Category: Homelessness

The Rise of Depression in the United States

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The Rise of Depression in the U.S.

The Rise of Depression in the U.S.

Depression and divorce are up in the United States 

By Jones William 

Depression Affects All Ages

Depression is a mental health disorder and it’s increasing in the United States. Depression doesn’t just affect the brain, the disorder also has physical and emotional effects. Anyone can be affected, children, adolescents, and adults. Despite being one of the most advanced countries in the world, an estimated 30%  of Americans are currently suffering from depression. When compared to 2015 data, this is an increase of 10%; making it the highest rate of depression ever recorded for Americans. A third of American women are victims of depression, that’s about twice as many as men.  Furthermore, individuals aged 18-35 record are subject to higher rates of depression than other age groups.

Factors Contributing to Increasing Prevalence of Depression

Economic Hardship in America: The middle class in the United States has been steadily shrinking since Ronald Reagan. The promise of a better life than that of your parents had is gone. Many “middle-class” people are maintaining the middle class life style by high credit card debt, and home equity loans. Facing disappointing realities, and suffering from financial stress, depression becomes the order of the day.

Poor community ties and shattered relationships: In the last twenty years  church fellowship and neighborhood activities have dramatically decreased. The COVID-19 pandemic has isolated Americans from their support system. We rarely even say hello to our neighbors. Divorce rates have skyrocketed. As those  human networks disintegrate we as a society are experiencing an increased isolating technology boom. This technology boom, including the use of social media, decreases face-to-face interactions. It is difficult to experience healthy relationships, and normal communication when all interaction between individuals are at a distance or on line. As a result, a sense of belonging, the meaning and purpose of life, and familiar human support systems are lost.

Expectations of Americans are too high: Some experts believe that despite mental health communities and schools having good intentions; promoting unrealistic self-positive expectations can be harmful. Fostering the notion that all Americans “can be anything they want or dream” opens the door, especially for adolescents and young adults, to experience disgrace and disappointment, when the reality of their life fails to match what they had imagined for themselves. Sounds like  a guarantee for misery and depression.

Is it possible to lower depression rates and cases in the U.S.?

The United States government and citizens can do several things at societal levels to curb depression. For instance, meeting the basic needs of citizens and improving their interpersonal relationships and community ties can reduce depression rates and cases.

Nurturing Social Connections: Post pandemic America feels different than pre-COVID America. The current high depression rates are likely to decline as the country moves towards “normalcy” and social networks are revitalized. Since human beings are social beings, social isolation and loneliness can cause mental and physical disorders such as depression, headaches, suicide, anxiety, in addition to many other problems. When people are connected to their country, their community, their friends, and family members, reducing depression is achievable.

Meeting Basic Needs: Increased depression rates from food insecurity and homelessness could be  reduced if our government can find ways to meet its citizen’s basic needs. In colleges and universities, three out of five students have basic needs challenges. They suffer from hunger, homelessness, and lack of affordable healthcare services. There is a direct link between financial stress and depression. Furthermore, individuals suffering from mental illness tend not to seek services because of the expense.

Ensuring Mental Healthcare is Available: Accessing mental healthcare is difficult in many areas of the country. Lack of money and insurance coverage prevents many Americans from getting the needed  mental healthcare services. To make matters worse, in many areas of the United States there are no mental health clinics, practitioners, or hospitals. Government funding for mental health services is sorely lacking and with Medicaid and Affordable Care not being available in many states with Republican governors is a big problem.

Conclusion

Depression is a major health concern in the United States. Men, women, and children can all be victims of mental illness. Depression risks among adolescents and young adults have increased dramatically in recent  decades. The question becomes, will our government ever prioritize the well being of the majority of American citizens over the billionaire class? Until that question can be answered we will live with a patchwork of laws and a failure of services.

