Use Break to Learn about Homelessness
Northwest Herald
March 3, 2009
If you are one of the “unlucky” staying behind this spring break, I have a worthwhile read for you: the executive summary of “McHenry County: A Place to Call Home, A Call to Action.” It talks about our poverty problem in McHenry County and how affordable housing can help.
From Northwest Herald:
A couple of months ago, I heard Amy Terpstra of The Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty speak. As I listened to her, my attention along with those around me went from blasé to intense concentration. What we heard was very sobering.
How could it be that one out of every 17 people in McHenry County lives in poverty? How could it be that nearly 6,000 of these faces belong to children? Why has the poverty rate grown 38 percent in McHenry County since 1980?
Terpstra described what happens when a person lives in poverty. Life is more likely to be unstable. It affects job retention and children’s ability to learn; people can’t afford needed medicines; nutritious foods are bypassed; and homelessness, domestic violence and divorce rates go up. The cycle, if not interrupted continues.