Did You Know?

-A survey of 23 US cities found that 17.4% of homeless adults with children were employed. 13% of single adults and unaccompanied youth were also found to be employed (US Conference of Mayors 2007). As difficult as it is for the ones who are fortunate enough to have a job, for those without, climbing out of homelessness is virtually impossible without some form of assistance. How does one even go about the process of applying for a job without a permanent address or a reliable phone number? 

-At ShelterCare, many of our consumers work or volunteer throughout the community. We provide our consumers with job skills training to increase their chances of landing a satisfying job. For someone who was formerly homeless, a job can bring about a tremendous sense of accomplishment and purpose. 

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

-A makeshift tent city populated by Sacramento's homeless will be shut down within a month. In order to accommodate the 125 residents of the tent city , California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has ordered that the state facility known as the Cal-Expo at the state fairgrounds be used to serve them for three months. For more information on the Hoovervilles of our era, check out this article in the New York Times.

-Right or Wrong?-cnn.com has a story about the controversial site pimpthisbum.com. The site, the brainchild of father/son duo Kevin and Sean Dolan has raised $50,000 in donations and pledges for a homeless man from Houston named Timothy Edwards. Edwards, upon the Dolan's request, simply added the url to the cardboard sign he normally used while panhandling to attract visitors to the site. Many responded by flocking to the site. Many advocates for the homeless are questioning the usage of such a controversial url address, but the Dolans defend their choice on the grounds that a nicer, more sincere sounding alternative (say, helpthehomeless.com) would never have attracted so many visitors. 

The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson last week has raised awareness about traumatic brain injury. This website has information about how to identify symptoms in young children. 

The Huffington Post has a piece by Maria Foscarinis called "Invest to End Homelessness."

Did You Know?

A question we are frequently asked at ShelterCare is: "Why are people homeless?" While the answer(s) to this question are quite diverse in nature (every person's story is unique), there are several common factors that can lead to a person becoming homeless. Many of these factors are related to the larger issue of poverty. Often, a person experiences a number of these factors, and they eventually lead to the experience of homelessness. The following are some of the most common factors. 

-Declining employment opportunities/and or stagnating and declining real wages. When a person is forced to live paycheck to paycheck, all it takes is an unexpected expense to get behind on the bills. 

-Job loss. Job losses happen, even if a person is a model employee. As the economy worsens, more people are experiencing job losses. If a new job cannot be found, and a person's savings dry up, homelessness can be the result.

-Lack of affordable housing. A general rule of budgeting is that you should not spend more than a third of your income on housing (rent or mortgage). Affordable housing for low-income people and housing assistance programs come nowhere near meeting the demand. Therefore, many low income families and individuals are putting half or more of their income towards housing. Once again, it is often nothing more than an unexpected expense that puts people on the brink of homelessness. 

-Lack of education/employable job skills. Many people simply don't have realistic access to higher education. Student loans and grants are growing scarcer. Even community college costs have become prohibitive for many people in the lower income brackets, and many elect to enter the workforce as soon as they are able to do so. Many jobs available to people with a high school diploma or less are low paying jobs without benefits or much chance for advancement.  

-Mental illness. A significant percentage of people experiencing homelessness are also experiencing mental illness. Many of these individuals have been unable to obtain access to supportive housing and other treatment that they may need and find themselves homeless. 

-Disability. When a person is unable to work due to disability, it can lead to financial difficulties similar to those experienced by low-income individuals. Unexpected expenses can derail even the most carefully planned budgets.

-Healthcare costs. The cost of healthcare has skyrocketed over the past several years. Many employers have cut healthcare benefits to employees as a means to cut costs, leaving employees to find their own source. For many people, the costs of private insurance are simply too high for their income and they simply go without. Therefore, an unexpected medical expense can be catastrophic, particularly for people without much of a financial safety net to begin with.

There are, of course, many other factors that can lead to a person becoming homeless. The above are simply some of the ones that are seen again and again. 

