The Department of Student Engagement kicked off a week of events on Monday to participate in National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
The United States Department of Agriculture released statistics on Monday indicating that in 2008, hunger in America reached its highest point in 14 years.
“The 2008 figures represent the highest level observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995,” the USDA statement said.
Stephen Sparks, director of operations of The Tempe Community Action Agency, a nonprofit social service organization, and Lindsay Johnson, case manager from Interface Homeless Emergency Lodging Program (I-HELP) both said the spike in hunger isn’t surprising.
“We’re getting families who have never needed our services before,” Johnson said. “The current economy has made it a lot more difficult for a lot more people to take care of their needs. It doesn’t surprise me that the numbers are increasing, especially now.”
The Department of Student Engagement’s events, which are hosted in part by ASU student organizations, will take place through Saturday.
Johnson said she was pleased that students were taking an interest in the homelessness problem. However, there are not a lot of options for homeless individuals in Tempe, she said.
There are programs like I-HELP, she said, which help but aren’t always able to provide all necessary services. I-HELP is a program within the Tempe Community Action Agency.
It is one of the few services in Tempe that gives homeless individuals homes for the night at churches that take turns housing people.
Many people who need a bed are told to go to the Salvation Army, where they often have to hold a raffle because there are more people in need than beds, Johnson said.
“We end up having to pull numbers and turn away clients because the need is just so great,” Johnson said.
Sparks said both the action agency and I-HELP have seen significant increases in demand.
“We started tracking how many people we turn away because there have been so many. We estimate this year that we have turned away about 750 families,” he said. “We had to turn them away because there was not enough time in the day for all the appointments we needed to make to help people.”
The agency is seeing eight to 10 new people a day, who are also asking for food boxes, Sparks said.
“Many people are being forced into our arms because of lower incomes and having to pay both rent and food,” he said.
Bioengineering freshman Zach Decke said he often sees homeless people on his way to class, especially on Mill Avenue near the Tempe campus.
“It surprises me to hear there aren’t many homeless shelters in Tempe,” he said. “There are enough people for the community to benefit from having one. I think it’s sad there aren’t more options.”
Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu.
