With cold weather making its way in you'll likely be turning your thermostat up in the next couple days. But for hundreds who are homeless in the Fox Cities, they'll be forced to fight those bone chilling temps.
Over 300 people in the Fox Cities are considered homeless. But even more poignant than that number is what a recent survey found out about those people often overlooked.
After asking over 600 homeless or nearly homeless people what happened to bring them to their current state, the Fox Cities Housing Coalition found out more than they ever imagined.
"For a lot of people this is a pretty repeatable occurrence for them," says Joe Mauthe the President of the Fox Cities Housing Authority.
"For many of these people there is abuse and trauma that they haven't even talked about with family members or counselors," adds Lindsay Fenlon the Development Director at the Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities.
Just over 40 percent of the homeless in the Fox Cities admit to having emotional and mental health problems.
"We saw significant diagnosed mental illness, five to six times the average of the population," says Mauthe.
Another 26 percent surveyed said they had at one point attempted suicide.
"The national average is three to four percent," says Fenlon.
And on top of those numbers 40 percent of women surveyed said they engaged in sexual acts for shelter, clothing or food.
"When you look at everything together you don't see someone who's choosing homelessness, or someone who's an addict or mentally unstable. You see someone who's balancing this massive load of traumatic experiences," adds Fenlon.
So as it gets cold and you start to hear about the underlying concerns of homelessness in our community. Now you know some of the back story of how the situation all too often plays out.
It's no secret that donations and volunteer hours die down after Christmas. If you want to make a difference in your community go to your local shelter to find out how you can help.
You can also check out the link below for resources that are available in the Fox Cities for those dealing with homelessness or nearly dealing with homelessness.
