Hi everyone. We are going to start updating this site every time that we do a handout.

September saw another wonderful distribution event. We handed out 36 backpacks, a few hundred pairs of socks, 50 or so sets of toothpaste and toothbrushes, and a similar number of small flashlights. Three volunteers showed up at the event. Weather was lovely, the people were all cheerful, and we got to help some people out. Couldn’t imagine a better time. 

In a not-so-joyful season

Unfortunately, this comes at a difficult time for those in need in the Washington, DC area. Good news earlier in the year, of a nearly 10% decrease in the homeless population in DC, brought about by reasonable, kind, and helpful policies, have been overshadowed by efforts in the city to forcefully clear encampments of people without permanent homes. Demand for help in our community, needless to say, is still high.

As is the threat to freedom of thought. Religious liberty, including the freedom to not be religious, is at risk. AHHDC, as one of its core values, opposes any efforts to force belief, including superficial belief represented by participation in rituals or prayer, in the supernatural on anyone, and will not waver in this position. We hope anyone who reads this who thinks the same knows that they are not alone. Take care everyone and enjoy the rest of your September. 

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Homelessness increased overall by 12% from 2022 to 2023.

46% of older adults experiencing homelessness (age 55 and over) live unsheltered.

Asian/Asian American homelessness increased by 40% between 2022 and 2023.

From EndHomeless.Org

The post HUD Releases 2023 AHAR Data first appeared on Atheists Helping the Homeless DC, Secular Charity.

Buy food or pay bills; that’s a question that many families in America grapple with regularly. When you hear the word food insecurity who immediately comes to your mind?

For a long time, hunger has been associated with extreme poverty and the homeless. However, a growing lack of consistent access to nutritious meals has everyone talking because it affects more than people experiencing homelessness.

Poverty and malnutrition form a vicious cycle. One that becomes intergenerational and directly affects a person’s ability to succeed in school and find employment. All of which increases the likelihood that an individual will experience homelessness.

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Nextdoor.com is a wonderful resource always helping us to help people experiencing homelessness, and people from that community continue to donate clothing. Nexdoor.com is much appreciated and much needed.

Our Community Donations Coordinator, Rima Banerjee, makes miracles happen because she always collects for us. For more than a few months, she was responsible for more than half, or nearly all, of our donated clothing.

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Affective disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders are among the most common types of mental illness in the homeless population.

Most researchers agree that the connection between homelessness and mental illness is a complicated, two-way relationship. An individual’s mental illness may lead to cognitive and behavioral problems that make it difficult to earn a stable income or to carry out daily activities in ways that encourage stable housing. Several studies have shown, however, that individuals with mental illnesses often find themselves homeless primarily as the result of poverty and a lack of low-income housing. The combination of mental illness and homelessness also can lead to other factors such as increased levels of alcohol and drug abuse and violent victimization that reinforce the connection between health and homelessness.

Studies do show that homelessness can be a traumatic event that influences a person’s symptoms of mental illness. Having ever been homeless and the time spent homeless can be related to higher levels of psychiatric distress, higher levels of alcohol use and lower levels of perceived recovery in people with previous mental illness.

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The post Prevalence of Mental Illness among People Experiencing Homelessness first appeared on Atheists Helping the Homeless DC, Secular Charity.

We found that families experiencing homelessness tend to have poor diets, lacking healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, but high in intake of unhealthy sugars and fats. Barriers to healthy eating included lack of access to cooking and storage resources in the shelter environment, the high cost of healthy foods, and little access to healthy eating options. Interventions to address dietary inadequacies were limited to nutrition education programs, and did not show any significant change in eating behaviors. With the recent increase in family homelessness in several states, namely in the sheltered homeless family population, we propose a need for greater research and interventions that address structural barriers to healthy eating for this underserved population.

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The post Dietary Inadequacies Among US Homeless Families first appeared on Atheists Helping the Homeless DC, Secular Charity.

Facing food insecurity impacts our mental and physical health. One study shows that mothers of school-aged children facing hunger are 56% more likely to face PTSD and 53% more likely to face severe depression. There is a strong relationship between hunger and chronic diseases. Food insecurity also changes the way we think and plan. It diminishes our cognitive ability, and food insecurity in youth might even have negative long-term cognitive effects into adulthood.

The mental and physical health struggles faced by many homeless are even more insidious and the results even more dramatic. Becoming homeless can lead to a serious loss of self-esteem, fear of or actually becoming institutionalized, increase in substance misuse, loss of ability and will to care for oneself, increased danger of abuse and violence, increased chance of entering the criminal justice system, and development of behavioral problems. Homelessness can also lead to cold injury or heat stroke, cardio-respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, skin diseases, nutritional deficiencies, sleep deprivation, new or exacerbated mental Illness, risk for physical and sexual assault, drug dependency and related illnesses, and death.

The causes of food insecurity and homelessness are complex. Without addressing the emergency need for food, shelter, and care coordination, the problems only spiral and become worse.

More Reading: Hunger and Homelessness Week

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Police often are the first (and sometimes the only) point of government contact for persons experiencing homelessness (PEH). Although it has been common for police to rely on traditional law enforcement powers in dealing with homelessness, many agencies have moved away from arrest-focused methods in favor of approaches that are designed to foster positive relationships with PEH, assess individual needs of each person or area, and guide homeless or unsheltered individuals to the services they require.

Police often have limited response options beyond taking people to jail or a hospital. Without the necessary systems to remedy the underlying causes of these frequently co-occurring issues, PEH often cycle in and out of the criminal justice system. Even when resources are available, those in need might consistently decline services.

Data gathered using a comprehensive research agenda would inform new programs, and ongoing data analysis would help define the nature of homelessness in each jurisdiction, inform solutions to fill gaps or needs left unaddressed by existing responses, and evaluate whether new approaches achieve intended outcomes.

Photo by Marc A Hermann

More Reading: The Law Enforcement Response to Homelessness

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Five Below

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