Homelessness

7 Days till Shutdown: Homeless Students Need Same Internet Access

October 31, 2015 Staff, www.voqal.com Petitions and Online Actions Homelessness, Pennsylvania, Student Activism, Student Protests

By Staff of Voqal - When families with students enrolled at Central Pennsylvania Digital Learning Foundation can’t afford Internet access, the cyber school provides affordable solutions through Mobile Citizen. According to Technology Coordinator Micheal Tambellini, the number of families requiring connectivity assistance is growing. “We have a small percentage of homeless students enrolled today, and unfortunately that number seems to be increasing,” he said. “To keep up with the curriculum, they need the same Internet access as all of our other cyber students.”

Hundreds March In Support Of Denver’s Homeless Population

October 28, 2015 Keagan Harsha, www.kdvr.com Resist! Denver, Homelessness

By Keagan Harsha for Fox 31 DENVER -- Denver's housing market might be booming, but some say it's happening at the expense of many residents who are being forced out of their homes and onto the streets. The city’s homeless population is now estimated at around 15,000 people. Richard Sasser is one of them. He and his wife have been homeless for 15 years. He said most people pass by him on the street without ever learning his story, but Monday his voice was magnified by several hundred people across the street. “These are our citizens and they deserve respect, dignity and a place to stay,” said Jason Janz, who helped lead a march from Coors Field to the Denver Rescue Mission in support of the city’s homeless.

Football Stars Tell Homeless Stay For Winter

October 19, 2015 Diane Taylor, www.theguardian.com Resist! Homelessness

By Diane Taylor for The Guardian - When Manchester United footballers Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs got planning permission to turn the historic Manchester stock exchange into a boutique hotel replete with basement gym, spa and rooftop private members’ terrace, they envisaged opening it up to an exclusive and moneyed clientele. Instead, a group of homeless people with little or no money have moved in – with Neville’s blessing. The hotel, which is undergoing extensive renovations before opening its doors to paying guests, was occupied on Sunday by a group of squatters and housing activists called the Manchester Angels.

UK Homeless Advocates Take Over Building For Community Hub

October 11, 2015 Staff, www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk Resist! Homelessness, Housing, United Kingdom (UK)

By Staff for the Manchester Evening News - Homeless activists have promised to set up a ‘community hub’ for rough sleepers after occupying an empty building in Manchester city centre. The homeless rights campaigners have vowed to remain in the vacant office block on Charlotte Street for ‘months’ after taking it over last night. They say they are occupying the building to set up a hub where homeless people can go to get food, shelter and help to find accommodation and work. Claiming the legal right to occupy the building under squatter’s rights, they say they have been forced to act as the council are not doing enough for the city’s homeless. They also claim that members of the fire service have been to the building to assess that it is safe for them to stay in.

Occupy DC Making Sure Homeless Man Has Proper Memorial

October 7, 2015 Perry Stein for The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com Create! Homelessness, Washington DC

By Perry Stein for The Washington Post, Mark Parker had long called McPherson Square home by the time the Occupy D.C. movement settled there in 2011. The homeless man with the unruly beard and squinty-eyed grin welcomed the activists as they created a makeshift settlement of low-slung, colorful tarp tents in the park. It became his community: He served on committees, ate meals with the occupiers and talked politics and solutions. But when the Occupy movement ended, the activists left McPherson Square and went back to their homes. Parker remained, living in the park and begging for money. “He was a cranky man, but he had a lot of important views,” said John Zangas, a local resident active in Occupy D.C. “When Occupy died, a lot of his spirit and energy died in him because that was a promise to him that things would change.”