ShelterCare's 6th Annual HouseWarming Auction Is Sunday, May 3

This exciting event will be held on Sunday, May 3, at the Fairgrounds in Eugene (i.e. the Lane County Events Center). We will be creating a village of "shops" filled with fun and unique items and experience packages that are up for bid. A silent auction will be followed with a sit down dinner and an oral auction. This event is an excellent way to help the homeless, get some amazing deals, and have a fabulous time with friends. 

There are numerous ways to get involved. There are tables (with seating for 8) available to sponsor if you, your company or group is interested. Individual tickets are also available. Donations large and small are, of course always appreciated. The event can also always use volunteers to help us make the event a success. 

If you are interested in being a part of what is sure to be a memorable experience, please contact the ShelterCare Development Office at 541-686-1262 or cdevore@sheltercare.org.

Nice Opinion Piece in the Register Guard

Check out this great editorial piece in today's Register Guard.

New Hotline for Lane County's Unemployed

The call center, sponsored by Lane Workforce Partnership opened yesterday. It is basically a one-stop source that helps answer questions many unemployed residents have, such as how to obtain services for which they are eligible, and advice regarding future steps they might choose to take. Here is a Register Guard article discussing this most welcome resource in more detail. 

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

-The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson after what was described by many as a minor fall on a beginners' ski slope this week shows us that we need to be vigilant when it comes to a head injury. Even those that seem like nothing initially. 

-Michael V. Kaplan over on the Brain Injury Blog has a must-read post on the myths of traumatic brain injury.

-Here's a short story about one veteran's experience with a service-related brain injury.

-Dottie Ardell, the mother of a son with a brain injury will hold her 4th annual Brain Injury Awareness Day this Saturday in Butler, PA.

Did You Know?

-During a press conference on March 4, 2009, Brig. General Loree Sutton estimated that up to 360,000 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may have sustained traumatic brain injuries during service. 

-Many of these brain injuries are what is known as Blast-Induced Neurotraumas (BINT) from modern explosive devices. These injuries can occur despite little damage to the external skull. 

-For an interesting description of BINT, please see this article from the Johns Hopkins University.

Lindsay the Intern: Final Musings

(This Friday, our Intern is moving on to the next page on her journey through school. We will miss her dearly. This is her final post of the term.)

This last week, I had the opportunity to accompany Carla to the Uhlhorn Program. For those of you who do not know, Uhlhorn was established to provide semi-independent living for people who have acquired traumatic brain injuries. While there, we had the chance to interview one of the residents. 

She was able to shatter many stereotypes I had within a matter of minutes.

Coming from an uninformed point of view, I had always assumed that if your brain was damaged beyond repair, so was your personality and everything that made you, you. Well, that is simply not the case. In fact, she had more personality than many I know. Her vibrant and articulate ways of describing her own situation enlightened me. Which brings me to another stereotype I had: people with traumatic brain injuries are not self-aware. This could not be more false in her case. She could recall herself before, during and after the trauma. Her insight into her own abilities and growth were quite amazing. She did emphasize that every brain injury is unique and brings its own changes in varying degrees. 

While at Uhlhorn, I also learned that it is the only program of its kind in Oregon. This bothers me because it has proven to be so successful in Eugene. Why wouldn't other area adopt a successful program in order to better serve vulnerable populations? Like I have said before, I was unaware of traumatic brain injury as a risk for homelessness. I was also unaware of Uhlhorn until my internship at ShelterCare. I know I have stressed this repeatedly, but getting the word out is half the battle.

Sadly, this will be my last blog entry for awhile. I plan on going forward on my career path and looking for ways to incorporate my new knowledge into future jobs and internships, but I also plan on taking opportunities to stop and educate people along the way. Whether they have a misconception of homelessness, or they are homeless and need information, I will do my best to lead them on the right path. I always try to put myself in other peoples' shoes. Now I know what it is like to be uninformed and will do my best to be patient and unbiased. I don't know what it is like to be homeless, but I have new insight that will help me be more compassionate to those who are. I hope my blog has given you some of that knowledge and insight for your own use.  

Did You Know?

-This week we are continuing on with Brain Injury Awareness Month. A brain injury can be mild, moderate or severe. In the case of ShelterCare's consumers affected by brain injuries, the injuries tend towards the severe end of the spectrum. Mild brain injuries are much more common and are most often referred to as concussions. The effects of concussions are generally not permanent. However, repeated concussions experienced over time, or receiving a subsequent blow to the head before a concussion has a chance to fully heal, can result in devastating permanent damage to the brain. 

