Recently the Los Angeles Times reported that the number of homeless people in the United States has decreased in recent years. While this is terrific news, the Omidi brothers will continue their fight against poverty both here and around the world.
No More Poverty co-founders Michael Omidi, MD and his brother Julian Omidi are both enthused and encouraged by
recent news stemming from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), confirming that homelessnesshas dropped by 5.7 percent since 2007.
“We are thrilled to see progress in the eradication of homelessness in the United States,” said Julian Omidi. “However, there is still work to be done. The goal, which can never change, is to make sure that every man, woman and child in this country and abroad has a home to go to. No More Poverty is a tireless advocate for the homeless and we will continue to work on behalf of that underserved population until the fight against poverty is won.”
“The current administration has set a goal: to eliminatehomelessness in Americaby the year 2020,” said Michael Omidi, MD. “My brother and I, along with everyone in the No More Poverty organization, are 100% behind that goal and we will dedicate as many of our resources as possible to making homelessness a thing of the past.”
There has been a significant drop in chronic homelessness in the past three years, the HUD report said. The chronic homeless population decreased 6.8 percent since 2011. Since 2007, the number of chronically homeless dropped 19 percent. The Department of Veterans Affairs is also reporting that the veteran homeless rate dropped 7 percent in 2011 alone, and has decreased 17 percent since 2009. The White House has set a goal to eliminate veteran homelessness by 2015.
Chronic homelessness is characterized by the failure of a person to house him or herself for a period of more than one year, or if a disabled person experiences four or more instances of homelessness over a period of three years.
Shaun Donovan, the Housing and Urban Development secretary said the news came as a bit of a surprise, considering the severity of the current economic downturn which is the worst since the Great Depression. The HUD press release for the announcement is at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2012/HUDNo.12-191. It also contains a link to the full report.
“Any reduction in the homeless rate is good news,” said Dr. Omidi. “Nonetheless, an indication that homelessness is on the decline shouldn’t dilute our efforts, or make us less vigilant.”
No More Poverty (http://www.nmp.org) is a not-for-profit charity organization with a pending 501(c)3 application founded by brothers Michael Omidi, M.D. and Julian Omidi. The organization seeks to end poverty at home and abroad by supporting the efforts of like-minded charities and agencies. Current efforts are focused on increasing awareness of and donations to charities already doing great work to address poverty and its staggering effects throughout the world. The plan is to expand our activities to include fostering business development and job creation in disenfranchised areas.
Join us in the fight for No More Poverty. Suggestions for worthy partners in the fight for No More Poverty are welcome. No More Poverty does not accept monetary support, but instead encourages direct donations to the charities featured on the No More Poverty website. For more information, please visit http://www.facebook/nmp.org or http://www.nmp.org.
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Source: Yahoo News HUD Reports a Decline in Homelessness in Recent Years: No More Poverty Vows to Work until All Have Homes