homelessness

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SCOTUS Appears Split on Law Against Sleeping Outside

Critics say Oregon town's law criminalizes homelessness

(Newser) - Liberal and conservative justices on the Supreme Court appeared to be split Monday on a major case dealing with homelessness—and with a conservative majority on the court, it appears poised to rule in favor of allowing cities to make their own rules. The case involves a challenge to a...

Rural Oregon Town Becomes Face of Homelessness

Case involving homeless camps in Grants Pass is going to the Supreme Court

(Newser) - A pickleball game in the leafy Oregon community was suddenly interrupted one rainy weekend morning by the arrival of an ambulance. After paramedics rushed through the park toward a tent, one of dozens illegally erected by the town's hundreds of homeless people, play resumed as though nothing had happened....

Audit: California Can't Tell if Homelessness Efforts Worked

State didn't regularly track billions spent on programs, report says

(Newser) - California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness over the past five years but didn't consistently track whether the spending actually helped alleviate the problem, according to a state audit released Tuesday. With makeshift tents lining the streets and disrupting businesses throughout the state, homelessness has become one of the...

She Disappeared at 8, Changed DC Forever
She Disappeared at 8,
Changed DC Forever
longform
Mar 23, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

She Disappeared at 8, Changed DC Forever

'Washington Post' revisits the tragic case of Relisha Rudd, a decade after she vanished

(Newser) - Ten years ago this month, a social worker at Relisha Rudd's Washington, DC, elementary school went to the homeless shelter where the 8-year-old lived with her family, concerned because she'd been absent for 10 days. He wanted to talk to the person listed as Relisha's doctor, Kahlil...

Florida Law Bans Homeless People From Sleeping in Public

Bill signed by DeSantis this week says cities can create authorized camps if shelters are full

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a law banning homeless people from sleeping overnight in public places including parks and sidewalks. HB 1365 says cities and counties can set up government-run camps if shelters are full. DeSantis and other Republicans say the legislation will help provide unsheltered people with "...

States With Highest, Lowest 'Unsheltered' Rates

California has the most, at nearly 70%, but most of New York's homeless are in shelters

(Newser) - Homelessness in the US is increasing, and more details are surfacing from the latest batch of federal numbers . The big takeaway stat is that an estimated 653,000 were homeless on a single day in January 2023, the largest figure since that "point in time" method of counting began...

Here Are the Neediest US Cities
This Is the Neediest
City in America
Dec 19, 2023 10:50 AM CST

This Is the Neediest City in America

Detroit could use some help combatting poverty, unemployment, per WalletHub

(Newser) - It's the time of year when we're thankful for the abundance in our lives—and, hopefully, we try to think of others who aren't so fortunate. WalletHub looked at more than 180 US cities to see which ones suffer most from economic disarray, including through homelessness, food...

US Homelessness Reaches All-Time High

Many are without shelter for the first time

(Newser) - The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness to its highest reported level as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday.
  • Main number: About 653,000 people were experiencing homelessness, the most
...

Cities Across US Struggle With Homeless Encampments

Advocates say police sweeps are not the answer, but long-term solutions are elusive

(Newser) - Tossing tent poles, blankets, and a duffel bag into a shopping cart and three wagons, Will Taylor spent a summer morning helping friends tear down what had been their home and that of about a dozen others in Portland, Oregon. It wasn't the first time and wouldn't be...

Gunman Kills 1, Wounds 5 at Homeless Encampment
Cops: Killer of Homeless
in LA Has Been Caught
UPDATED
Dec 3, 2023 7:47 AM CST

Cops: Killer of Homeless in LA Has Been Caught

Police in Las Vegas continue to search for gunman in shootings there

(Newser) - A Los Angeles man has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men. Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was identified as the suspect in the killings after authorities determined a firearm found in a vehicle he was driving was linked...

