FIRES CAUSE HOMELESSNESS

Put aside your false beliefs as to who is homeless. These people are homeless and they did nothing to put themselves in this situation. Thankfully there are agencies and kindly people to help them.

A Philadelphia grandmother went to bed feeling secure in her third-floor apartment when she was awakened by smoke. She was babysitting a 10-month-old child, a ten-year-old boy, and their 18-year old sister. The father was not home at the time. Some young men saw the smoke and rushed to help. They brought the family out safely but the home was destroyed. The Red Cross put them up temporarily.

In Pennsylvania, another family lost their home to fire. The fire broke out at 6:30 a.m. in a town near Hersey. Ironically it was a Red Cross volunteer Jim Forgar and his wife who were staying at his sister-in-law's home when they awoke to find the house filled with smoke. These Red Cross workers are usually the ones helping other families. Nearly every rescue worker on the scene knew them. It was a heart breaking site to see the house engulfed in flames, but worse was the death of 4-year-old Billy who didn't make it out. The family had insurance on their home so their days of homelessness will end when their new home is built, but they had no insurance on the contents. The Red Cross is collecting donations of goods. 231-796-6562.

These families will receive help, but in the meantime they are homeless. The Red Cross only provides limited, temporary aid by putting people in a motel. After a few days if the family can't find someone to stay with they are moved to a family shelter. Their lives are disrupted.

How much worse is it for children who are homeless and have no family to help them? There is a group in New York called HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS. They are dedicated to reducing homelessness and educating families to build independent lives. They currently serve 540 families in home-like shelters. "The American Family Inns are more than just shelters: they are residential education and employment training centers designed to strengthen and preserve families. Homes for the Homeless is the largest single operator of such facilities in the nation."

They have been successful in education and training. Of the thousands of people they have helped in the past fifteen years 94% have remained in their permanent housing.

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