Cities and States and the Homeless – IRP Poverty Dispatch

Anti-panhandling laws spread, face legal challenges, By Teresa Wiltz, November 12, 2015, November 12, 2015, Stateline: “Many cities—and even some states—increasingly are cracking down on panhandling, driven in large part by the unlikely combination of thriving downtowns and the lingering effects of the Great Recession. The number of cities with outright bans on panhandling increased by 25 percent between 2011 and 2014, while the number of cities with restrictions on begging in specified public places, such as near schools or banks, rose by 20 percent, according to a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, an advocacy group…”
Cities, states turn to emergency declarations to tackle homeless crisis, By Rebecca Beitsch, November 11, 2015, Stateline: “Governments typically declare a state of emergency to deal with natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. But over the last two months, several West Coast cities and one state have used the declarations to tackle a worsening homeless crisis. Hawaii, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, have all declared states of emergency, using the proclamations as a way to loosen up funds or bypass ordinances to take swifter action…”