TEXAS: Homeless not as visible, but here
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By John Gutierrez-Mier
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Originally published May 2, 2005
FORT WORTH - John Suggs knows firsthand that the homeless population in Tarrant County is growing.
What surprised him when he flipped through the 2004 Tarrant County Homeless Survey last week was the increasing number of mothers with children.
"It appears that, all across the board, the number of women with children is growing significantly," said Suggs, executive director of the Presbyterian Night Shelter, Tarrant County's largest emergency shelter.
"We're at capacity most of the time, and that's disturbing."
Beginning today, the 2004 Tarrant County Homeless Survey -- an 84-page document -- will be available to the public.
The survey, prepared by the Tarrant County Community Development Division along with the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, asked 911 homeless people 62 questions, or more if they had children.
Surveyors, with pens in hand, fanned out all across Tarrant County last fall to complete the surveys, said Scott Ruthart, supportive housing program manager for Tarrant County, who helped with the biennial survey.
According to the report, on any given day there are 5,278 homeless people living in Tarrant County. In 2002, when the last survey was taken, there were 4,375.
That year, 45 percent of the homeless parents surveyed had their children with them. The number jumped to 62 percent this year.
There was, however, some good news.
"The survey shows that we've been able to put more people in transitional living programs," Ruthart said. "But we also are seeing an increase in the number of foreclosures and evictions, which usually leads to homelessness."
Domestic violence was the No. 1 reason for homelessness among women surveyed. For men, it was being unemployed.
Kenneth Ratcliff, 40, has been homeless on and off for the past two years.
He spends most nights at the Presbyterian Night Shelter at 2400 Cypress St., and he participated in the fall survey.
"I answered a lot of questions. But I figured it was part of my duty to answer them since I spend so many nights here," said Ratcliff, who said he's still having trouble finding work that will allow him to find permanent shelter.
Don Shisler, executive director of the Union Gospel Mission and the Day Resource Center, said the survey is a helpful tool for organizations like his that provide a variety of services for the homeless.
"To write those grants, you have to have the numbers to back up what you do with statistics," Shisler said.
Shisler also said the report is worthwhile reading for the general public.
"Unlike in Dallas County, in Tarrant County the homeless population is virtually invisible," said Shisler, whose shelter is located along East Lancaster Avenue, where most of the services for the homeless are housed.
"You don't see the homeless downtown, and that sends out a false message that there aren't homeless people living here. But there are."
John Gutierrez-Mier, (817) 390-7155 jmier@star-telegram.com