No one should be sick, poor, alone and hungry. That’s what we believe at Moveable Feast, and why, beyond delivering food to people’s homes, we also provide meals for homeless men and women through a number of Baltimore City shelter services, including Jobs Housing Recovery as well as Code Blue Shelter.
Late last week, Morgan State released their 2011 Homeless Point In Time Census Report, and the results are disturbing. At any point in time, there are 4,088 individuals considered homeless in Baltimore, a 19.6% increase from their last census in 2009. Chronic disease was cited as one of the top three health concerns that impact the homeless population, and the study noted that, overall, “rates of HIV among the homeless are at least three times higher compared to the general population.” Even as homeless individuals experienced increased health issues, relatively few of them reported receiving treatment, including only 3.9% of those struggling with HIV/AIDS.
Those numbers—the thousands of men, women and children without a home and battling illness--- are hard to completely comprehend. The sad fact of a growing homeless population in Baltimore, however, makes the work we do --- putting nourishing food on the table for those who still have homes and those struggling to regain housing--- even more important.
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