The Crisis Continues

Our community has been through a lot the last couple of years.  County government has faced budget shortfalls that have affected social services, schools, and libraries, to name a few.  Businesses, large and small, have struggled through a sluggish economy and the housing market is in its worst shape since the Great Depression.  Our most vulnerable citizens have struggled too.  Homelessness reached a critical state in Charlotte a couple of years ago and the numbers of homeless citizens remains high and growing.  The Men's Shelter has averaged as many men in our two shelters each night this summer as we did during the worst nights of last winter.  I have a son attending CMS in the second grade and funding our school system is important to me.  I was once a school teacher and applaud the efforts starting to surface in our community to financially support education.  I just hope, for the sake of the 500+ homeless men the Men's Shelter serves each night and the 6,000+ homeless citizens in our community, that the efforts to support critical needs and emergency shelter over the past two years are not forgotten as other important issues are tackled.  Having a roof over your head, even if its in a shelter, should be an absolute right for all of our citizens.