# data[].attributes.body
I'm not sure how Peoria Public Health is... Champaigns is pretty awesome and has helped me out.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Peoria County PCCHD, IL | Official Website

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Local food establishments will be awarded the 2017 Food Safety Excellence Awards at the Peoria City/County Health Department on Monday, April 16, 2018. Photos at 5:30pm, presentation at 6:00 pm.

# data[].attributes.body
This website has statistics about homelessness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the Alliance publishes this updated version of the State of Homelessness, COVID-19 is creating a health and economic crisis in America and throughout the world. It is too soon to determine its ultimate impacts. Thus, this year's report represents a baseline-the state of homelessness before the crisis began. It also reflects some early considerations and predictions about the influence of the pandemic on this vulnerable population.
Homelessness in America

Seventeen out of every 10,000 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2019 during HUD's Annual Point-in-Time Count. These 567,715 people represent a cross-section of America. They are associated with every region of the country, family status, gender category, and racial/ethnic group.

Large Subpopulations. Certain subpopulations are significantly represented within homelessness:

Individuals. Seventy percent of people experiencing homelessness are individuals who are living on their own or in the company of other adults. The remainder (30 percent) are people in families with children.

Males. Homelessness is significantly defined by gender. Sixty percent of all people experiencing homelessness are male. Amongst individuals, the numbers are starker-70 percent are men and unaccompanied male youth.

Unsheltered. Far too many people in America sleep outside and in other locations not meant for human habitation. This group includes more than 200,000 people (37 percent of the overall population). Among individuals experiencing homelessness, the numbers are more dire-1 in 2 are unsheltered.

Most At Risk. Numerical size is one reason to focus on a subpopulation within homelessness. Risk is another. Some groups are much more likely to become homeless than the national average.

Pacific Islanders and Native Americans are most likely to be homeless in America when compared to all other racial/ethnic groups. Within the former, 160 people experience homelessness out of every 10,000 compared to the national average of 17 out of every 10,000. Pacific Islanders and Native Americans are numerically small groups within the U.S., making it more difficult for the U.S. Census Bureau and homelessness services systems to count them accurately. Nevertheless, available data suggest they face significant challenges.

Black Americans, multiracial Americans, and Hispanics/Latinxs are similarly situated. Group members are far more likely to be homeless than the national average and white Americans.

Prioritized Groups. Researchers and the public policy world have emphasized some additional subpopulations. Chronically homeless individuals are disabled and have experienced long-term and/or repeated episodes of homelessness. They are currently 17 percent of the population. Veterans, who are 7 percent of people experiencing homelessness, are prioritized due to their service to our country. And unaccompanied youth, who represent 6 percent of the population, are a vulnerable age group consisting of those under 25 years old.

COVID-19 Vulnerable. According to the CDC, some individuals are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. They include older adults age 65 and over. However, people experiencing homelessness age faster than housed people. Research indicates they have physical conditions that mirror those of people 15-20 years older than them. On a single day, an estimated 202,623 single adults experiencing homelessness are over age 50, suggesting they may be uniquely vulnerable to becoming seriously ill during the pandemic crisis.

An additional CDC-identified risk group is people with pre-existing health conditions. Before the current crisis, growing numbers were experiencing unsheltered homelessness-a living situation associated with poor health. A recent study sampled unsheltered individuals from across the country, finding 84 percent self-reporting existing physical health conditions. Only 19 percent of people in shelters said the same.

Trends in Homelessness

Compared to the previous year, homelessness increased by 3 percent in the 2019 Point-in-Time Count. This marked the third straight year of national-level increases.

Despite this negative movement, the long-term trend has been downward. Overall homelessness has decreased by 12 percent since 2007, the year nation-wide data collection began. The current COVID-19 crisis has the potential to diminish or completely wipe out these modest gains.

Subpopulations. Existing progress has been uneven. Subpopulations prioritized in policy and practice (including funding decisions) have made the most impressive gains over the last decade. Veterans experienced the greatest decreases in homelessness-50 percent. Other subpopulations have realized smaller reductions that, nevertheless, are larger than those in overall homelessness. They include people in families (29 percent), chronically homeless individuals (9 percent), and people experiencing unsheltered homelessness (10 percent).

One group is noticeably falling behind all others. Individuals have only realized a 0.2 percent reduction in homelessness over the last decade. Some are veterans, unaccompanied youth, and chronically homeless. These subgroups have been experiencing greater progress than individuals more generally-but they only make up a minority of the individuals population and help to mask the delayed progress of a sizable majority who are not veterans, unaccompanied youth, or chronically homeless.

