Day 309 - Cold and Flu Medicine to the Shelter

So since November is Homelessness Awareness Month I am going to try and get quite a few acts in to support those working with the homeless or those trying to bring awareness to this epidemic. 

Some fast facts about homelessness:

• Families comprise nearly 40% of all who are homeless.
• According to the US Conference of Mayors report, Family homelessness increased by 9%.
• 68% of the cities reporting in the Mayor's Report, had to turn away homeless families with children because of a lack of available shelter beds.
• Among families who are homeless with children, the majority cited loss of a job as the cause, followed by the lack of affordable housing, poverty, low-paying jobs and domestic violence.
• 42% of homeless children are under the age of 6.
• A child is born into poverty every 33 seconds.
• Families with children comprise one of the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population today.
• More than 15% of Americans live in poverty, including one in five children (22%), the highest rate in the industrialized world.
• Almost 60% of Americans will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75.
• There is no city or county anywhere in the United States where a worker making the minimum wage can afford a fair market rate one-bedroom apartment.
• The cost of rent and utilities for a typical two-bedroom apartment increased 41% from 2000 to 2009.
• 2 million additional American children will fall victim to the foreclosure crisis over the next two years.

It is definitely a problem in our country and one we all need to stand up for and bring awareness to.  Things need to change.

So today I went to The Samaritan's Inn's Needs List, a comprehensive residential program for the homeless in our community, and one of the top 3 was cold and flu medicine. For our random act of kindness the girls and I headed to Dollar Tree grabbed up all the cold and flu medicine they had and drove it over to the Inn.  Hoping this helps with a few coughs and sniffles this winter. 

Day 309 - Cold and flu medicine for The Inn