Hawaii Buys Homeless Plane Tickets to Mainland

Woman, father were behind ordinances that forced abusers under bridge

(NEWSER) - The homeless sex offenders who live under Miami’s infamous Julia Tuttle Causeway aren't quick to thank two of their most diligent advocates for working on their behalf. “They know who we are, and don’t like us very much,” says Lauren Book-Lim. Book-Lim was sexually abused by her nanny from age 11 through age 17, and her lobbyist father, Ron Book, helped push through the ordinances that forced many of these men from their homes. More»

Squeezed shelters, recession prompt local government tolerance

(NEWSER) - With room tight in homeless shelters, municipalities across the US are allowing tent cities to stand—after years spent breaking up homeless clusters, the Wall Street Journal reports. In some areas, the encampments are even supplied with basic services like portable toilets and medical care. “There is no place to put them,” says a Nashville homeless official of the dwellers, especially when cities are trying to cut budgets. More»

With food and shelter $3 a night, it's a poor-man's paradise

(NEWSER) - Turns out surfers, vacationers, and the First Family aren't the only folks with Hawaii on their radar screen: It seems the islands are also something of a mecca for homeless men from other states. Add to the white-sand beaches the room and board for just $3 a night, plus free medical and dental care, and it's a winning proposition for an increasing number of single, middle-aged, unemployed guys who can just put together the cost of a one-way plane ticket, the director of a homeless shelter tells NPR. More»

Rising culinary star left posh restaurant for rescue mission

(NEWSER) - At California’s Bay Area Rescue Mission, the homeless dine on grilled artichokes with garlic sherry vinaigrette or vegetable soup with creme fraiche, thanks to the culinary talents of Tim Hammack. The chef left a renowned French bistro to cook at the rescue mission. “I was cooking for very wealthy people and people of means,” he tells NPR. “But I just had a passion for people who didn’t have means.” More»

(NEWSER) - A surge in vicious, unprovoked assaults on homeless people has put weight behind efforts to reclassify such attacks as hate crimes, the New York Times reports. Attacks have risen as more people have been pushed onto the streets by the recession, and researchers say the assailants are generally men or, more often, teenage boys who see the homeless as easy targets and beat, burn, and kill them for sport. "A lot of what we see are thrill offenders," says one criminologist. More»