Increase in Foreclosures Caused Ripple Effect to Homelessness Drive
November 25th, 2008 by 
Joseph Smith
Heading Home Minnesota is an ambitious statewide plan to end homelessness in Minnesota counties and cities. An integral part of this plan is Heading Home Hennepin, designed by 70 Hennepin County community leaders aimed at providing housing opportunities to homeless people by 2016. For two years, Hennepin has started to see the benefits of their efforts with the considerable drop of people with no permanent address. The problem is, with the current economic crisis affecting the nation resulting to a great number of foreclosures, this program is now faced with a great impediment to success.
Since the inception of the Heading Home Hennepin program, the average number of days homeless families stay in shelter homes have dropped to 24. According to county commissioners, this number would be sufficient to provide ample time for the program to find alternative residences for these people.
However, with the current number of Minnesota foreclosures on the rise, the average shelter stays have increased to 34 days, with a corresponding increase of 26% in families using these shelters.
City coordinators focusing on homelessness have outlined difficulties the program will be facing with the increasing number of foreclosures in the county. The current economic crisis has made it difficult for families who spend up to 80% of their incomes for housing to survive in this situation. Income flows are more difficult to sustain with an increase in layoffs and a tighter job market.
This would result to delinquencies in mortgage payments, and eventually foreclosures. Homeless families in Minnesota receive a 60-month Family Investment Program assistance fund. With the weak economy, these funds will run out before they are able to get good sources of income.
With the current economic crisis facing the county, people thrown out from repossessed houses would either seek rental space elsewhere, or would end up in shelter homes. This would put Heading Home Hennepin’s 2008 target of relocating 2,900 homeless families in jeopardy.
