Homelessness and Housing

Posted on November 14, 2013 by admin

• A new start for KC’s homeless as shelter eliminates daily lines for beds, By Lynn Horsley, November 13, 2013, Kansas City Star: “Every afternoon for 30 years, as many as 100 men and women have lined up behind reStart’s homeless shelter in downtown Kansas City, waiting for overnight stays in a grim dormitory. They got a free meal and bunk bed in a crowded room. They had to leave during the day, often to wander the streets and then return to line up again each afternoon. But by the end of this week reStart is declaring, ‘This is the end of the line.’ Literally. No more lining up. Instead, single adults will stay in rooms of four to six people that they can call home while reStart helps them find long-term housing. It’s part of a national trend to end chronic homelessness, and it’s showing early signs of success in Kansas City…”
• Huge increase of mentally ill homeless in Alameda County, By Doug Oakley, November 14, 2013, Contra Costa Times: “The number of homeless people in Alameda County with severe mental illness jumped by 35 percent in just two years, according to a census taken earlier this year by a consortium of local agencies called EveryOne Home. The overall number of homeless people in the county was slightly higher since the last count two years ago, up 86 at 4,264, according to the report released Tuesday night. It did not break out individual cities within Alameda County. When the count was taken during the spring, 1,106 homeless identified themselves as having a severe mental illness, up from 818 in 2011, the report said…”