- National homelessness: Oregon shows 50 percent drop in number of homeless since 2010, By Stuart Tomlinson, October 30, 2014, The Oregonian: “Oregon is one of 36 states where homelessness decreased between 2013 and 2014, according to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. The report, released Thursday morning, is based on a single-night count made at the end of January of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people. The Oregon count showed a decrease of 1,658 homeless people in 2014 from a year earlier. Oregon also saw a 38.2 percent decline in homeless people over the past 4 years, dropping from 19,492 people in 2010 to 12,164 in 2014…”
- Homeless population in Mass. rising faster than any other state, By Katie Johnston, October 30, 2014, Boston Globe: “The homeless population in Massachusetts increased faster than in any other state in the nation, rising 40 percent since 2007 even as overall homelessness in the country declined, according to a report issued Thursday by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. But less than 4 percent of the homeless in Massachusetts live on the streets — one of the lowest rates in the country. Massachusetts is the only state in the country with a ‘right to shelter’ law that entitles every family to a roof over their heads the day they qualify for emergency housing. As a result, the vast majority of the state’s homeless population are in shelters or transitional housing…”
- Nevada’s increase in homeless individuals largest in nation, By Yesenia Amaro, October 30, 2014, Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Twenty states saw an increase in the number of homeless individuals between 2013 and 2014, with Nevada experiencing the largest surge of 1,733 more individuals, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homeless individuals are defined as people who are not part of a family during their episode of homelessness, according to the 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress…”
- Homelessness Rose in New York, By Tatiana Schlossberg, October 30, 2014, New York Times: “The number of homeless people living on the streets and in shelters across the country fell this year, according to an annual federal survey released on Thursday. But in New York City, the homeless population continued to grow, swelling in almost every category: individuals, families and the chronically homeless. The report on homelessness, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is based on a nationwide ‘point-in-time’ survey conducted on a single night in January as part of the agency’s effort to track the homeless population over time and across the country…”
Month: October 2014
Teen Birthrate – Milwaukee, WI
Teen birthrate in Milwaukee drops for 7th consecutive year, By Jesse Garza, October 29, 2014, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Pushed by another dramatic decline in the teen birthrate among Hispanic girls, Milwaukee’s overall birthrate among girls ages 15 to 17 dropped in 2013, for the seventh year in a row, preliminary data shows. The decline in the rate among non-Hispanic black teens, however, took an upturn during the year, along with a slight uptick among non-Hispanic white girls, according to the data compiled for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. But it’s against the backdrop of another decline in the overall rate, and a 56% decrease in that rate between 2006 and 2013, that Mayor Tom Barrett and officials with the initiative have announced the ambitious goal of reducing the 2013 overall rate by another 50%, to 11.4, by 2023…”
Colleges and Low-Income Students
- Michigan colleges look to boost low-income enrollment, By Kim Kozlowski, October 28, 2014, Detroit News: “Donna Aguilar’s parents, who couldn’t afford to go to college, always encouraged her to make a better life for herself. So four years ago, Aguilar left her home in Los Angeles to attend Kalamazoo College. She will graduate next year with a biology degree. ‘They thought I would have more choices if I went to college,’ said Aguilar, the daughter of a custodian and a factory worker. ‘I would get a better job than they have and I could live more comfortably than they had.’ Aguilar represents a quiet revolution that has been underway at Kalamazoo College…”
- A new push to get low-income students through college, By David Leonhardt, October 28, 2014, New York Times: “The United States fails to do right by most low-income students who excel in school. They overcome long odds and do well enough in high school to show they can thrive in college. Nevertheless, many never receive a bachelor’s degree. Now, though, the country may be approaching something of a turning point. As data has made clear how many top-performing students from poor and middle-class families fall through the cracks, a range of institutions has set out to change the situation. Dozens of school districts, across 15 states, now help every high school junior take the SAT. Delaware’s governor has started a program to advise every college-qualified student from a modest background on the application process. The president of the College Board, which administers the SAT and has a decidedly mixed record on making college more accessible, says his top priority is college access…”