Editor:
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week occurs Nov. 17 through Nov. 23. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Eureka City Council and Arcata City Council all passed proclamations recognizing the importance of dealing with this most challenging issue (“‘The Gift of Community,'” Nov. 14). Members of Food for People, Arcata House Partnership, Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives (AHHA) and Uplift Eureka formed a coalition to honor all organizations that provide services for hunger and homelessness. The organizations gave a brief presentation on their services discussing their mission, history and statistics to provide insight to our local leaders.
Hunger and homelessness impacts people from all walks of life, including individuals, families with children, employed and unemployed workers, elderly residents, veterans, disabled individuals and youth. Thirty-one percent of adults experience food insecurity while 37 percent of households with children experience food insecurity.
While homelessness creates barriers to accessing essential services such as housing, healthcare, childcare and education, the cost of these necessities contributes to hunger, food insecurity and people experiencing homelessness on any given night.
The aim of the coalition is to eradicate homelessness by 1) solving the root causes of it, 2) educating the public about the many reasons people are hungry and homeless including the shortage of affordable housing for low-income residents, and 3) encouraging support for the organizations committed to sheltering, providing support services as wells as meals, food supplies, clothing and hygiene products to the homeless and hungry.
While progress has been made on dealing with hunger and homelessness, there is still a huge need to obtain the necessary resources for solutions. The coalition advocates for the public to make donations to the organization of their choice. The donations support the dedication and hard work of the organizations working to make a difference to the well-being of our community.
Winchell Dillenbeck, McKinleyville
This article appears in Bitten.