"...plans for construction of 200 affordable-housing units a year through 2015 have been whittled down each year..."

I'm always proud as hell when I see folks I know from the street doing something to smash the stereotypical image of the those who are homeless. My friend Patty, the author of the piece here, would blow you away with her erudite manner, her style, grace and composure. Trust me, if you were to meet Patty on the street, you'd never ever guess that she was homeless. She's spot on here, by the way, and it's hardly worth quibbling over the discrepancy in pay numbers that day laborers make - it's actually a little higher for an 8 hour day but after the company takes out their "transportation" fees and their "equipment rental" fees charged to the worker, the person is left with an amount insufficient to ever get off the street. Hell, the worker is lucky if he/she can find a room and a dinner to keep them going until the next day. The first day that said worker isn't "picked" to go out, he/she will have to make do with the concrete slab under the nearest viaduct until the next morning, when they can try again. I posted Larry's story here before but with Patty's piece addressing the issues, it seem right to run him again, and it might also be appropriate to clarify something else Patty mentioned in her piece. When she was talking about the84 housing units actually built, it's important to recognize that none of them came in the last year. Nashville built 0 -ZERO - affordable housing units last year, and while our "homeless count" showed a slight, paltry two percent increase, I can assure you that the actual number is far, far higher, and growing by the day.

JOHN PARTIPILO / THE TENNESSEAN

On a cold March morning, homeless men "Cowboy" and Roger huddle around a trash-can fire at their campsite under an Interstate 40 bridge near the Cumberland River.

Fair wage would keep many off streets

By PATRICIA BRYANT • April 11, 2008

Homelessness is increasing and will continue to increase until a day's pay can pay for three days in a home. If you are homeless and work day labor, you often make $25 at the end of the day with a cost of $30 to stay in a motel for a night.

We have a friend in the Power Project who is available to work full-time, six days a week, and often does so through a day-labor agency. She shows up to work at 8 a.m. and works until 5 or 6 p.m. every day, but at lunch, they often ask her to take an extra two to four unpaid hours before she comes back and before she completes her $6.50 hourly wage day

But the bad news came in double: Dean's proposal, as spelled out in his 2008-09 budget, is by no means assured of passage by Metro Council in a tight fiscal year. And worse, the city's homeless population is growing.

The latest count, conducted by the Metro Development and Housing Authority, found that Nashville's homeless population grew by 2 percent, to 2,227, between January 2007 and January 2008. And some local social-service groups say the actual total is much higher, because many homeless are not counted when they occasionally stay with friends or relatives. A low headcount cuts into the amount of federal funds for homelessness that Nashville can receive.

Another sign of increase: Cliff Tredway with the Nashville Rescue Mission recently told The Tennessean the mission served 548,000 meals in the past year, 30,000 more than the previous year.

Dean and his predecessor, Bill Purcell, have shown willingness to tackle homelessness. But Purcell's plans for construction of 200 affordable-housing units a year through 2015 have been whittled down each year, and at last count only 84 units had been built. With only 1,097 total beds in emergency shelters citywide, that suggests hundreds are sleeping unwillingly on the streets.

The signs that the homeless population is on the rise are especially troubling, and deflate the contention of some naysayers that people are homeless only because they don't want to work, have mental illness or are addicted to drugs or alcohol. There are many diverse reasons for homelessness.

The latest culprits are the downturn in the economy and, in Tennessee, wages that run lower than the national average. More and more, the people who frequent emergency shelters have jobs, but have lost their homes or cannot afford to rent.

Another sign of the changing face of homelessness: Rachel Hester of the nonprofit Campus for Human Development says they have seen the percentage of women and children among the homeless double to 20 percent in the past year.

This is also a national trend. Separate surveys in March by the National League of Cities and the National Coalition for the Homeless of city officials and service providers indicated that foreclosures were driving increases in homelessness.

All of this disturbing news presents a challenge for Nashville's elected officials, its nonprofit agencies and its citizens. Amid the impulse to cut back on services in hard times, we must not lose sight of people who are in circumstances they cannot get out of on their own.

To their credit, Metro Social Services connected more than 1,000 homeless with assistance organizations last year, but their resources are limited.

Thousands walk homeless among us who would benefit from donated job-training and placement programs, health-care screenings and a increased commitment to building affordable housing. This city, with its array of private companies, nonprofit institutions, and generous individuals, is capable of so much more.