LA Tests $1K Monthly Payment to Prevent Homelessness

Early data suggests pilot program using artificial intelligence to identify those at risk is working

(Newser) - While some fear artificial intelligence will steal their likeness, work, and jobs, Los Angeles hopes the technology will prevent 20 net people from falling into homelessness each day. "On average, for every 207 individuals who exit homelessness daily, 227 more enter," reads a report cited by KTLA . To...

California Counties Open Mental Health Courts

Newsom says the program is meant to address homelessness crisis

(Newser) - An alternative mental health court program designed to fast-track people with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders into housing and medical care—potentially without their consent—kicked off in seven California counties, including San Francisco, on Monday. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom created the new civil court process, called "CARE...

More People Than Ever Are Living on the Street

A lack of affordable housing is resulting in a record spike in homelessness

(Newser) - Back in 2019, the US homeless population jumped 2.7% from the previous year, the highest mark on record to date. This year, that mark will be obliterated, reports the Wall Street Journal . Its investigation projects an increase of 11%. Based on a survey of data from groups that help...

Man Who Hosed Homeless Woman: San Francisco Is Broken

Collier Gwin says what he did was wrong, but officials need to do something about the city

(Newser) - The San Francisco gallery owner who was recorded hosing down a homeless woman camped out on the sidewalk and later charged with battery over the incident is speaking out. In a piece at the Wall Street Journal , Collier Gwin admits he lost his temper and shouldn't have sprayed the...

William Sees Finland as Model to End Homelessness

Prince launches initiative in the UK, cites his mother as influence

(Newser) - Prince William launched a five-year project to end long-term homelessness in the United Kingdom on Monday, saying he wants to make sure that instances of people being left without a roof over their heads are "rare, brief, and unrepeated." The heir to the throne will announce details of...

New York City Enacts 'Homeless Bill of Rights'

A new law reaffirms New Yorkers' right to sleep outdoors, with restrictions

(Newser) - New York Mayor Eric Adams allowed a “Homeless Bill of Rights” to become law over the weekend, reports the AP , a step supporters say will strengthen legal protections for the unhoused in a city struggling with a record number of people in its shelter system. The measure passed the...

NY Senate Yanks Nomination Over Bogus Veteran Story

Sharon Toney-Finch is embroiled in controversy over fabricated story

(Newser) - Sharon Toney-Finch—a veteran and director of the YIT Foundation , which helps veterans and babies born prematurely—has found herself in the center of a controversy that has swept across the state of New York and led state Senate Democrats to rescind her "Women of Distinction" nomination, reports Mid...

New York City Was Monitoring Jordan Neely, but Not That Day

Death of someone on a watch list shows flaws in the support system, advocates say

(Newser) - Jordan Neely, who died after being placed in a chokehold by another New York City subway passenger, was on a city task force's list of people most at risk of harm. Homeless outreach workers who encounter people on the list are supposed to notify city officials and place them...

Homeless People Face a Worsening Health Crisis
Homeless People Face
a Scary Health Crisis
longform
Feb 26, 2023 2:40 PM CST

Homeless People Face a Scary Health Crisis

Slate: One woman's death from cancer suggests ways things can be improved

(Newser) - It's a story pegged around the confluence of some eye-opening stats: The life expectancy of homeless people is roughly 20 years less than others, and the number of people being driven to homelessness is rising in the US, writes Lori Teresa Yearwood at Slate . This might help explain why...

Gallery Owner Recorded Spraying Homeless Woman
SF Man Recorded
Turning Hose on
Homeless Woman
VIDEO
Jan 11, 2023 12:27 PM CST

SF Man Recorded Turning Hose on Homeless Woman

Collier Gwin could face assault charge

(Newser) - A man filmed hosing down a homeless woman on the streets of San Francisco initially told KGO that he found it "hard to apologize." Indeed, he suggested to the San Francisco Chronicle that he'd do it again. A video of Monday's incident quickly went viral , with...

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