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It appears that another debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will likely not take place, but since the VP candidates - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance -- are scheduled to face off on Oct. 1, how they present their platforms will definitely impact the November election. Most political pundits expect Vance to go on the attack against Walz as a radical liberal, and this type of political theater is to be expected; however, I hope that when serious issues are brought up, the homeless crisis in America is one of them. Housing affordability was addressed in the first debate between Harris and Trump, but there was no elaborate discussion of policy proposals for those who do not have a roof over their heads.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, close to 327,000 Americans lived in "emergency and transitional shelters" from 2018 to 2022. Among those over the age of 16, approximately 15% were unemployed, and 61% were not a part of the labor force. This report was released in February, one month after National Poverty Awareness was observed in January. During January, Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies reported that over 650,000 people were experiencing homelessness at the beginning of 2023, a 12% increase from 2022 and a 48% increase from 2015.

Looking at these disturbing statistics, many analysts are pointing to the well-known facts of rising inflation and soaring rent increases that have severely impacted many working-class people. It's just incredibly difficult to make ends meet when raises have not kept pace with the increasing costs of living, and even those with incomes above the working class are experiencing hard times. The Harvard report defined people as "cost-burdened" who spent between 30% and 50% of their salaries on their rent/mortgage payments and utilities. This data correlates with a JCHS report that found Americans earning between $45,000 and $74,999 were hit hardest by rising rent; 41% of their paychecks went to housing expenses and utility bills. U.S. Treasury Department data also reveal an eye-popping statistic that the median rent last year, which was close to $2,000, was a 23% increase prior to the pandemic.

Much of this hardship has resulted from COVID-19 aid, which kept many families off the streets, ending in 2023. It is obvious being four years removed from the pandemic that many people have not recovered financially and are struggling with housing and food insecurity. Those who are homeless are just struggling to survive from day to day. I have referred to homeless people in previous commentary as those who are hidden in plain sight, yet I continue to notice street nomads and more folk who have nowhere to go holding signs on corners. This week I saw a middle-aged Black man sitting at the entrance of a Kroger in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. He had a scruffy-looking appearance and a blank expression on his face while he smoked a cigarette. All his belongings were packed in a medium-size suitcase on wheels, along with a small backpack, which led me to believe he was recently evicted.

In Ohio, housing advocates do not see an end to rising homeless numbers any time soon, as homeless rates increased by nearly 7% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Statehouse News Bureau. The homeless in Ohio and other states will, unfortunately, see their lives being burdened further after the Supreme Court ruled in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson that cities can now implement bans on sleeping in public places. While there are reasonable arguments on both sides regarding this law, the glaring question is, where will people go when shelters are filled to capacity, especially during the winter? Before the Grants Pass case, Chris Avell, pastor of Dad's Place in Bryan, Ohio, was arrested in January for opening his church doors to the homeless. The city of Bryan found building code violations, but Avell refused to stop helping those in need. "I'm praising God that at least as of now if I'm understanding correctly, the people can stay," he said in a news interview.

I believe that many pastors like Avell will begin to take a more active role in the homeless crisis, ministering to people in the spirit of Proverbs 29:7, which says that "the righteous considereth the cause of the poor." With this being an election year, we need to know how Harris, Walz, Trump and Vance view themselves in serving and aiding the unhoused. We need sound policies to tackle this problem plaguing the lives of thousands of our fellow citizens.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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