The journey to end homelessness, one family at a time....

The National Center on Family Homelessness released a report that estimates that one in every 50 American children was homeless between 2005 and 2006. That totals roughly 1.5 million kids. Locally, Chicago public school officials report the number of its 405,000 students deemed homeless soared to 11,143 in February 2009 from 9,182 in February 2006.

The Chicago Alliance released a report: “Homeless Over 50: The Graying of Chicago’s Homeless Population.” This first-ever report finds that homelessness is a growing problem for Chicago-area seniors and reveals that many people are homeless for the first time in middle age; and homelessness amongst those 50 years and older is up 26 percent in the last five years.

Nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and twice as many experience homelessness during a year. The number of homeless Vietnam veterans now is greater than the number who died during that war. Some veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are homeless.