TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Poll Shows Fear Of Homelessness

ADVERTISEMENT

By JENNIFER C. KERR, The Associated Press

Published: November 15, 2007

WASHINGTON - Nearly a third of Americans have at one point worried about becoming homeless and many more are taking in friends and relatives needing a home, a survey found.

The homelessness issue has touched more than those who are living on the streets, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

"People are worried even though it might not ever happen to them," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the Washington-based National Coalition for the Homeless. "When people read the news and read about bankruptcies, home foreclosures and auto plants being closed, they worry that they may be next."

Overwhelmingly, 92 percent of those polled said more effort is needed nationwide to address homelessness. Thirty-five percent said the federal government should take a lead role fighting homelessness, while 25 percent identified state governments as most responsible for addressing the issue.

"It is clear from this poll that Americans are very concerned about homelessness and do not feel enough is being done to address this critical issue," said Stacey Stewart, senior vice president of the Office of Community and Charitable Giving at Fannie Mae.

Twenty-eight percent said they were concerned at one time about being homeless. A greater percentage, 44 percent, said they had opened their own homes to a friend or relative who faced being forced onto the streets.

The poll was conducted on behalf of mortgage giant Fannie Mae, which has grant programs that provide funding for low-income housing.

The poll studied perceived causes of homelessness.

Eighty-five percent of those polled cited alcohol and drug abuse as a major cause of homelessness; two-thirds said mental illness, a mental disability or post-traumatic stress disorder; and two-thirds named insufficient income and job loss.

But Stoops said, "For the majority of homeless folks, the reason they're homeless is because they're poor and they need money and they are chronically normal."

The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted by telephone Sept 4-Oct. 17. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT