Rostin Ventures, Social Media Outreach & The National Coalition for the Homeless – Raising Awareness of an Escalating Problem

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It’s a sad fact in the U.S. – there are more homeless people than shelter beds.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently surveyed 23 major cities and found that in more than half of the cities homeless shelters had to turn away those in need simply because they didn’t have any vacancy.
Even more disturbingly, 10 of the 23 cities had noticed an increase in the number of homeless children coming to shelters, a terrifying trend since children under the age of 18 already comprise 39% of the homeless population.
Statistics such as these have prompted Rostin Ventures and Social Media Outreach to pledge support to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
The National Coalition for the Homeless was created in 1981 to help end homelessness by meeting the immediate needs of the homeless population while protecting their civil rights. The organization believes societal attitudes and public policy must change in order to end homelessness.
To bring about changes, the coalition uses public education, policy advocacy and grassroots campaigns to help the homeless find a place to live, acquire a job, receive health care and maintain their civil rights.
To help empower the homeless, the National Coalition for the Homeless believes that the homeless and ex-homeless should play an active role in their mission to reshape public policy. The coalition sponsors educational projects, special campaigns and annual events that promote the rights of the homeless.
Some of the largest educational programs the coalition supports are the Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau, hate crime and violence prevention programs, the “You Don’t Need a Home to Vote” campaign and the National Homeless Persons Memorial Day. The Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau allows people who have been homeless to educate the public about ending homelessness. The bureau empowers the speakers by allowing them to share their stories while personalizing the problem for audience members.
The National Coalition for the Homeless runs several hate crime and violence prevention programs. Between 1999-2010, the most comprehensive survey of violence against the homeless reported 1,184 attacks, of which 312 were murders. Passing public policy measures that would prevent these senseless hate crimes is one of the coalition’s top priorities.
The “You Don’t Need a Home to Vote” campaign has encouraged thousands of homeless individuals to register to vote. The campaign also spreads awareness of where individual politicians stand on issues related to homelessness such as welfare, Section 8 housing, raising the minimum wage, etc.
The National Homeless Personals Memorial Day honors those who have suffered the ultimate consequence of homelessness – the loss of their lives. More than any other, this program reminds people why it’s necessary to end homelessness.
To do your part to help end homelessness, consider donating or volunteering with the National Coalition for Homelessness.
To help Rostin Ventures and Social Media Outreach raise awareness for the National Coalition for Homelessness, share this article of Facebook, Twitter or Google+.