Sources

https://www.health.com/depression-rates-higher-than-ever-things-to-change-7501286

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140930132832.htm

https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/depression-on-the-rise-in-the-us-cdc-says-centers-disease-control-prevention-mental-health

http://www.drrevelmiller.com/2019/09/why-is-depression-so-common-in-the-usa/

Grandma, Unhoused in America

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Grandma, Unhoused in America

Grandma, Unhoused in America

By D.S. Mitchell

Face of the New Homeless

The lack of housing for low-income people or those on fixed incomes is a big problem and experts are working on it but there is no one size fits all solution to alleviating homelessness; certainly, more affordable housing units and additional housing vouchers are needed, but many of the homeless need specialized housing. Housing that offers wheelchair ramps, roll in showers, grab bars, single level units and other accommodating features to assist the many older and disabled individuals now facing homelessness.

55 and Over

As baby boomers age into senior citizens, a series of recessions and the lack of a strong social safety net have pushed more and more elderly people into homelessness — a number that’s only expected to rise. Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council of Homelessness tells us that “Seniors over the age of 55 are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness and for many of them, it is first-time homelessness.”

Why is this Happening?

Like with most things there is no simple explanation; the reasons are complex. Most obviously, the U.S. has an aging population. With aging, people are more at risk of poverty, more subject to traumatic events, such as the death of a parent or a spouse, and more likely to suffer with chronic illness, such as diabetes and heart disease,  and at increased risk for falls and other physical injury.

Stagnant Income

While their income is limited, rent costs have skyrocketed across the country. Housing protection and assistance available during the COVID-19 pandemic have expired, leaving many people on the street. In addition, many of these folks with stagnant incomes are of retirement age, but are still working part-time, at low pay hourly jobs with no chance of a raise, just to supplement their Social Security check.

​Federal Action

On December 19, 2023, President Biden, alarmed at the unprecedented number of people with no place to live, across all age groups, released an ambitious federal plan to strategically reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025. The plan will address the lack of affordable housing, aid people in crisis, and prevent people from losing their homes to foreclosure in the first place. Focus of the action are those most seriously effected: people of color, veterans, the disabled, and the elderly.

Statistics On the Growing Problem

From 2009 to 2017, HUD statistics indicate the number of unhoused individuals aged 51-61 grew from 14% of the total homeless population nationally to nearly 18%. The percentage of people 62 years or older living on the street has nearly doubled. Predictions indicate that by 2030 the number of unhoused individuals over the age of 65 will triple compared with 2017.

From the 1990s                                                

The younger half of the boomer generation have long been the dominant group among unhoused adults. In 1990, on average those folks were 30 years old; today their average age is 62. But it isn’t just the long time homeless, many are newly unhoused; people tossed out of houses and apartments for the first time. These people often experiencing a total shattering of their lives.

Nothing New

The shortage of affordable housing in the United States goes back at least 40 years; Ronald Reagan’s war on “welfare queens” did incredible damage to the social safety net and it has never been repaired. This long-time problem has been exacerbated by a number of factors. Large corporations are buying up apartments and single-family homes and charging whatever the market will bear. In fact, rent and home prices have skyrocketed, while the country has recently experienced exceptionally high inflation on basics like food and gasoline. However, economics are only part of the explanation for the dire straits many elders find themselves in.

Growing Numbers

In 2023, homelessness shot up by more than 12%, with an estimated 653,104 unhoused individuals living on American streets and in her parks. I personally have a hard time accepting these numbers, because of the large number of displaced persons I see everywhere in my small southern Oregon town. All that aside, these numbers represent the sharpest increase ever in homelessness, leading to the largest unhoused population ever recorded in the United States.

Graying of the Unhoused

Recent HUD data shows that nearly 1 in 5 people in the United States (that’s ‘effin 20% of the population) have no permanent place to live and a good share of those people are 55 years or older. Some are calling the spike in unhoused older citizens the “graying of America’s homeless.”

 Intervention and Prevention

Advocates for the homeless preach intervention and prevention. For example, it might be better to pay for a seniors medication or arrange for meals than allow them to become homeless because they have had to choose between the landlord and the pharmacy.

Bigger Than the Finances

As already suggested, the issues are often more than just financial. Recent studies indicate that older unhoused people have problems performing daily activities and have greater difficulty with walking, seeing, and hearing. Furthermore, they are subject to falling, and their overall health is significantly worse than those of the same age in the general population. Importantly many of the identified individuals also have significant cognitive impairment.

