Martín Heller is 23 years old and is a volunteer for “Hermanos de la Calle”, a foundation that helps the most disadvantaged in South Florida. It is Friday and, as usual, he usually walks for several hours at night through the center of the city of Miami, where many homeless people have found their particular refuge in this place to live on the streets.
“There are stories of all kinds. There are those who went to school, others who were working, were teachers. Sometimes due to issues that one has control they end up in situations that are complicated and if one does not have the support of the family, the help is also complicated,” explains the young man of Latin American origin in statements to the Voice of America.
He regularly collaborates with that organization to try to break the “stigma” that exists with this population and because, in some way, he considers that they are one of the great forgotten people of this society.
“The clearest stigma is seen when you are in the car and a homeless: You close the window and don’t talk to him. We forget that he is a person with emotions, with desires to have family, friends. Sometimes, they lack that and we can be that family member or that friend,” says Heller while walking down a dark street with some belongings – such as food and blankets – to distribute among some homeless people in this area.
For María Legarre, the co-founder of “Hermanos de la calle”, “the key is not to have a prejudice because these people at some point had a childhood, a childhood, a family”, and warns that “one does not know how it can end up in the street.”
“Living on the street is horrible”
Hanoi Mares, a 52-year-old Cuban who has lived on the streets for three years, says that he had an accident that led to depression and he lost his job. “I fell into this situation from which I have not been able to get out,” he says.
The man confesses that “it is horrible” to be on the street but that given what happened to him he had no choice but to adapt to this type of life. “I have never gone through this experience, it is terrifying. They steal everything from you, you are forced to deal with people who have nothing to do with you, there are many details,” says Mares, who dreams of one day being able to live in a house, as he had done until three years ago.
“I have depression and that prevents me. But, of course I want to have my job, have my apartment and be independent,” adds the Cuban who has lived in the United States for more than 24 years after leaving the Caribbean island.
Increase in the homeless population in the US
The situation in Miami is not different from the rest of the country. The number of homeless people in the United States has seen an 18.1% increase this year, a significant increase attributed primarily to a shortage of affordable housing.
In addition to the rise in housing costs, factors such as natural disasters and a growing arrival of immigrants in various regions of the country have contributed to this increase, according to federal officials.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that mandatory counts conducted nationwide in January identified more than 770,000 homeless people. This figure does not include those who are temporarily staying with friends or family due to the lack of a home of their own.
This increase is in addition to that recorded in 2023, when the number of homeless people grew by 12%. According to HUD, this increase was related to rising rents and the ending of certain assistance programs. In 2023, an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness for the first time was also highlighted. The total figures are equivalent to 23 homeless people for every 10,000 inhabitants in the country.
The report also reveals a racial disparity: While African Americans make up 12% of the total population, they make up 32% of homeless people. Additionally, 21% of the African-American population in the country lives in poverty.
Projects to find solutions
“In the last two years there have been a large number of evictions, we have calls from people who have received notifications. There have never been so many homeless elderly people, who earn 940 dollars and the rent for an apartment does not go below 1,500,” explains Legarre, convinced that, in the event of any unforeseen event, “anyone can end up on the street.”
In his opinion, it is very important that both the private sector and public administrations at all levels promote more projects to help homeless people in the United States. “We have to go out of our way to help those people. Not only the government because it cannot cope, we as a community also have to make options, as we do,” he says.
In recent years, this woman along with her husband has promoted several projects to provide shelter to people who could not afford an apartment in South Florida due to high housing costs. “We have shared houses that, in some way, allow people, paying with half of what they earn, to have a decent roof over their heads and a community in which to live,” he emphasizes.
Some projects are also being carried out by public institutions to help these people. In Miami, for example, they are working with a program to “reintegrate” the homeless into society in collaboration with the organization “Hermanos de la Calle.”
“Those who want to quit drugs or receive psychological help go to a home, find them a job and give them the assistance and support necessary to be able to reintegrate into society,” says Manolo Reyes, commissioner of the City of Miami and president of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, the department that has promoted this program.
Some of these people end up working in some city departments, even with the police, which allows them to begin to have a “more independent life,” according to the public official.
“The function of this program is to get them off the streets, without putting them in a shelter, to have them in a family environment and for these people to begin to adapt to a normal life again,” he emphasizes.
Luis Rodríguez, a 58-year-old Cuban who has lived in South Florida since 1965, is one of the people who has benefited from this initiative. He had always dedicated himself to construction, but “due to life problems” he fell into a deep addiction to drugs.
“In 2018 I entered a program at Camillus House (a public shelter for homeless people in Miami) and I got rid of the addiction. Now I help other people who are in the same situation I was in get out of there,” he says.
Rodríguez’s is a success story. Now he walks the streets of the city center trying to help those who want to “rebuild their lives.”
“Many don’t want to, there are many problems, but one does not lose hope. You get out of this, no matter how difficult it may be to see it,” he promises.
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