211 SURVEY

September 29, 2009-A survey conducted by the 24-hour crisis line, 211, has revealed that the economic downturn has caused many Palm Beach County families to become homeless for the first time.

The survey was conducted between August 15 and September 15, 2009. During that period, 211 was contacted by a total of 465 Palm Beach County residents who were homeless. Of that number, 277 were homeless for the first time. There were a total of 94 children in the first-time homeless group.

We had been getting a lot of calls from homeless families, said Susan Buza, 211 Executive Director. We wanted to find out just how serious this problem was and what was causing it, so we decided to do this survey.

What the survey found was that it was the economy that was driving most of these families to homelessness. During the survey period, 211 heard from seven couples with children and 44 single parents with children who were homeless for the first time. Sixty-seven (67%) of this group were homeless because a parent had lost a job, the family had been evicted, or the bank had foreclosed on their home.

The stories we heard from homeless families were heartbreaking, Buza said. One woman with two children had lost her home to foreclosure and a neighbor was kind enough to take the family in. But the woman knows this is only a temporary solution for them.

While most first-time homeless families were able to stay temporarily with friends or relatives, and a small number were able to get into local shelters, some were not so lucky. Four of the first time homeless families we surveyed were living in their car, and three were living on the street, Buza said. The first-time homeless families surveyed had been homeless for an average of almost 2 ½ months.

Buza said 211 was releasing the details of the homeless survey because it is part of the agencys mission to alert the public to unmet community needs. There are some wonderful agencies

working to help the homeless in Palm Beach County, she said, but most of these programs are at capacity. Obviously, more resources are needed to address this problem.

211 Palm Beach / Treasure Coast is a telephone hotline that provides crisis intervention, information, assessment and referrals to community health and human service programs. In 2008, 211 Resource Specialists assisted more than 173,000 callers. This free and confidential assistance is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to anyone in Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast who dials 2-1-1.