In San Francisco

The problem is so significant that in San Francisco they are planning for at least one shelter set up specifically for older adults and those with disabilities. Similar shelters are being planned for New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Boston.

Self-Medicating                                           

Exposure to the elements, poor diet, lack of sleep or fitful sleep, failure to take prescribed medication, shunning of professional services with doctors or dentists are commonplace among the homeless. Their physical circumstances trigger anxiety and depression, leading some to self-medicate with drugs and or alcohol. Such problems create a need for low barrier shelters, and housing, which are few and far between.

New Approach                                                  

Many experts are suggesting several types of shared housing situations that might be good solutions for the graying homeless population.  A homeowner takes in a tenant, cohousing (where there is a cluster of private mini homes with communal spaces or a large central building with separate bedrooms and shared kitchen and living room) or the immensely popular backyard Accessory Dwelling Units. ADU’s are springing up in neighborhoods across the country where zoning laws allow them. ADU’s are usually built on the lot of a single-family residence.

Conclusion

I wish I could conclude with a happy ending, but I see no happy ending here. As baby boomers age into senior citizens, a series of recessions and the lack of a strong social safety net have pushed more and more elderly people into homelessness — a number that’s only expected to rise over the next few years before common sense tells us it will drop off, probably after 2030, as the boomers die.

What’s Going On In Grants Pass, Oregon?

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What’s Going On In Grants Pass, Oregon?

If you live within the city limits of Grants Pass, Oregon, ballots should be landing in your mailbox in the next few days. Remember to mark NO on the RECALL and return your ballot BEFORE 9/12/2023.

Be sure to vote No on recall. Vote by 9/12/2023

What’s Going On In Grants Pass, Oregon?

By D.S. Mitchell

 

Republican Headquarters

A group, who lists their address as the Republican Committee headquarters, is trying to *recall independent Grants Pass mayor, Sara Bristol. The first line of the recall petition, filed by Suzanne Barber, states, “City of Grants Pass mayor, Sara Bristol, does not represent the conservative principles of the majority of her constituents.”

Full Stop

Whoa. Full stop. Sara Bristol was elected by a majority of Grant’s Pass voters; voters who wanted an independent voice at City Hall not a rubber stamp to controversial or extremist policies. I don’t believe this group of haters should be allowed to recall a mayor who’s only failure is not being “conservative” enough.

Disgust

It’s evident that hate, vitriol, and dirty tricks are alive and well in our community. Is this what we really want? I say, no, and I believe I am not alone in my disgust for this full-frontal attack on independence. Vote NO to the recall.

Mostly, I Talk

Yoo-hoo. According to the Grants Pass city charter the mayor can only vote to break a tie. Sara, explains, “I mostly get to talk, issue vetoes, and sign paperwork.” Despite petitioners complaints of “too many vetoes” the facts dispute that assertion. After two and a half years in office, Sara has issued only two, let me repeat that, two vetoes.

Court Order

Also, let me make it clear, Sara Bristol is not responsible for the homeless situation in Grants Pass, Oregon, but the city council is. Aside from not being “conservative” enough, the petitioner(s) are trying to hang the problem of homelessness around the neck of the mayor. Admittedly, homeless encampments in Grants Pass parks are a hot button issue. However, citizens need to understand that the city is under a court order preventing removal of the homeless encampments.

Place The Blame

Removal of the homeless from Grants Pass public parks could take place if Grants Pass could offer “low barrier” shelter.  It’s time for the Grants Pass city council to step up and do their job. Grants Pass needs a “low barrier” shelter, and we needed it several years ago. Time to stop the excuses and start the process. Don’t blame the mayor for what the council has failed to deal with.

Vote No On Recall

I’m asking Grants Pass voters to ignore the partisan hate speech and misinformation campaign being waged against the mayor and vote NO to the recall. If you feel like getting involved, please join Sara and her supporters at several local events.

Support Sara Bristol Events

Friday, August 25, 2023: Anne Basker Auditorium at 6 pm

Saturday, August 26, 2023: Josephine County Courthouse @ 12 Noon

Tuesday, August 29, 2023: Fruitdale Grange at 6 pm

 

*Recalls are the process by which an elected official can be removed from office via a public vote.

