Homeless youth & families are everywhere in Minnesota
This column originally appeared in the Morrison County Record and other APG of East Central Minnesota newspapers, during December, 2019
There was something wrong.
Several of us were eating dinner at a Culver’s restaurant in St. Paul on Nov. 21 when we noticed a family of four: two small children, a mom and dad. They were very upset. Over the next five hours, we tried and ultimately were able to help this family, who had no place to call home.
(The rest of the column appears here)
December 15, 2019 @ 10:52 am
It’s an embarrassment that the richest nation has homeless sleeping without a home particularly during a MN winter. Good for Joe Nathan and family for persisting with the bureaucracy in finding a place for the family. We need statutory authority and funding for basic needs like shelter, food and medical care for all. Remember, “There, but for the grace of God, go I”
December 15, 2019 @ 11:39 am
It is also an embarrassment that Minnesota has many social and human services, foundations and individual philanthropists what should be more successful addressing homelessness within our state. Hats off to Joe Nathan and his family for caring so much about another family in need.
December 15, 2019 @ 11:49 am
Joe Nathan’s story is a modern day version of Charles Dicken’s tale, “A Christmas Carol.”
Joe and JoAnn fed the hungry and housed the homeless with their own money, . They then looked to government resources for tmore help.
Dr. Jennings is right about the need for more “funding for basic needs” of those in need.
While government does what it can to help those in need, it often comes with a high overhead, especially since the tax law changed for charitable deeductions. So, fewer donations are being made.
It’s time we step forward like Joe and JoAnn did. Or, just put some money in the red kettles.
We need to find a way for homeless fathers and mothers to improve their skills and find a better job, one that will cover the family’s basic needs. That’s a holiday gift that keeps on giving.
December 15, 2019 @ 11:53 am
The need is great! I cannot image how it would feel to live on the streets , especially with my family of little ones! We need strong steps to help people! They are in the shadow of our steeples and yet we pretend they are invisible.
December 15, 2019 @ 4:34 pm
Joe, Again you have hit on a persistent and growing problem. Over 20 years ago, we wrote a federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth grant for our district (the eight largest in Wisconsin.) Our pupil services director claimed we had less than 20 homeless children in the district, our first year of the grant, we served over 130 homeless children. The numbers have only continued to grow. Services are frequently not sufficient to meet the need. Most of the parents of the children we served worked, often several jobs. Many of the families ended up homeless because of medical bills or job loss. This is a problem that needs government intervention along with non-profit, businesses and individuals helping. If the predictions of the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the job market are true, the problem will escalate even faster than it has in the past.
Count me in for any initiatives in Wisconsin and/or Minnesota to address this problem.