Individuals are also solely responsible for the national-level increases in overall homelessness that occurred over the last three years. Individual homelessness increased by 11 percent over that period even as numbers for people in families continued to decrease. This upwards trend exists across a broad range of individuals, including the chronically homeless, men, women, and every racial/ethnic group.

States. As with subpopulations, some states are making more progress towards ending homelessness than others.

Thirty states reduced homelessness since the previous year. Long-term trends further highlight the more successful stories. A majority (37) have reduced homelessness since 2007, with the most significant gains occurring in Michigan (-70 percent), Kentucky (-49 percent), and New Jersey (-49 percent).

Other states have more people experiencing homelessness than they did more than a decade ago. Fourteen have seen their numbers increase between 2 and 72 percent over that period. New and decisive action is necessary to ensure these states build real momentum in the fight against homelessness.

Geographic Regions Experiencing the Greatest Challenges

Identifying the regions with the most challenges informs nation-wide efforts to end homelessness.

Counts. One approach is to examine the locations with the highest homeless counts. They include states such as California, Florida, New York, and Texas as well as Continuums of Care (CoCs) serving New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Texas' Balance of State. These locations share a common characteristic-relatively large general populations. They include major cities and Balance of States encompassing broad expanses of land (with numerous towns and cities).

Fifty-six percent of people experiencing homelessness are in the five states that have the largest homeless counts. More than 1 in 3 are in the twenty CoCs with the highest numbers of people experiencing homelessness. Thus, much of this national challenge is located in a small number of places, with most jurisdictions having a much smaller problem to manage.

Rates. Rates of homelessness are another way of gauging the severity of the problem within a jurisdiction. They reflect the number of people experiencing homelessness in relation to the general population.

Rates across the country are wildly divergent. Amongst states/territories, the District of Columbia (93 people experiencing homelessness out of every 10,000) and New York (47 out of 10,000) have the highest rates. By contrast, Louisiana (6 out of 10,000) and Mississippi (4 out of 10,000) have the lowest rates. Many homeless people reside in high rate jurisdictions. Forty-five percent are in the five states/territories with the highest rates.

Many of the high rate states and CoCs are associated with other notable housing issues. Researchers and advocates cite many of them as having the highest housing costs and highest rent burdens (housing costs as a percentage of income) in the nation.

Some states and CoCs are anomalies. Their counts and rates defy expectations rooted in overall population size and housing costs. Those states and communities may possess unusual characteristics tied to history, government policy, or culture. Some may have homeless services systems that are either highly effective or falling far short of their potential.

COVID-19. Counts and rates typically offer useful information about the challenges facing homeless systems-they reflect the number of people who need homeless services. During the current pandemic, there is a new challenge-the number of people who contract an infectious illness (COVID-19) while needing homeless services.

Self-quarantine, social isolation, and stay-at-home orders are difficult, if not impossible, to follow when you do not have a home. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered guidance on how to best serve people in shelters and unsheltered locations. Meeting COVID-19-related health needs is putting new strain on homeless services systems, especially those with large numbers of infected consumers.

Recent research predicts the number of COVID-19 cases that will arise among people experiencing homelessness in the nation's counties. Those facing the most severe challenges mainly reside in major cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, San Jose, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

Homeless Assistance in America

Homeless services systems do not have enough resources to fully meet the needs of everyone experiencing homelessness. Thus, it is helpful to examine the difficult decisions they must make, including how to allot the limited funds available to them.

Temporary Housing. Over the last five years, the number of temporary housing beds (Emergency Shelter, Safe Haven, and Transitional Housing) has decreased by 9 percent.

A national-level snapshot of these beds during the Point-in-Time count is informative. Individual community circumstances vary. However, in the aggregate, systems were able to offer a year-round bed to only 51 percent of individuals and 100 percent of people in families (the latter with a surplus of over 15,000 beds).

During the winter months, some communities temporarily supplement these year-round beds with seasonal ones. Nevertheless, many people are unsheltered, living on the streets, in abandoned buildings, or other locations not suitable for human habitation. Being unsheltered is mostly a challenge for individual adults, but some families with children are also in these living situations.

COVID-19 is creating a new type of emergency. According to an early estimate, 400,000 new units are needed to prevent the spread of the virus and care for the sick. These accommodations would allow for social distancing, quarantine, and isolation for people who are typically in crowded shelter settings or living unsheltered.

Permanent Housing. While the number of temporary housing beds decreased by 9 percent, the number of permanent housing beds (Permanent Supportive Housing, Rapid Re-Housing, and Other) increased by 20 percent over the last five years.

These numbers reflect a shift in policy priorities. Renewed emphasis is on ending homelessness by moving more people into permanent housing, rather than allowing them to linger indefinitely in shelters and unsheltered locations.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have participated in this trend over the last five years, growing their number of permanent housing beds. Eleven states and territories increased them by more than 50 percent over this short period of years.

Currently, 57 percent of all homeless system beds are designated for permanent housing.

Common Forms of Assistance. Nationally, the most common type of homeless assistance is permanent supportive housing (PSH). Forty-one percent of system beds are in this category which has grown by 96 percent since 2007. Emergency shelter beds, the second most prevalent intervention, have increased by 38 percent since 2007.

Rapid rehousing, the newest type of permanent housing intervention, is continuing along a path of rapid growth. There are 87 percent more beds in this category than there were five years ago.

Transitional housing is the only intervention on the decline-there are 55 percent fewer beds in this category than there were in 2007. This shift is a part of the trend towards more investment in permanent housing solutions.

Populations at Risk of Homelessness

Many Americans live in poverty, amounting to 38.1 million people or 11.8 percent of the U.S. population. They struggle to afford necessities such as housing.

In 2018, 6.5 million Americans experienced severe housing cost burden, which means they spent more than 50 percent of their income on housing. This marked the fourth straight year of decreases in the size of this group. However, the number of severely cost burdened Americans is still 13 percent higher than it was in 2007, the year the nation began monitoring homelessness data.

Another measure of housing hardship is "doubling up," or sharing the housing of others for economic reasons. In 2018, an estimated 4 million people were in these situations. Some of these people have fragile relationships with their hosts or face other challenges in the home, putting them at risk of homelessness. Over the last five years, this number of doubled up people has been trending downward but is still 12 percent higher than it was in 2007.

Over the last decade, the nation hasn't made any real progress in reducing the number of Americans who are at risk of homelessness.

Further, few states are realizing significant improvements in these areas. Within the category of severe housing cost burden, Colorado tops the list but has only reduced its numbers by 13 percent since 2007. Over the same period, Colorado is also the state making the most significant progress in the doubled up category-however, its number only decreased by 34 percent. Most states are seeing their severe housing cost burden and doubled up numbers grow.

Sources and Methodology

Data on homelessness are based on annual point-in-time (PIT) counts conducted by Continuums of Care (CoCs) to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. The latest counts are from January 2019. Point-in-time data from 2007 to 2019 are available on HUD Exchange.

Rates of homelessness are a comparison of point-in-time counts to state, county, and city population data from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, accessed via American FactFinder (table PEPANNRES: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population, 2018 version). Most CoC boundaries align with one or multiple counties, and about a dozen align with cities that are entirely within one county. However, four CoCs align with city boundaries spanning multiple counties (Atlanta, GA; Amarillo, TX; Kansas City, MO; and Oklahoma City, OK). For these, the population was estimated based on prior year trends.

Data on homeless assistance, or bed capacity of homeless services programs on a given night, are reported annually by CoCs along with point-in-time counts. These data are compiled in the Housing Inventory Count (HIC), which is also available on HUD Exchange for 2007 through 2019.

Data on at risk populations are from analyses by the National Alliance to End Homelessness of the Census Bureau's 2018 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates, accessed via American FactFinder. Poor renter households with a severe housing cost burden are households whose total income falls under the applicable poverty threshold and who are paying 50 percent or more of total household income to housing rent. For people living doubled up, poverty is based on the composition and income of the entire household as compared to the poverty thresholds. A person is considered living doubled up based on his or her relationship to the head of household and includes: an adult child (18 years old or older) who is not in school, is married, and/or has children; a sibling; a parent or parent-in-law; an adult grandchild who is not in school; a grandchild who is a member of a subfamily; a son- or daughter-in-law; another relative; or any non-relative.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition - National Alliance to End Homelessness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the Alliance publishes this updated version of the State of Homelessness, COVID-19 is creating a health and economic crisis in America and throughout the world. It is too soon to determine its ultimate impacts. Thus, this year's report represents [...]

# data[].attributes.body
This is a link that provides an organization that provides food for the elderly in the community. Maybe look more onto the website to see if this exists in Peoria. If not maybe this could be a project that the class could start for the community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health

The historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health is gathering leaders from a variety of backgrounds to explore a new, national strategy to ensure all Americans will have access to nutritious food. Meals on Wheels America is honored to have been invited to be part of the conversation and to be the voice for millions of seniors who face food insecurity. Together, through this strategy, we have collectively set a national goal of ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases by 2030. Become a part of this important event by staying informed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health is gathering leaders from a variety of backgrounds to explore a new, national strategy to ensure all Americans will have access to nutritious food. Meals on Wheels America is honored to have been invited to be part of the conversation and to be the voice for millions of seniors who face food insecurity.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.michaelrakowitz.com/parasite/

ParaSITE shelters are custom-built assemblies of plastic bags and tarps that feed off of excess heat provided by building heating systems. Rakowitz's shelters channel that heat into inflating and warming their owners.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The paraSITE - an inflatable shelter for the homeless that runs off expelled HVAC air

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
August 19, 2005 Artist Michael Rakowitz feels strongly about the issue of homelessness. So strongly that when he focussed his creative attentions on the subje

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Gregory Kloehn is a kind-hearted and crafty artist in Oakland, California who had the brilliant idea of creating small mobile homes for homeless people out of recycled and reclaimed materials found on the street. He began his Homeless Homes Project when he realized that he could apply his artistic and construction skills to help people in need.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This Artist Turns Trash Into Homes For The Homeless

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gregory Kloehn is a kind-hearted and crafty artist in Oakland, California who had the brilliant idea of creating small mobile homes for homeless people out of recycled and reclaimed materials found on the street. He began his Homeless Homes Project when he realized that he could apply his artistic and construction skills to help people in need.

# data[].attributes.body
Similar to mini libraries you have around Peoria, you can also create the same thing for pantries. It allows people to donate foods to the pantry so that people can have access to food who would have normally walked to the grocery store or who cannot afford food. I posted an article about the pantries and the website itself. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/01/11/508931473/a-new-type-of-food-pantry-is-sprouting-in-yards-across-america

http://www.littlefreepantry.org/

# data[].attributes.body
The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child approach to school health (you can read about this on the CDC website) can help cut down on health injustices in the community and schools. To talk about this with your community, I suggest talking to superintendents and other people in charge of district-wide programs.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/wscc/

# data[].attributes.body
Prezi.com is a unique platform to display information. I believe you need to pay for an account if you plan to use it for an extended time but there is a free trial. Prezi is cool because it's very visually appealing. You have all the information on one page, then you zoom in and out to move from topic to topic.

# data[].attributes.body
Since local stores such as Kroger are closing, creating a bussing or community transport system for those unable to drive or walk to the stores. Also raising your voices on social media so that companies and market chains may see the opportunity to establish a store in the vacant Kroger area.

# data[].attributes.body
Here are a few statistics on food deserts and their surrounding communities.

# data[].attributes.body
I would contact local museums and see if they provide classroom sets of activities that you can loan from them. Most museums do it for free and it can make looking at history or other arts more interactive and entertaining.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/urban/vacant-lot-gardening.htm

https://alottogrow.org/

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/urban_gardening_fina_fact_sheet.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
Resource for making flyers
https://www.smore.com/app

# data[].attributes.body
After a natural disaster, certain countries receive more aid than others depending on many factors.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.occupymuseums.org/

WE OCCUPY MUSEUMS TO RECLAIM SPACE FOR MEANINGFUL CULTURE BY AND FOR THE 99%. ART AND CULTURE ARE THE SOUL OF THE COMMONS. ART IS NOT A LUXURY!

# data[].attributes.body
Who cares? Who is going to care enough and stick with what they believe in order to actually make a change?

# data[].attributes.body
Try comparing an average family income with the cost to live. You can try to decide what the family can afford, or some essentials that can not be afforded.

# data[].attributes.headline
Great article for Social Justice in music

# data[].attributes.subject
Great article for Social Justice in music

# data[].attributes.body
https://nafme.org/teaching-social-justice-in-the-music-classroom/

# data[].attributes.body
Who can you contact to get the school grants? Where do you even start?

# data[].attributes.body
Here is a link to the 2016 report on Income and Poverty.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This report presents data on income, earnings, income inequality & poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2017 and earlier CPS ASEC.

# data[].attributes.body
Follow the link here to find out more information about classroom demographics, success rates, and financial information about the school. You can compare it to state and national levels. https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/school.aspx?source=trends&source2=graduationrate&Schoolid=480721500250024

# data[].attributes.body
How can you make sure statistics relates to your audience? How can you make sure everyone can understand the statistics being posted? Are the simple enough to read/comprehend?

# data[].attributes.body
The following website has powerful statistics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Go beyond test scores and get a snapshot of every Illinois public school.

About the Illinois Report Card

IllinoisReportCard.com is the state's official source for information about public schools across Illinois. The information here will help you act as an informed partner in the education of our children.

Families, researchers, policy makers, and community members can use the site to find school data, including academic performance, school environment, educators, students, and highlights provided by principals.

More Helpful Resources

Explore these helpful sites and tools provided by ISBE and other Illinois state agencies!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Illinois' new online school report card goes beyond test scores to present a complete view of your schools. The information here will help you to work with your child's school

# data[].attributes.body
Presenting relevant and accurate facts from reliable, and multiple sources.

# data[].attributes.body
I think a good idea in the community would be to have a ton of post-it notes and maybe a sharpie and you can ask the question: what would you like this place to be? The community can then write what they want these vacant houses and buildings to be such as a tailor, an area for fresh food, a local bakery/kitchen, etc. This is a tactic they use in major urban areas where they have a lot of empty buildings and houses.

# data[].attributes.body
To help cut down on the amount of food deserts, you can talk to local outreach groups and food banks to have them team up with major aspects of the community (such as a connection between a food pantry and a school so there is a common ground between the two programs)

# data[].attributes.body
Anyone can apply for grants. If you see something specific that your class or school desperately needs, you can apply for a grant through your local governing body.

# data[].attributes.body
other schools get better resources- even in our district

# data[].attributes.body
Here is a website that explains what food deserts are, how they occur, and solutions for food deserts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I live in an economically vibrant metropolis. It's expensive to live here and not everyone has the means to live a healthy lifestyle. Despite the ostentatious wealth showcased throughout my city, there are many areas of urban poor more recently referred to as food deserts. What is a food desert in America? What are some of the causes of food deserts? The following article contains information on food deserts, their causes and food desert solutions.

What is a Food Desert?

The United States Government defines a food desert as "a low income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store."

How do you qualify as low income? You must meet the Treasury Departments New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) to be eligible. To qualify as a food desert, 33% of the population (or a minimum of 500 people) in the tract must have low access to a supermarket or grocery store, such as Safeway or Whole Foods.

Additional Food Desert Information

How is a low income census tract defined?

Any census tract in which the poverty rate is at least 20%

In rural areas where the median family income doesn't exceed the 80 percentile of statewide median family income

Within a city the median family income doesn't exceed 80% of the greater of statewide median family income or that of the median family income within the city.

"Low access" to a healthy grocers or supermarket means that the market is more than a mile away in urban areas and more than 10 miles away in rural regions. It gets a little more complex than that, but I trust you get the gist. Basically, we are taking about people that have little to no access to healthy food options within walking distance.

With such a surfeit of food available in the United States, how is it that we are talking about food deserts in America?

Causes of Food Deserts

Food deserts are brought about by a number of factors. They are typically located in low income areas where people often do not own a car. While public transportation can assist these people in some instances, often economic flux has driven grocery stores out of the city and into the suburbs. Suburban stores are often so far from the person, they may have to spend most of a day getting to and from the grocers, not to mention the task of carrying groceries home from a bus or subway stop.

Secondly, food deserts are socio-economic, meaning they arise in communities of color combined with low income. Less disposable income combined with a lack of transportation typically leads to the purchase of fast foods and processed foods available at the corner store. This leads to an increase in heart disease, higher incidence of obesity and diabetes.

Food Desert Solutions

About 23.5 million people live in food deserts! It's such a huge problem the United States Government is taking steps to reduce food deserts and increase access to healthy foods. First Lady Michelle Obama is leading the charge with her "Let's Move" campaign, whose goal is to eradicate food deserts by 2017. With this goal in mind, the U.S. has contributed $400 million to provide tax breaks to supermarkets that open in food deserts. Many cities are also working on solutions to the food desert problem.

Knowledge is power. Educating those in the community or tract of the food desert can help make changes, such as growing their own food and working with local convenience stores to sell healthier food options. Public awareness of food deserts can lead to healthy discourse and may even lead to ideas about how to end food deserts in America once and for all. No one should go hungry and everyone should have access to healthy food sources.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Is A Food Desert: Information About Food Deserts In America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not everyone has the means to live a healthy lifestyle. What is a food desert in America? What are some of the causes of food deserts? The following article contains information on food deserts, their causes and food desert solutions.

# data[].attributes.body
homelessness

# data[].attributes.body
vacant houses

# data[].attributes.body
School
Neighborhood
World

# data[].attributes.body
School
Neighborhood
World

# data[].attributes.body
School
Neighborhood
World

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.guerrillagirls.com/
We wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture. We undermine the idea of a mainstream narrative by revealing the understory, the subtext, the overlooked, and the downright unfair. We believe in an intersectional feminism that fights discrimination and supports human rights for all people and all genders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Guerrilla Girls Talk The History Of Art vs. The History Of Power

# data[].attributes.body
School
Neighborhood
World

# data[].attributes.body
School
Neighborhood
World