About ARCH

Since 2004, the Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless has taken the lead in advocacy, training and education on issues of homelessness in rural Alabama. Our board of directors represents housing and service providers, ten year plan groups and continuum of care groups from counties across the state. Our general membership is composed of homeless housing and service providers, faith communities, governments, housing authorities, community action agencies, members of the homeless and formerly homeless communities, businesses, advocates and members of the general public, from 42 rural counties in the state of Alabama.

Resources and Links

• Join ARCH
• Local Ending Homelessness Groups
• Statistics, Reports and Ending Homelessness Plans
• Homelessness in the Media
• Partner Organizations
• State and Federal Agencies that Address Homelessness

Our Mission is to End Homelessness in
                     Rural Alabama

Homelessness is too often misunderstood and overlooked. We strive to educate and change public opinion about homelessness in order to eradicate homelessness in rural Alabama.

How many people are homeless in Rual Alabama?
What are the causes of homelessness?
What is being done to end homelessness in Rural Alabama?

How many people are homeless in Rural Alabama?

What are the causes of homelessness?

Here are just some of the causes of homelessness in rural Alabama.

Poverty
Hundreds of thousands of households simply do not earn enough to afford housing. Families are being forced to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table.

Fleeing Domestic Violence
A significant number of families experiencing homelessness are single parents fleeing abuse with their children. For women who have been stay at home moms, finding a family-wage job to support themselves and their children is nearly impossible.

Mental Illness
Without treatment, medication or family supports, mental illnesses can be debilitating. People experiencing debilitating, untreated mental illness cannot maintain employment. Without employment, they cannot maintain housing.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Addiction is a powerful thing and it can affect anyone, regardless of income. If a person cannot afford treatment, and do not have a stable place to call home, what chance do they have of recovery?

Criminal Background
The vast majority of former prisoners are eager to start over when they are released from prison. However, employers who will employ them are scarce, and landlords who will rent to them are scarcer still. Without a stable home, returning to crime and to prison is almost certain.

Aging Out of Foster Care
Each year, hundreds of youth age out of the foster care system. Sadly, many of them end up homeless because they lack the support system and life skills to live independently. How many of us were able to live completely independently at age 18?

These are only some of the reasons people become homeless. All too often, people experience a combination of these traumas.

What is being done to end homelessness in rural Alabama?

Housing and service providers across the state implement their plans using a continuum of housing options to meet the unique needs of the people they serve.

Related Documents

• 2011 Point in Time Count Data