Homelessness up 24 percent in Linn County

Who are the “homeless” in Linn County?

The Linn County Local Homeless Coordinating Board reports more people are classified as homeless but this may not be apparent or obvious.

“Our shelters do a really good job in serving people,” said Ann Hearn, deputy director of Community Planning. She said the images of people sleeping outdoors may not be as frequent within the county because shelters are open and ready to serve.

Hearn compiled the report, which claimed local programs served 5,520 “homeless” persons during the fiscal year that ended June 30. This figure represents a 24% increase from the previous fiscal year.

“In past years, we might have had a small increase but nothing like we've seen this year,” said Hearn.

The report also found 51% of the 5,520 people were children.

Barb Ruppel, assistant executive director at Waypoint in downtown Cedar Rapids, said these are difficult times for many of her clients.

“Opportunities for low-income housing have gone down and the waiting list for federally-reimbursed housing is long,” said Ruppel.

Waypoint serves women and children during these stages, both in the shelter and for daytime service. The report reveals 296 women and children spent days in the 16-room shelter, a 33% increase from the previous year for Waypoint.

Ruppel said the instability of not having a permanent home can lead to real barriers for these children.

“Cedar Rapids bends over backwards to make sure they get to school but it's hard to study when kids are not secure about where they live,” said Ruppel.

The report also includes an additional 566 for ”transitional housing” for the final number of 5,220 people considered “homeless”.

Waypoint's leaders said the organization's food pantry is unusually low in supplies, such as canned food and basic hygiene items. Clients who do use Waypoint's “daytime” services, such as the food pantry, are considered “near homeless”.

Providing meals for people in Linn County also rose sharply in the study. The report states groups served 163,778 meals between seven different sites, a 43% increase from fiscal year 2009. The Salvation Army offered 55,579 meals, with First United Methodist in Marion providing 32,050 meals.