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A New Wave Of Homelessness Hits Permian Basin
A New Wave Of Homelessness Hits Permian Basin 12/11/12
Ashley Melnick
amelnick@cbs7.com
CBS 7 News
December 10, 2012
MIDLAND-From rent prices to simply keeping food on the table, full time jobs just aren’t enough for some families in the Basin.
Every morning, Teresa Barker and her family of five face early mornings and parking lots.
“At first it was really hard being in the program,” said Barker. “Getting to the church on time and switching places to sleep, but we’re starting to get used to it.”
It’ll be the seventh time since late October the family will call another local church home.
For the first time in their lives, the Barker family is homeless.
“You really don’t talk about it a lot. It’s just something you keep quiet,” said Barker. “You don’t tell people that you’re homeless because they’ll automatically start thinking that you’re a junkie, a drunk, or just lazy. I’ve always had a job.”
The Barker family is one of the many new faces of homelessness.
Families working in the Permian Basin are unable to find affordable housing.
But the hardest part for Barker, is the pain she sees her oldest daughter go through.
“Being homeless and a teenager—it’s really hard for her. She really struggles with it," said Barker.
Executive Director of Family Promise, Tom Miller, said many families served through the program keep their homelessness a secret by living with family, friends or staying in a motel.
“It’s an invisible problem that we have here in West Texas,” said Miller.
For more information on Family Promise of Midland, visit: familypromisemidlandtx.org/