Brenda Blagg: Getting the picture

Study demonstrates growing population of homeless

The homeless count in Northwest Arkansas took a significant leap this year.

The annual assessment, conducted by the University of Arkansas' Community and Family Institute, came close to the 3,000 mark, up almost 500 from a 2015 survey.

These numbers are approximations based on the people volunteers find on a given day who are "homeless" in Benton or Washington counties.

The term includes not just those who literally live on the streets but also those who live in shelters and motels or double up with friends and family. They have no permanent place to call home.

Preliminary numbers released recently were from a Jan. 28 survey conducted over a 24-hour time period in both Benton and Washington counties. More detailed analysis will follow later.

Volunteers seek out the homeless during a 24-hour survey every other year to gather this kind of data, asking people how they came to be homeless and how they are coping.

Once again, as previous surveys have shown, many of these identifiable homeless people -- a majority of them in fact -- are school-aged children, living their young lives detached from something as basic as a home.

A tent, a car, a friend or relative's couch or spare room is too often all they have to go "home" to.

Of the 2,951 homeless counted this year, 1,547 were children in K-12 public schools.

One of the reasons they count so high is that the public schools work to identify students who need help and have established programs to provide clothing and food, not just during the school day but also after school hours and on weekends.

Preliminary figures from the survey counted homeless kids in 15 area school districts, from as few as six in Lincoln to as many as 336 in Bentonville. Fayetteville with 287, Rogers with 210, Springdale with 144 and Siloam Springs with 138 reported the next highest numbers of homeless students. The rest had from 13 to 83.

A social worker with Fayetteville schools noted an increase in families doubling up with other families because one has been evicted or can't afford to keep a home in a market where housing prices outpace income growth.

Whatever the reason, the schools try to help.

"Our biggest focus is just making sure kids are not hungry and have everything they need," explained Sara Blickenstaff, the social worker.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, the sociology professor who directs the UA's Community and Family Institute, has long been monitoring this issue. He has led repeated efforts to identify and help the homeless in Northwest Arkansas.

The survey provides data that can attract grant money for providers trying to help individuals and families in need.

Fitzpatrick specifically talks of the need for area nonprofits to develop a regional, interconnected plan to address the problem.

In fact, one group, called the Continuum of Care, is reportedly trying to coordinate area food pantries, shelters and other support groups in order to send people in need to whichever place can help best.

As he has for years, Fitzpatrick encourages churches, businesses and government to be involved in solving, or at least addressing, homelessness. And he's hopeful that such efforts can be coordinated to serve more people better.

Whatever else they've learned from all these years of counting the homeless, the inescapable fact is that there are ever more people in Northwest Arkansas -- many of them children -- who need help to escape homelessness.

Commentary on 02/12/2017

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