Editorial: Bill holds promise for homeless

Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002 | 8:11 a.m.

Tens of thousands of homeless people in this country are surviving day-to-day through the goodwill of churches, volunteer organizations, and kind individuals. They are also sustaining themselves at soup kitchens and shelters run by local governments. Some areas offer excellent programs that include health care and counseling. In other areas the only hedge against starvation and the elements is the proverbial flophouse. Nowhere is the need fully met. In Las Vegas, for example, there are a few hundred beds and an estimated 10,000 homeless men and women. Inconsistencies from city to city are the result of varying abilities -- and varying desires -- to give. What's long been missing as the nation's homeless population increases every year is any consistent federal involvement.

The sporadic federal grant for a homeless program here or there is insufficient, as proven by the fact that every sizeable county and city in the country has a growing homeless population. The programs in place are a godsend in the sense that they're all that stand between life and death for many homeless people. This country, however, should be doing much more for the fathers and mothers, the veterans, the kids, and the senior citizens who are filling the ranks of the homeless. The greater percentage of homeless people, with a little more help, could get off the streets and again lead fulfilling lives. This has been proven in every credible study ever done of the homeless.

We support the "Bringing America Home Act" that will be introduced in the next session of Congress. Representatives John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Julia Carson of Indiana have collaborated on this legislation, which is just what America has been needing for the past several decades. The bill would provide money to assist local governments with their homeless programs. Affordable housing, job training, vouchers for child care and public transportation, emergency funds for families facing eviction and homeless centers are some of the services the money would provide.

Already this year, 48 people in the Las Vegas Valley have succumbed to life on the streets. Most local programs do what they can, but the need is overwhelming. With a consistent source of federal support, the majority of homeless people could again begin having goals beyond survival.