Summary: The Invisible Homeless Community

A issue commonly experienced by this particular community is the lack of resources and support for low income individuals and families.

The community in question consists of families living close to or below the poverty line, and many of these families are single parent households with multiple children in the home. The majority of the individuals within this community are minorities without a complete High School education and the unemployment rate is high. There is a large homeless population, as well as a significant invisible homeless population. The invisible homeless are those individuals and families that bounce around staying with friends or family members and in hotels but do not have a permanent residence or address. The crime rate within this community is high and so is the prevalence of substance abuse.

Formal childcare can be expensive and for many of the families within this community, out of the question. Parents rely on friends or family who happens to be close in proximity to care for the children during the days when they are at work or out looking for employment,

and while these two options may be the most convenient and least expensive, they can also be very unreliable. Many of the families within this community depend on government programs and services to help them purchase food, gain healthcare, etc. Even with this assistance, these families are still in need of help. While there are some community members who reliant on these programs for assistance, there are other community members who aren’t even aware these programs and services are available to them. Help is needed with affordable and reliable childcare, providing attention to the children’s educational needs, obtaining healthy foods and nutrition education, as well as receiving groceries and hot meals.
After an intervention is implemented there may be some barriers for the community. Transportation could be an issue for those who do not have a vehicle or the money for a bus pass. The intervention may have an age restriction, which would disallow some children or adults from being able to participate. Promoting the intervention could be a barrier. While promotion itself would not be a problem, getting the information to the right individuals could be. Some communities, especially low income communities do not have access to computers or the internet; some may not have televisions or even radios. Promoting the intervention would rely solely on word of mouth.
Methodology
The intervention utilized for this community is a community center, specifically the Yvonne Richardson Community Center. The Yvonne Richardson Community Center was built and opened in memoriam of Nolan Richardson’s daughter, Yvonne Richardson, who passed away from Leukemia. The Yvonne Richardson Community Center is a nonprofit organization that provides a safe environment, as well as free educational and recreational programs for youth, young adults, and families in the Fayetteville community.
According to Esther Vargas, low income families have minimal resources available to them within their community, which causes these low income communities to be at a “great disadvantage” (2013). The disadvantage does not just stop with the lack of resources, but it also involves increased crime, substance abuse, and insufficient education and child care (Vargas, 2013). According to Robert Halpern, low income children and families need after school programming, stating “many low-income children today are too much on their own, both physically and psychologically, and could benefit from safe, protected spaces to play, an extra measure of adult attention, additional help with homework, and greater opportunity to participate in art and sports activities” (2013).
The Yvonne Richardson Community Center provides youth and adults with a safe place to go during the day and after school. The center is open six days a week, Monday through Friday 10a.m. to 7p.m. and Saturday 10a.m. to 2p.m. The center administers numerous programs during the school year, as well as summer programs and camps. A few examples of these programs are Kids’ Night, Kid Crops, and LifeSource Food Basket. Kids’ Night is an afterschool program which provides tutors, meals, and snack packs to take home. This program helps those youth and young adults who may need one on one attention when it comes to their educational needs. Kids’ Night remains viable with the help of individuals who volunteer their time tutoring the kids and the community who donates food and beverages for the meals and snack packs. Kids’ Night is beneficial, especially for those children who do not get an acceptable amount of help with their studies at home.
Kid Crops is another educational program, but its focus is on gardening and nutrition. This is a seasonal program that meets once a week for one hour. During this program children learn the tools to living healthier lives and how to become self-sufficient. On top of engraining proper nutrition and healthy eating habits into the participants, Kid Crops also provides fresh produce grown by the members of this program to the local community. While many low income families may desire to eat healthy, it just may not be feasible considering how much more expensive fruits and vegetables are compared to less nutritional options. That is why Kid Crops is so beneficial, it not only provides healthy foods for the community, but it also gives individuals the knowledge and experience to do it themselves.
Finally, LifeSource Food Basket is a program which occurs once a month for approximately two hours.

This program provides individuals and families from the community with a hot meal, groceries, and any available clothing and apparel donations. A form of identification is mandatory to participate in the food basket. LifeSource Ministries prepares all of the food and brings all of the groceries. Many of the families in this community depend on this monthly event to feed themselves and their children.

The Yvonne Richardson Community Center has many important programs, some of which would not be possible without the help of outside resources. There are numerous organizations that help the Yvonne Richardson Community Center support the local community, not to mention the amazing staff that creates a safe environment for these individuals to thrive and maintains meaningful

relationships.