Who Are the Homeless
Who are the Homeless?
Posted by Dennis Henry on 01/16/2004
We see them sleeping on sidewalks and under cardboard boxes, holding up signs begging for money an living underneath freeway bridges and overpasses. How did they become homeless and what happens to them now?
Each homeless person is an individual with unique feelings, thoughts, and experiences. The homeless have mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends...even children.
Their lives are as varied and different as are those of everyone else in this world. They could be your closest relative or former next-door neighbor. They could be you.
Some homeless men and women have had devastating childhoods filled with the horrors of physical and sexual assault. Many struggle with alcohol abuse and violent crime. Others simply have had financial misfortunes that ultimately forced them out of their homes.
Not everyone is able to cast off the weight of horrible memories or financial deals gone sour. Many also struggle with mental illness, learning disorders and physical handicaps.
Life on the streets exposes some to new horrors and causes other to relive the fears and experiences of their childhood years.
That is, unless they are among the lucky ones who find their way to shelters such as St. Vincent's Cardinal Manning Center on Skid Row in Los Angeles. Beginning Dec. 1, we also have an Emergency Winter Shelter component that serves the homeless in Venturaand Oxnard.
The Ventura program is able to accommodate 150 homeless from Dec. 1 to March 31 annually, operating primarily on governmental funding. Generally, the Ventura program rotates locations each year between the National Guard Armory in Ventura, and the National Guard Armory in Oxnard.
St. Vincent's presence on Skid Row in Los Angeles has provided one of the area's few oases. Free shelter, food, clothing, counseling and social services provide the homeless of Los Angeles with assistance, something that the Center has offered since 1955.
Located at 231 Winston Street in a converted dairy-processing plant, St. Vincent's offers needy people a wide rangeof quality services designed to preserve and enhance their dignity and self worth while helping them become physically, emotionally and economically better adjusted.
At the heart of the Los Angeles programs and services is a team of dedicated staff members and volunteers, each of whom is deeply committed to serving and caring for fellow human beings with empathy and understanding.
The flame of hope burns brightly at St. Vincent's CardinalManningCenter. The flame is fueled by an endless supply of caring, understanding and love.
As with all assistance offered by the Society, services are available regardless of race, religion, gender-preference or age. Those who avail themselves of any of these services are not required to participate in religious, fraternal or treatment services or programs.
Send e-mail to St. Vincent's CardinalManningCenter at: