Can you imagine being a 7-year-old girl, sleeping on the floor in someone’s apartment, and going to school in the morning not knowing where you will be sleeping that night? That kind of stress for a 7-year-old has to be overwhelming. Yet, this is not an uncommon situation for many children and their families in Fort Dodge.

The number of homeless families with children in Fort Dodge is increasing at an alarming rate. Inflation is having a dramatic impact. According to the Des Moines Register, rent in Iowa for rental housing and apartments has increased 17 percent in less than a year. Fort Dodge is no exception. These increases in rent have significantly impacted low income families and many are now facing the crisis of becoming homeless.

Fort Dodge, like most communities and cities in Iowa, has a shortage of affordable housing. Plus, much of the existing housing stock is aging and in need of rehabilitation. In Iowa, 40 percent of the housing units were built before 1950. Across Iowa, an aging housing stock, rising construction costs and insufficient resources are contributing to this shortage of affordable housing. According to the Iowa Finance Authority, communities in Iowa will need 47,000 more affordable homes by 2030 to meet the housing needs of Iowa residents.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines an affordable home as costing no more than 30 percent of gross income on gross housing expenses. Spending more than that would make a homeowner or renter housing cost burdened , which means they will have to sacrifice on other items such as transportation, medicine or food.

In Iowa, single parent families, headed by mothers with children, make up the largest group of people who are homeless and this number is increasing. A statewide homeless study shows that families with children make up 61 percent of the total homeless population in Iowa.

In Fort Dodge, most homeless families don’t sleep under bridges. Some sleep in their cars and many others will move from one friend’s home or apartment to another, sleeping on couches or on floors. For the children, the instability of having to sleep in a different place every night places a tremendous amount of stress on them. The typical homeless family is comprised of a mother in her late 20s with two children.

The actual number of homeless women and children in the greater Fort Dodge area is not known, but the number of homeless families or families that are close to eviction and are just one bill away from being homeless is in the hundreds. Ninety percent of families experiencing homelessness are female-headed and close to half of all children are under the age of 6.

As one can imagine, the experience of being homeless is traumatic for children. Research shows that homeless children experience high rates of chronic and acute health problems. The constant barrage of stressful and traumatic experiences also has profound effects on their ability to learn. Homeless children also experience more mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, low self esteem and withdrawal. They are twice as likely to experience hunger, three times more likely to be physically abused and four times as likely to have delayed development.

It is unrealistic to think we can end homelessness in Fort Dodge, but there are opportunities to leverage resources and develop a synergistic approach to attacking the issue that will help reduce the problem, impact lives, use limited resources more efficiently and reduce the social ills that often accompany homelessness.

United Way in Fort Dodge is focused on helping our youth thrive, especially those that are struggling to overcome major obstacles like poverty and homelessness. United Way funds provide emergency support for homeless families or families that are on the verge of becoming homeless, to help them overcome this horrendous challenge and find affordable housing that will help lead to family stability. Without this support, the children just don’t have a chance.

Citizens interested in helping us support efforts to help families that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless can make donations today. Charitable gifts can be made payable to the United Way of Greater Fort Dodge Homeless Fund and mail it to United Way of Greater Fort Dodge, 24 N. Ninth St., Suite B, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

Randy Kuhlman is the chief executive officer of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way.