|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources |
|
|
|
Needed: A National Response to Homelessness
| Article
# : |
15155 |
|
|
Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
|
| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1989 |
2,396 Words |
| Author
: |
Steve Kaplan
Steve Kaplan is a widely published free-lance writer living in
St. Paul, Minnesota, who is also a contributing editor of St.
Paul Magazine. |
From his luxurious twelfth-floor office, nothing was further from the thoughts of bank president John Ross than the problems of the homeless. But in 1986, Ross took a dive of Shakespearean proportions. He was about to understand homelessness from a firsthand perspective.
Ross (a pseudonym) was an American success story, growing up in a medium-sized North Dakota town, working hard, saving his money, and eventually buying out the business for which he worked, the town bank. Investing money frugally all his life, Ross put all of his bank earnings in southwestern oil operations. By 1985 Ross had it all; the largest, fanciest house in town and a balance sheet worth almost two million dollars. Then came the crash.
In 1985 the oil boom in the Southwest burst as America changed from domestic oil to the much less expensive Middle Eastern oil. Towns like Dallas and Houston went from boom towns to depressed areas almost overnight. Ross' fortune was in liquid assets, and unfortunately that liquid was oil. With the loss of his oil wealth, Ross found himself overextended and was forced to sell his bank, and then his home. Eventually, he filed for bankruptcy, and his wife, accustomed to the finer things in life, left him. Ross began drinking heavily to soothe his pain. At his low point last year, Ross woke from an alcoholic stupor to find himself with no money, no friends, no assets other than his car, and no place to sleep. He was forced to seek refuge in an overnight church shelter for the homeless.
Although John Ross' situation is atypical, equally tragic stories occur in America. "About one out of every three people we see has recently had a job
... (1997 of 14094 Characters)
Read Full Article
|
|
