On any given night there are roughly 553,000 people experiencing homelessness in the U.S.
Every year it is estimated that 13,000 people die of homeless related causes from bias related crimes of violence to chronic illness and exposure.
The United States is the wealthiest country in the world with a surplus of high quality supplies and clothing, yet we have a growing homeless crisis on our hands amongst all ages and ethnicities, from babies to the elderly are dying. What is happening here?
Since our conception, we have found the homeless population is not getting enough compassion, resources and supplies they need. And the general public is not getting the information they need to significantly help.
Since the beginning of Spread the Love, we have been constantly confronted by the fact that most of our potential supporters don’t understand the biggest factors that contribute to homelessness, or who the homeless even are. To be honest, we learn something new almost every day about this crisis. The first step is to share with you the most eye-opening things we’ve learned about this modern day crisis and the people that have been affected.
Why do we have a homeless crisis in the U.S.?
Although often cited, addiction and mental illness are not the top 3 biggest factors of homelessness. The most common factors are actually ones that many of us face, multiple times, in our lifetime.
These are the top 5 reasons
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Lack of affordable housing
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Lack of a living wage
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A tragic life event
death in the family, loss of a job, natural or manmade disaster, domestic violence
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A major illness or accident
mental or physical
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Substance abuse
We believe by implementing and sharing this simple three pronged approach, we can help heal the crisis from the inside out. Spreading love by initiating grassroots connections within the communities we visit, directly delivering critical supplies and gathering the information communities need. Our goal is to remove any unnecessary obstacles to find better, more sustainable and compassionate ways to end this crisis once and for all.