Homelessness and Housing – Texas, Florida

Decline in homelessness spurs effort to build long-term housing, By Renée C. Lee, May 6, 2012, Houston Chronicle: “Houston’s homeless population declined by 5 percent this year, creating a positive backdrop for a new collaborative effort aimed at moving more people off the streets and into long-term housing. The number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless dropped from 8,242 counted in January 2011, to 7,830 counted in January 2012, according to the annual tally by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Fort Bend County. In addition, the number of people in permanent housing with additional services, known as permanent supportive housing, increased slightly, suggesting the concept might be a promising approach to reducing homelessness in Houston…”
For homeless kids, school can be a struggle, By Tasnim Shamma, May 8, 2012, Miami Herald: “Students wondering where they’re going to sleep at night may have trouble paying attention in class. In Miami-Dade County, the number of kids without a home is in the thousands and growing. The county school district counted more than 4,406 students who were homeless in the 2010-11 academic year. Eleven-year-old David Thomas and his eight siblings used to be included in those statistics…”