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Homelessness in Texas I'm poor. VERY poor by most standards. The median income in Texas, 1996-98, three year average, was $35,254.00 (U.S. Census data). The poverty threshold in 1998 for a family of two, householder under age 65, was $l0,972.00. My "average annual" income hovers at right around $6,000.00 and on this, I take care of a disabled child, pay the utlility bills, buy auto insurance, feed us, five goats, four geese, two cats and one dog, have internet access and buy a few books every so often. IF my home wasn't paid for (no insurance, so I trust George W.'s goons won't come torch it), I could very easily be or become homeless. It gets damned cold here in the desert, at night, in winter. One of my neighbors is living in sub-standard housing -- an old, raggety trailer house that's like a large tin can, ergo, he is almost "homeless", and I have a very KEEN sense of how harsh that lifestyle can be. So, my heart is touched, and compassion aroused, almost daily, by what could be anyone's plight. It shouldn't be this way in America. NO ONE should be without a warm, dry place to sleep and call their own! Habitat for Humanity gets lots of publicity for their fine efforts, but the average cost of one of their homes is $42,500.00 with a 7 to 30 year mortgage -- that is WAY out of the ballpark for most homeless persons. And, there is a better way -- a more equitable and economical way, of providing decent, safe, sound housing. This page is under construction, and will be added to on an ongoing basis, as more information is researched. For starters, I decided to narrow my concern down to just homeless veterans. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, there are over l5,000 of them in Texas, alone. Texas ranks number 3 in the greatest number of U.S. homeless vets, behind California (33,250) and New York (l8,640). To see just who ARE America's Homelss Veterans, go to the next page. [TOP]
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Advocate F