Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a four-part series examining child homelessness in Adams County.

NATCHEZ — While Mississippi’s composite ranking for child homelessness is 49th among the states, it’s rank for state policy on the issue is dead last.

Legislators and educators agree homelessness stems from a number of other issues such as poverty and teenage pregnancy, but two local representatives disagree about how to fix the problem within the Capitol.

Local legislator Democrat Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez said the statistics are indicative that state government must face the issues head on, otherwise families in homeless situations will continue to burden taxpayers.

“We have not taken time to focus on where the problem starts,” Johnson said.

But local legislator Republican Rep. Sam Mims of McComb said government’s role in child homelessness should be a small one.

“It’s a sad issue, but it’s an individual issue and to me parents have to share lots of responsibility on this issue (of child homelessness),” Mims said.

Teenage pregnancy, poverty, education, health care — all are issues that must be properly handled in the legislature, Johnson said.

Mims agreed homelessness stats points to other obvious problems, but those issues need to be addressed within the family and communities.

Current efforts

The National Center on Family Homelessness reports that Mississippi has inadequately planned for solutions to fix child homelessness.

Mississippi has no state housing trust fund, no interagency council on homelessness and no 10-year plan that includes children and families — all which factor into the state planning ranking of 50.

In Adams County, the Guardian Shelter accepts females and their children who are victims of domestic violence, and the Children’s Sunshine Shelter accepts children who are victims of child abuse or neglect.

Sunshine Shelter Director Matilda Stephens said the closest shelter for people who don’t qualify for the Guardian or Sunshine shelters is 90 miles away in Baton Rouge or Jackson.

“I don’t think people in Adams County have any kind of conception of what this whole under part of society is having to deal with,” Stephens said.

“Nonprofits do a fair job, but the reality is they don’t have the money.”

Stephens said she has applied for a grant to set up a basic center to provide emergency services for the homeless but was denied because the area’s lack of access to an interstate or major thoroughfare.

“It all comes down to funding,” Stephens said.

Natchez-Adams School District Homeless Liaison Geraldine Geyen said part of her job is to help families of homeless children connect with other agencies and nonprofits to get them the help they need.

Mother Keykey Moore said free after-school programs like the Boys and Girls Club have helped her children adjust to school following years of instability and bouts of homelessness.

Moore’s children are now attending the Boys and Girls Club, and she is hopeful that the extracurricular activities will help them establish roots in Natchez and keep them busy to avoid getting into trouble, she said.

Moore said Serenity was also able to join Girl Scouts though the use of a grant that paid for the $25 T-shirt.

But funding cuts to the budgets of education and nonprofits from the state legislature in recent years may curb the services local schools and charitable organizations can provide, Stephens and schools officials said.

What is government’s role?

When Johnson learned Mississippi was ranked 49th for child homelessness, the news harkened up budget worries

“This (ranking) concerns me on the current budget issues,” Johnson said.

If the state legislature continues to withhold an adequate budget increase for education and health care, the problem of child homelessness will continue to grow, Johnson said.

“(The legislature) is not focusing on a state as poor as Mississippi,” he said.

Johnson said if legislators continue to ignore those issues, health care and education will be negatively affected.

“We can talk about economic development and getting jobs, but none of that is going to help if we ignore this growing issue of homelessness and how it pertains to health care and education,” Johnson said.

Johnson said policy and budgetary priorities should focus on education and the larger issue of teenage pregnancy on the front end.

“Homeless children (are often) children of people who are not equipped to take care of themselves and have never been equipped to take care of themselves,” Johnson said.

“You can blame the victim, but it becomes a burden on health care and the system.”

Mims, however, said the answer to the problems can be found through family, faith and trying to instill a better work ethic among Mississippians.

“I think we have lost (those values), and I think that’s causing us to be 48 or 49 on lots of lists,” Mims said.

But government is not the solution to fix those issues, he said.

“I don’t think we can legislate morality,” Mims said.

Current efforts in Jackson

District 16 Rep. Steve Holland, a Democrat from Plantersville and chair of the public health and human services committee sponsored House Bill 1236 in the 2011 legislative session, which called for the creation of an interagency council on homelessness.

The bill, as well as the similar Senate Bill 2609, died in committee, but Holland said he has already prefiled the legislation for action in 2012.

The purpose of the bill, Holland said, is to bring different groups that involve issues associated with homelessness together with a focus on trying to do something about homelessness, and especially child homelessness.

“(The purpose of the agency) is trying to pull those groups together that have some authority,” Holland said.

Johnson said the interagency on homelessness could possibly be helpful in delivering information to the lawmakers.

But he does not think creating a new agency or bureaucracy to study issues is always the answer, Johnson said.

“(Homelessness) is not a mystery or a complicated issue,” he said.

But the agency would be rendered useless without a commitment on behalf of lawmakers, Johnson said.

“We can create a new council, but if people passing laws and appropriating money are still ignoring your findings it doesn’t do any good,” Johnson said.

Mims also doubted the functionality of a new agency on homelessness.

“I think as a society and as a state we spend so much of our time, our energy on efforts discussing issues at the Capitol that to me all relate to the family,” Mims said.

“I think we have to be very careful when we start creating more agencies to look and see why we’re No. 49 in the nation.”

The existence of an interagency on homelessness is one of the criteria for which states are ranked by the National Center on Family Homelessness. Holland said establishing the interagency would cost nearly nothing and only require meeting space, which is probably already available.

“It would provide a blueprint (for the legislature) to, hopefully, really powerfully and adequately do whatever the group came up with to impact and lessen the plight of homelessness,” Holland said.

With the introduction of a Republican House and Senate Majority, Holland said he is increasingly unsure if the new legislature will vote for the bill.

“Quite frankly, we couldn’t get it passed last year when Democrats were in charge of the house,” he said.

Johnson said the legislature must address issues such as child homelessness and the situations that lead to it.

“We can’t ignore this growing issue of homelessness and how it pertains to healthcare and education. But the likeliness is that (homeless families) become a greater burden on society and the taxpayers,” Johnson said.

Mims said the solution is obvious and unrelated to what goes on at the state Capitol.

“I think most of us have a pretty good idea (of the solution),” Mims said. “It’s the family unit.”

Families of homeless children can contact the NASD federal programs department at the Braden Administrative Building 601-445-2828 to learn about services provided or the National Center for Homeless Education at 1-800-308-2145.