Aaron Couch does a bang-up job reporting on the dramatic increase in Philadelphia’s homeless population (http://phillyimc.org/en/2007/10/42620.shtml). Citing a recent census by the city’s outreach teams, Couch reports that this past summer, the city counted at least 621 people on our streets, the highest number in a decade and more than double four years ago. The study also says the city lacks at least 60,000 units of affordable housing.

As we know, the Affordable Housing Trust was established in 2005, after a significant Council fight, for a mere $15 million. Community advocates had fought for far more dollars, pointing to other cities like Chicago which had put forward tens of millions of dollars toward similar efforts.

I am ashamed to say that this issue didn’t become truly personal to me until last winter when it happened to one of my daughter’s elementary school classmates. The thought of a family we knew with young children being out on the street or fighting it out in one of the city shelters (which were fully booked at the time anyway) was deeply frightening and disempowering.

The answers, like so many, are not so much a visionary hurdle as they are a matter of will. Couch shows that the people most deeply impacted are clearly aware of what solutions are necessary: housing, transition programs, and investment in medical and institutional help for those suffering from addiction or mental health problems.