PAUL SCHRAG: TACOMA'S NEW HOMELESS NEED HELP >>>

The gulf between middle class American life and life on the streets is closing. Tacomans who have taken comforts for granted are losing their jobs, their homes, their medical care and their carefully cultivated security. Many of them are ending up on the streets, says Diane Powers, Homeless and Housing First coordinator for the city of Tacoma’s Human Rights and Human Services division.

There aren’t any numbers yet.

Pierce County hasn’t collected data on homeless populations recently enough to provide a clear picture. But the anecdotal evidence is profound, says Powers. One woman arrived in her office desperate for help. She had recently been the proud owner of a home; she had a job and medical care. But she had lost her job and couldn’t keep up with house payments, and was living on the streets.

These are the new homeless. They’re harder to ignore because they probably look just like you. Many of them recently lived like you, or better. They’re confused. They don’t know how to be homeless, and they’re frantic and afraid.

Read what I discovered here.