Number Of Families Forced Into Homeless Shelters On The Rise

Number Of Families Forced Into Homeless Shelters On The Rise

The number of families living out of homeless shelters has risen drastically since 2007, The New York Times reports.

From 2007 through 2009, the number of families in homeless shelters -- households with at least one adult and one minor child -- leapt to 170,000 from 131,000, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The federal government has attempted to slow down the tide of families facing homelessness through the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which has provided more than 550,000 people aid since late 2009.

Yet couples like Nick Griffith and Lacey Lennon of Providence, R.I. are still forced to move their families into shelters when faced with no other choice.

Though they moved to Florida to live more cheaply, the family lost its condo in the suburbs when the restaurant Griffith was cooking in closed.

After months of short-term solutions and squandering their savings searching for new work, the family moved back to Rhode Island and into a homeless shelter.

It hit me when we got off the bus and walked up and saw the Crossroads building," Ms. Lennon said. "We had all our stuff. We were tired. We'd already had enough, and it was just starting."

Read the full story at NYTimes.com.

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