Cheyenne Struggles With Homelessness
Homelessness may be down across the nation, but it remains a problem in the Cowboy State and its capital city.
According to the 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness declined by 2 percent between 2014 and 2015 and by 11 percent since 2007.
"I see that in some of the methods that the statistics are being collected, not every level of homelessness is necessarily included in that," said Rachel Bennett, Volunteer Director for the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless. "For some younger adults that are living at their friend's house, they're homeless, they don't have their own place to live."
While the national trends are encouraging, Bennett says they don't mirror the situation here.
"The problem is actually increasing from our perspective," said Bennett. "As only a day shelter, we see it continuously rise almost 500 people every year. We're seeing a lot more need and a lot more families in need with younger children in need than we have before."
Bennett says, "Homelessness is a problem that all of us can help eradicate."
She encourages those wanting to help to contact Family Promise, the COMEA House or Community Action of Laramie County.
"I think those are three great places to start," said Bennett. "It doesn't have to be a lot of money or a lot of time or a lot of anything, every little bit collects together to help."