A pink slip away from homelessness in the Beach

By Cyrus Williams

This is a difficult time for all Americans. Our economy, despite some signs of recovery, continues to suffer, and unemployment, the primary cause of homelessness, hovers around 9 percent. As such, our congressmen and senators have to make difficult decisions about which programs to cut and by how much. While I do not envy their predicament and understand that they have to critically examine all government spending, some budgetary items will cause more harm in the short and long term to the individuals, neighborhoods and communities of Virginia Beach.

With this in mind, I recently led a contingent of students and faculty members from Regent University to Washington, D.C., to lobby for the homeless citizens of Virginia Beach. Our goal was to inform and garner support for the homeless as well as enlighten our representatives on how the proposed 62 percent cuts to the HUD Community Development Block Grants would affect the quality of life of the homeless as well as the individuals, families and neighborhoods of Virginia Beach. These grants provide many services to the homeless and individuals and families who are on the verge of becoming homeless.

We met with the aides of U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell and Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner and provided them with specific examples of how the proposed cuts to the block grants would affect our city.

n The 24-week Emergency Winter Shelter program provides shelter to single homeless adults during the coldest months (October through April). The proposed cuts could reduce that by as much as 14 weeks.

n The Lighthouse Center, a day support program for single homeless adults, provides services such as laundry facilities, showers, mail delivery and case management to approximately 475 different individuals annually. The cuts could significantly reduce the staff and hours.

n The Homeless Emergency Program provides assistance to 95 households a year that have an unexpected and immediate housing crisis. The cuts could reduce to 36 the number of families helped.

It is important to note that the city, like all cities, will provide services to the homeless in some way, shape or form. The police department, the judicial system, jails, mental health and social services as well as medical facilities will be forced to provide for this population in increasing numbers. Consequently, the city will not save money by cutting programs designed to assist the homeless.

As a solution, we suggested to the representatives that if they had to make cuts to the CDBG, they consider incremental ones. This would allow the city, neighborhoods and communities the opportunity to develop a strategy and assess how best to support the homeless. We also suggested that they support level funding for The HEARTH Act of 2009, which focuses on homelessness prevention, providing assistance to families with children and rural programs, as well as seed money for new projects.

Speaking up for a population that has no voice and is often overlooked and misrepresented is critical to my personal mission as well as the mission of Regent University. I feel empowered and blessed to be able to do this. As I reflected on the opportunity, I realized that I, as well as many of you who are reading this, am a pink slip away from being homeless.

The vast majority of the homeless men and women I have observed, served and befriended are not drunks, do not suffer from mental illnesses and are not criminals. They are individuals who were living check to check and one day received a pink slip. In short order they found themselves living on the streets of Virginia Beach.

Many of us are a layoff, firing or illness away from being homeless, so maybe I was not lobbying for the current homeless. Maybe I was lobbying for you and me, the temporarily housed citizens of Virginia Beach.

Cyrus Williams is an assistant professor in psychology and counseling at Regent University.