Poverty & Homelessness
Rates of poverty and homelessness continue to rise in the Boston area (and nationwide.)
For 25 years, the Women's Lunch Place has provided many of Boston's poor and homeless women with a safe refuge from the streets. WLP remains steadfast in its commitment to serving the needs of this population, even as rates of homelessness and poverty continue to rise.
Between 1995 and 2005, Boston's population of homeless women increased by 28%, with these numbers steadily rising each year.
The 2005 annual Homeless Census identified 1558 homeless women, up more than 200 from the previous year.
This increase may be attributed to a number of factors, including an effort by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to account for Boston's "hidden homeless," individuals who lack permanent housing but fail to meet the Commonwealth's eligibility requirements for financial assistance or other benefits. Additionally, an inflated rental market coupled with a decrease in the availability of federal and state housing subsidies has hindered many individuals' access to affordable housing. Massachusetts ranks as the second most expensive state in the nation for rental housing. Other causes of homelessness include poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, addiction, and mental and physical illness, to name a few.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence found that 92% of these women experience physical violence or sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Furthermore, those in the 18-to-44 age range have a death rate 10 times higher than women in the general population. Fortunately, research conducted by The McCormack Center at the University of Massachusetts in Boston indicates that women are more receptive to receiving help than their male counterparts. It is not only Boston's homeless who must struggle to meet their basic needs. Statewide budget cuts in 2002 sent many social-service programs into a tailspin.
Between 2002 and 2005, the city's hunger rate skyrocketed from 8% to 18%. Although the poverty rate in Massachusetts has hovered around 10% since the 2001 recession, the number of individuals without health insurance continues to rise each year, an indicator of the state's struggle for recovery.is this still the case given recent health care legislation?
Additionally, cuts to state-run substance abuse services have reduced residential detoxification services by 50%, and the closing of several HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C programs has limited many individuals' access to preventative and palliative care.
Research conducted by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center demonstrates that women of all ages are disproportionately affected by these cuts. Seventy-two percent of families living below the federal poverty line are headed by single mothers, which is of great detriment considering that they are among the fastest growing subpopulation of homeless persons.
Data collected by the Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency project (MassFESS) revealed that a woman in Boston with one pre-school and one school-age child would need to earn more than $51,000 to pay market rate for an apartment, child care, health care and other expenses. Yet, the average income of a woman living on welfare is $17,000.
Women also constitute 78% percent of elder home care patients, and they are also 65% of the state's Medicaid recipients. With no end in sight, these growing problems underscore the need for places like the Women's Lunch Place even more.