Saturday, December 17, 2011

U.S: Mayors worried about increased numbers of homeless and need for more food assistance


   Of 29 cities surveyed 25 said that requests for food assistance had increased over the last year. The average increase was 15.5 per cent. In addition a quarter of residents requesting food aid could not get it for lack of supplies.
  The poverty rate in the U.S. has also increased from 14.3 per cent last year to 15.1 per cent this year according to the U.S. government. This increase is happening as cities have fewer resources to meet the needs of the poor as they often face large budget deficits.
 Kansas City Missouri food aid went up this year by 40 per cent. This was the highest in the survey but both Boston Mass. and Salt Lake City were not far behind at a 35 per cent increase. The vast majority of cities , 27 of 29, expect the emergency food requests would increase next year. At the same time 75 per cent of them predicted a decrease in their food aid budgets.
  The number of homeless also increased. On average the increase was 6 per cent. Charleston in North Carolina had the largest increase at a third increase. Cleveland Ohio and Detroit Michigan also had large increases. On average 18 per cent of homeless people who sought assistance were refused because of lack of space in shelters. As well as having a financial deficit the U.S. suffers a deficit in services for the homeless and hungry. For more see this article from which the data was abstracted.


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