Tanking Economy Is Changing The Face of Homelessness

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By Holly Zuluaga

Summary

TRI-CITIES--The effects of the recession may have taken awhile to hit the Tri-Cities, but lost jobs and foreclosed homes are all part of the trickle down effect.

Story Published: Jan 28, 2009 at 7:08 PM PST

TRI-CITIES--The effects of the recession may have taken awhile to hit the Tri-Cities, but lost jobs and foreclosed homes are all part of the trickle down effect.

"One thing I really anticipate is the face of homelessness is changing," Debra Biondolillo said.

It's a domino effect that took a while to hit our region, but as people continue to lose their jobs, and lose their homes, sometimes there is no where else to go.

"As the economy gets worse we're going to see a lot of people who have never been homeless before in their whole lives...facing that," Biondolillo said.

The local Community Action Committee says they're seeing more people drop by in need of help, showing up in the food bank. That's usually the first sign they'll be on the street soon.

They'll count the number of homeless on Wednesday, but they need a solution for the future.

"This type of shelter works perfectly for homeless setting or if you're looking at men and women in transition, we want to get folks off the street and into a stable setting and help get their lives turned back around," Claude Oliver said.

These domes can be be put together in 2 hours, and can provide temporary or long term shelter, it's been used in other places, and it's something the group says they're considering.

"When you have increased demand and you're also getting a decrease in funding it's a scary situation," Cricket Cordova said.

The group tells me these tough times aren't just sending people to the street, fewer people are also donating to these services.

"It becomes a trickle down effect," Cordova said.

Last year's numbers were down for the yearly homeless count, but they don't expect the same good fortune this year.