Breaking stereotypes

This is a nice piece of reporting by Blake. Not so much for its depth or anything, but because it underlines one major point which rebukes much of the criticism that comes across the Athens Banner-Herald editorial pages pretty frequently ... and that's by showing that the homeless people living Athens-Clarke County are ones who actually have jobs.

The results of the study defy the stereotype of a homeless person as a downtown panhandler or someone from out of town who was drawn to Athens by its social services, (Evan) Mills said.

Instead, the typical homeless person is more likely to be an Athenian, indistinguishable from a non-homeless person, holding a minimum-wage job changing oil or working in fast-food restaurants that don't pay enough to afford housing, he said. At night, they sleep under a bridge or in another dangerous place, he said.

"Three out of four homeless folks you see have some source income, yet remain homeless," he said.

I bring this up for some partially shameless solicitation, but solicitation that goes to a pretty good cause. As folks here probably know, I'm the vice president of the board of directors for the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, which is a group of more than 15 area congregations that work together to assist homeless families in the area.

We need to take in around $7,500 a month to help meet our costs, and February closed with us taking in less than $3,000. So, as I'm heading over there this morning to drop off a check, I'd like to encourage you folks to do the same (or if you're uncomfortable with my shameless solicitation, check out the links on the right for an organization that helps out).

If you can give, give what you can.