Homeless and Afraid in California, Can the rising tide of homelessness be stopped?

The economic tide here in Fresno, California has quite literally slowed to a crawl. With a simple stroll down any of Fresnos' main thouroufairs the closed stores are an obvious new edition to an already economically poor area. As the businesses fade from our midst, so to do many jobs and the general lively hood of the Americans that reside here. The level of homeless citizens has risen so much that local authorities have had to roust homeless individuals from local parks, the courthouse steps and bus benches daily. The homeless children feel it the hardest though. I recently spoke with a homeless family. The Archers, Kay (57), her daughters Keisha (30) and Shauna (28) plus Shauna's 3 children, Paige (5), Hunter (3) and Anthony (1). The Archers have been homeless for over 2 years and are now living in a motel. With the economy in it's current state Shauna has been unsuccessful in finding employment and the family has been forced to make it off of Keisha's meager income and Shauna's aid benefits. They were kicked out of there newly rented home in july 2007 when both Keisha and a pregnant Shauna were laid off and they couldn't find jobs. The family was forced to camp out for 6 months until Keisha found employment, but now due to an eviction this family cannot even rent an apartment. they are forced to pay the decimating 1,300 for their hotel stay. Which leaves little money left over for basic necessities let alone school clothes for Paige and Hunter or Diapers for Anthony. There will be no thanksgiving dinner for the Archers this year and no Christmas presents for Paige, Hunter or Anthony, the Archer children told me that they just feel fortunate to be warm and fed. The Archers story is just one of the many that I have come across researching this article and the amount of homelessness is a devastating blow in a country that had been prospering and was acclaimed for it's ability to keep it's citizens happy and safe. So one must question if our Government can ever turn this tide of Homelessness around or will it be left up to us to step up to the plate and put our money where our hearts should be. With our Homeless people who need it the most.