Rise of homeless families

How close is your family to being on the street? Nearly ½ of US families live check to check & an unforeseen crisis could mean homelessness. Families now account for 41% of the homeless. Obama has vowed to end homelessness by 2020. But with funding cuts forcing shelters to close, limited affordable housing & laws penalizing the homeless is it just talk? Has the helping hand turned into a fist? We discuss at 7:30pmET.

On this episode of The Stream, we'll speak to: 

Dona Anderson @ICPH_homeless
Director, Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness (ICPH)
icphusa.org

Richard Cho @Richard_S_Cho
Policy Director, US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)
usich.gov

Mark Horvath @invisiblepeople
Founder, Invisible People
invisiblepeople.tv

Wendy Alexander
Working mother of 3 from Oregon

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

More than 600,000 Americans are homeless on any given night. Although that number represents an overall decline, the subset of homeless families is on the rise. In a 2012 report, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that there are "239,403 people who were homeless in families." The large number puts pressure on the shelters employed to house the homeless.