[NEWS] Inquirer Editorial: Fight to end homelessness has become even harder
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:Â
No doubt about it, Sister Mary Scullion is a warrior. But the Inquirer's 2011 Citizen of the Year, who received the award Wednesday, admits that the battle has been made more difficult by governments shrinking their budgets.
In remarks to guests at a luncheon, Sister Mary paid particular attention to Gov. Corbett's proposed budget, which goes so far as to cut general-assistance welfare funds. As she rightly noted, political leaders need to understand that cutting some costs can be more expensive in the long run.
Taking money from the poor increases the likelihood that some will end up joining the ranks of the homeless, whom Sister Mary tries to help through the Project HOME organization she and Joan Dawson McConnon founded in 1989. Under their leadership, Project HOME has grown from an emergency shelter into an agency that provides more than 500 units of affordable housing, employment services, and jobs through three other agencies.