Is A Tiny House For You?

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Is  A Tiny House For You?

A lot of people in America are looking to downsize and are changing housing options by going tiny house.Is A Tiny House For You?

D. S. Mitchell

Affordable Housing Is Getting Harder To Come By

Housing in the United States is expensive and growing more expensive by the day. In fact, the lack of affordable housing is a major social issue in the world’s richest country.  As housing pressures stress the country some folks are looking around for different options.  There has been a growing trend in the United States toward minimalist living and the tiny house is at the forefront of that movement. Many people are attracted to the prospect of financial freedom, a simpler lifestyle, and a smaller human environmental footprint.

Downsize Revolution

The downsize revolution promotes living structures with sizes between 300 and 700 square feet. In general, the tiny home is 400 sq. ft or less. In some cases, the homes are on wheels. Despite the stated positives, they are not for everyone. Small does not necessarily equate with cheap. A tiny house can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $150,000. Holy Moly. The cost of course is dependent on a series of factors: location, building complexity, materials, and finally are you doing it yourself, or are you having it built. A contractor construction package will generally cost twice as much as a “do it yourself” house.

Small Often Costs More

Not always identified, but a serious matter, are the extra building costs for appliances, fixtures, water heaters and heating & cooling systems because of their reduced size. The rule it seems is that the smaller, the more expensive. It is important that you do some very careful figuring before you commit yourself to building a tiny home. One recommendation would be to get a minimum of three bids. Many builders  do sizeable markups on small projects.

Carefully Weigh The Pro And Cons Of A DIY Tiny House

Before you decide to DIY you need to understand that construction of a tiny home can take from three to six months if you are working at it full-time. When taking on such a project it is important to consider that while you are trying to save money on contractors you need to account for the money you won’t be earning while you are acting as your own contractor. Unless you are an experienced carpenter the frustration and potential areas for significant error should be added into your equation. Weigh those pros and cons carefully.

NOAH Certification

There are pre-fab tiny homes being made, but this is a case where buyer beware. Avoid potential pitfalls by making sure the NOAH (National Organization of Alternative Housing) certifies the plan and the builder. Things like windows, framing, roofing, insulation, become very expensive if you need to go back and fix things done incorrectly the first time.

Research Is The Key

I know it looks like fun, and even exciting when seen on TV, but before you commit the time, energy, and money required to build a tiny house, please do some big time research. Self education is essential before you go tiny. This should not be a decision made one Sunday night after watching a television show featuring tiny houses. There are books, magazines, videos, workshops and even Facebook groups which provide excellent information.

Try It Out First

I saw one article where the writer recommended that anyone considering building a tiny home to try it out first. I thought that was a great idea. You can rent tiny cabins all over the country. Give it a try. For at least a week, I would suggest. And bring a lot of stuff with you, and remember, this tiny space could potentially be your full time home, with all of your junk, and the necessities, that go with actually living in a home.

Before You Build

I can imagine a lot of people loving their tiny home and never wanting to go back. However, I can also visualize a significant number of people not adapting well to the smaller lifestyle, and regretting their purchase. Please, don’t be a regretter, be a planner, be a student, before you build.  Have fun. Even if you don’t go “tiny” you will have learned a lot about the “Tiny House” industry,  yourself, and your needs.

Cori Bush: The Face of Perseverance

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Cori Bush: The Face of Perseverance

Tenacity, Perseverance and Determination, all in one woman, Cori Bush

On Friday 7/30/2021  First term Congresswoman Cori Bush sat down on the steps of the U.S. House of Representatives with a camping chair, a sleeping bag, and a commitment to stop the potential eviction of millions of Americans from their homes.

By William Jones and D. S. Mitchell

Those At Risk

When it became clear that neither Congress nor the White House was going to act to stop a pandemic-era federal eviction moratorium from expiring, leaving hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of low-income Americans at risk for eviction from their homes Cori Bush stepped up.  Ms. Bush — now 45 and a first-term Democratic congresswoman from St. Louis — felt a familiar flood of anxiety and a flash of purpose in the face of the pending crisis.

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