increasing number of
people that fall into a lowincome
bracket.
Though one of the wealthier
counties in the nation,
Bucks has a surprisingly
high poverty rate. In 2007,
the U.S. Census Bureau estimated
that 32,000 individuals
(out of a population of
approximately 621,000) fell
below the federal poverty
threshold. It is sobering that,
with a 5.2 percent poverty
rate, Bucks alone accounts
for nearly half of the poor
population for the entire
state of Pennsylvania.
The National Coalition for
the Homeless, a non-profit
organization, asserts that
employment does not provide
escape from poverty
because 74 percent of jobs
pay below a living wage.
An example of this is Alicia
Saxton, 31, who has been living
at the Red Cross shelter
with her two children, ages 4
and 6, since September. She
and her husband (who is
now living with his mother
after being asked to leave the
shelter for unknown reasons)
had been living in an apartment
in Glen Hollows until
the death of a child in June
caused things to “spiral
down” and they were evicted.
A
nd even though Saxton
works full-time at Friendship
Circle, a special education
center for children, she says
they were unable to afford
another apartment and ultimately
became homeless.
The federal poverty threshold
is updated yearly by the
Census Bureau. In 2009 it
was estimated that a family
of three – two adults and one
child – would fall below the
poverty line with an annual
income of less than $18,000.
A family of five would fall
below with less than $26,000.
Economists at the laborbacked
Economic Policy
Institute place much of the
blame for rising poverty on
the federal government. “A
stagnant minimum wage has
a significant impact on the
earnings of low-wage workers
as the rising cost of living
erodes the value of their paycheck,”
writes one economist
who favors minimum wage
increases in proportion to
cost of living increases.
The Consumer Price Index,
regularly consulted by business,
labor and government,
reliably measures cost of living
increases by tracking
changes in the price of goods
and services.
Based on determinations
by a Living Wage Calculator-
– patterned after the EPI living
wage tool – a family of
four, living in Bucks County,
with a sole provider working
full time, would require an
hourly wage of $29 to provide
adequate financial support.
At an hourly rate of
$10 or less, this family lives
at the federal poverty level.
Yet minimum wage is $7.25
per hour.
“Need is outstripping our
capacity to meet it,” says
Burns of the Bucks homeless
situation.
A head count of 465 people
residing in county shelters in
January would seem to support
this, especially since the
official count doesn’t include
the many living in their cars,
or abandoned homes and
buildings, or on the street.
The Bucks County Housing
Group, which provides transitional
housing programs,
said that more than 4,000
local residents have recently
called the homeless hotline.
And, increasingly, even the
previously invulnerable
middle class is becoming
subject to the problem,
according to the Coalition for
the Homeless.
Contributing factors
include the slumping economy,
skyrocketing healthcare
costs, mental illness, substance
abuse and domestic
violence.
Statistically women and
children make up the largest
percentage of the homeless
population and, in fact, five
newborns are currently living
at the shelter, Burns says.
Worsening the situation
locally, Bucks unemployment
jumped from 3.7 percent
in December 2007 to 5.7
percent this past December.
Stephanie Childs, a pastor
and the administrator for the
Salvation Army, has noted
the changes. “Even driving
around I see a lot more
[homeless] than just a few
years ago,” she says, “and
there’s a huge increase in
people who need stuff from
our pantry.”
Located in the Appletree
section of Levittown, the
relief agency is religionbased
and was originally
founded in England in 1865
by William Booth, a devout
Christian, for the purpose of
offering salvation to the
poor, destitute and hungry.
Down at least $20,000 in
charitable donations since
last year, Child’s nonetheless
says they are doing everything
they can to help residents
in need. They are often
contacted by people asking
for help paying their mortgage
and electric bills, she
says.
There are several shelters
in the Bucks County area. In
addition to the Red Cross on
New Falls Road, there are
shelters in Milford Square,
Penndel, Croydon and
Doylestown. There is also A
Woman’s Place, in
Doylestown, for abused
women and children, and the
Valley Youth House, in
Warminster, for short-term
care of displaced teens.
Of the Red Cross shelter,
Burns says it is more than
just a temporary place to
sleep. With inspirational
messages about perseverance,
determination and
focus adorning the walls of
the entrance, he says that a
“central part of what we do
here is develop the skills
needed for residents to
become independent.”
With that in mind, new residents
are immediately set
up with a caseworker who
will develop strategies for
finding work (if the resident
is unemployed), employment
training that will
enhance success and a budget
plan for saving money.
A Section 8 housing form is
completed so the individual
can become eligible for lowincome
housing available
through the federal Housing
and Urban Development
department.
There is, however, often a
wait before this comes
through and that is where
Saxton is at now. “I’m waiting
for housing to kick in.
Hopefully it won’t be too
much longer.”