-As a mild brain injury, a concussion is often hard to detect, unlike a banged up knee or broken hand. It is essentially an injury you cannot see. Since the brain is so very complex, every brain injury is different, and some can be extremely subtle. There are some common symptoms however. These include confusion and temporary amnesia. Sometimes, a person may "black out". A person may experience a headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, or slurred speech. Sometimes there is a delayed onset of symptoms that can occur days or weeks after the initial injury. Delayed symptoms can be dramatic mood changes or cognitive and sleep disturbances. 

-While most concussions resolve themselves in time, it is important that they are addressed so that they don't become more serious. If you or those close to you experience the symptoms of a concussion, it is best to take the time to be evaluated and rest up before embarking in activities that are at elevated risk for further head trauma.

Thursday's Ready-For-The-Weekend Link List

In the spirit of Brain Injury Awareness Month, here are some brain injury-related links to peruse.

-As many as 360,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans may have suffered brain injuries. Of these, 45,000-90,000 veterans' injuries have persistent symptoms that warrant specialized care. 

-Here's some good employment news in an otherwise dim job market: 22 new employees will be hired in Carthage, NY.  The new employees will staff a 24 hour facility for rehabilitation services for people with brain injuries. 

-Brian Scalabrine of the Boston Celtics is out indefinitely due to a second concussion experienced in a recent game. A concussion is a mild brain injury. Although most heal on their own, experiencing a subsequent concussion while the first is still healing can result in more permanent damage. 

Here is an inspiring story about the recovery progress of Rudy Sotomayor (a star amongst makeup artists) from a brain injury he sustained in a 2007 after a car hit him in a crosswalk. 

Lindsay the Intern: Week Eight Musings

(This week, our Intern reflects on the sad place many people in this country are currently in, and discusses why it's a good thing to be a Eugenian.)

Recently, ShelterCare mentioned an Oprah segment in a blog entry. I am not going to go into detail as I am sure all the information is sitting below my entry, but I have to say that it was quite interesting and saddening to actually see the effects of these harsh economic times. People who used to have stable jobs and homes are being forced into tent towns all over the country. Until watching this segment, I had not felt truly affected by nation's crisis. Perhaps it is the fact that I am in the college bubble, where my loans are looming in the distant future instead of banging down my door. Or maybe it is simply that I am lucky to have a job and a family willing to support me. Either way, I have somehow managed to escape the fall out, for now anyway. I am thankful for that, but many people have not been so fortunate. Aside from the tent towns popping up everywhere, there are now people taking "survival jobs" just to stay afloat. Once successful realtors are trading in their business cards for brooms and picking up minimum wage checks. It is not such a bad thing that people are being forced to live more simply and rethink their extravagances, but it is scary that those who already live simply are now living unsafely.

If these hard times have knocked you off your feet, you must know that all is not lost. This Friday, at the Lane County Events Center, Project Homeless Connect is setting up shop. Here you will find resources, amenities, and luxuries to help ease the minds of those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. I have to say, the more I discover about Eugene and Lane County in general, the more I want to stay. I have not been to a city where people care more about the well being of their fellow citizens. Before I moved here, I couldn't name one human services organization in my hometown. I may be severely uninformed, but I had lived there for eleven years. It really makes me wonder. Anyway, cheers Eugene, keep up the good work!

Did You Know?

-March is  Brain Injury Awareness Month. 

-Each year, 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. Of these, 1.1 million are treated and released from ERs, 235,00o are hospitalized, and 50,000 die from their injuries. (Source: Centers for Disease Control). 

-Brain injury can be caused by any number of traumatic incidents that affect a person's brain. Some causes include airway obstruction, electric shock, direct trauma to the head (e.g. sports injuries or bicycle accidents), heart attack, stroke, and toxic exposures. No two brain injuries are exactly alike.

-Wear your helmet: something as simple as proper use of a bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of brain injury by as much as 88%. (Source: Palo Alto Medical Foundation)