- San Francisco rolls out long-awaited system to track, help homeless, By Kevin Fagan, September 1, 2018, San Francisco Chronicle: “It’s wonky. It’s a bunch of data and names. And it will most likely save a lot of homeless people’s lives. For the past two years, program managers in San Francisco have been quietly crafting a system to closely track every homeless man, woman and child. The purpose is two-fold: to tailor housing, rehab and other services to them, but also to eliminate wasteful — and costly — duplication of efforts…”
- Homelessness ruling: sleeping on streets can’t be a crime when no shelters are available, By Bob Egelko and Kevin Fagan, September 5, 2018, Governing: “Cities can’t make it a crime to sleep on a public street or sidewalk when no homeless shelters are available, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a case that could affect so-called “sit/lie” ordinances in San Francisco and elsewhere…”
Tag: Homelessness
College Students and Food Insecurity
For many college students, hunger ‘makes it hard to focus’, By Michelle Andrews, July 31, 2018, National Public Radio: “As students enter college this fall, many will hunger for more than knowledge. Up to half of college students in recent published studies say they either are not getting enough to eat or are worried about it. This food insecurity is most prevalent at community colleges, but it’s common at public and private four-year schools as well…”
Homelessness and Housing
- ‘It’s the new form of affordable housing’: more people are living in their cars, By Mattie Quinn, July 24, 2018, Governing: “When a homeless count was conducted in Seattle this year, the city realized that more people are living in their car than ever before and 46 percent more than the year prior. In King County, which surrounds Seattle, around 25 percent of the homeless population is reported to live in their vehicles. This phenomenon isn’t unique to Seattle…”
- 22% surge in number of older homeless people catches L.A. officials off guard, By Gale Holland, July 19, 2018, Los Angeles Times: “Andrea Colucci’s long, slow slide into homelessness began, as it does for many, with medical bills. At the age of 67, she had decided to finally transition as a transgender woman. Her insurer balked at paying her surgeon’s bills, so she put them on credit cards. Then her post-surgery housing plans fell through. A hospital put her out on the sidewalk in a paper gown…”
- Tiny home village for homeless thriving in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood, By Joe Rubino, July 27, 2018, Denver Post: “From the start, supporters have hoped Beloved Community Village would help people beyond the 13 residents who moved off Denver’s streets and into its 8-foot-by-12-foot tiny homes last July. The village, 11 homes, a bathhouse, two portable toilets and a circular common building bounded by a brightly decorated chain-link fence at the corner of 38th and Blake streets, was meant to be a pioneer. It’s a pilot project designed to demonstrate tiny homes, arranged in a community where rules are set by the residents themselves, should be part of the solution to combating homelessness in Denver…”
- Seattle citywide day of media coverage on homelessness, compilation of articles, July 19, 2018, Crosscut: “It’s nearly impossible to avoid the tent-homes clustered in the nooks and crannies of Seattle’s cityscape. Every night and every day, thousands of this booming city’s residents find respite in these meager shelters. Others rest their heads on park benches, bus seats and concrete. Today, Crosscut joins a host of local media organizations in dedicating our website and social channels to the stories of these people. Below we’ll be tracking all of the stories produced today, including a joint project by Crosscut, The Seattle Times, KUOW and SeattlePI.com featuring a series of in-depth stories on the changing dynamics of homelessness in Seattle…”