Portland Mayor Calls For Homeless State Of Emergency

October 2, 2015 Eleanor Goldberg, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Homelessness

By Eleanor Goldberg for The Huffington Post - Mayor Charlie Hales is so disconcerted by the growing housing crisis in Portland, Oregon, that he sees no choice but to declare a homelessness “state of emergency." On a single night in January, 3,800 people slept on the streets, in shelters or in temporary housing, a figure that has remained relatively unchanged since 2011, according to city estimates. Hales tasked officials on Wednesday to vote on declaring a state of emergency, which -- if passed next month -- would allow the city to waive zoning codes when developing shelters for homeless people. Hales said one of his priorities is to house all homeless women by the end of the year.

Activists Hold Ground At City Hall For 11th Week

September 26, 2015 ZH, www.indybay.org Resist! California, Homelessness, Law, Politics

By ZH in IndyBay - Another sleepout protest at Santa Cruz city hall occurred this past Tuesday evening. Protesters have now spent 11 nights sleeping out in the open at city hall, in order to protest and draw attention to the Santa Cruz law which makes camping out in public or in one’s vehicle a citable offense. The law - which has been on the books in Santa Cruz since 1978 - has been criticized by protesters as unfairly targeting houseless people in the city who have no choice other than to sleep outdoors. The last Point in Time count - a nationally used method of surveying unhoused people - in the county registered 1964 individuals, far more than the 1172 shelter beds available to them. The sleepouts have regularly been visited by officers of the Santa Cruz police department, who arrived this past Tuesday evening around 11:00 pm. This week the police only wrote one citation, for a houseless protester found asleep beneath the city hall flagpole.

L.A. To Declare ‘State Of Emergency’ On Homelessness

September 24, 2015 Peter Jamison, David Zahniser and Matt Hamilton, www.latimes.com Create! Homelessness, Los Angeles

By Peter Jamison, David Zahniser and Matt Hamilton in LA Times - Acknowledging their failure to stem a surge in homelessness, Los Angeles’ elected leaders on Tuesday said they would declare a “state of emergency” and devote up to $100 million to the problem. But they offered few details about where the money would come from or how it would be spent, leaving some to question the effort’s chances of success. The announcement by seven City Council members and Mayor Eric Garcetti was a powerful signal of growing alarm at City Hall over L.A.’s homeless population, which has risen 12% since 2013, the year Garcetti took office. It coincided with a directive from the mayor Monday evening that the city free up an additional $13 million in the coming months to help house people living on the streets.

City Hall Sleepout #8

September 12, 2015 Alex Darocy, www.indybay.org Resist! California, Homelessness, Politics

By Alex Darocy in IndyBay - Community members protesting local laws that criminalize homelessness returned to Santa Cruz City Hall on September 1 for their eighth all-night sleepout. In response, the Santa Cruz Police Department rented large lighting units in an attempt to illuminate the entire City Hall courtyard, and security guards were hired to patrol the premises all night. By the end of the evening, fifteen demonstrators were issued citations for being at City Hall after 10pm, and two individuals were arrested. A large group remained and slept until morning, however, and were served breakfast by volunteers. They have planned the next sleepout for September 8. Santa Cruz City Hall is closed to the public from 10pm to 6am. The group of protesters, some homeless and some not, faced increased pressure from police, who have been raiding all of the protests and ticketing individuals for trespassing. The SCPD conducted their first raid on the campers on September 1 in the courtyard at about 11:30pm. They were led by Lt. Christian LeMoss, who wore a long billy-club all evening as he supervised the citation process.

Indigent Advocates To de Blasio: ‘Hands Off The Homeless’

September 10, 2015 Will Bredderman, www.observer.com Resist! Homelessness, New York City (NYC)

By Will Bredderman in The Observer - A few dozen protesters affiliated with the group Picture the Homeless gathered under the elevated Metro North tracks at 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem to protest what they claim is a new policy of police harassment initiated under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Chanting “hands off the homeless” in the frequent gathering spot for indigent individuals, the demonstrators alleged Mr. de Blasio has allowed and even encouraged the NYPD to badger and intimidate people living on the street. Several said the treatment has gotten worse in recent weeks, after Mr. de Blasio has vowed to clear the 80 encampments around the city—a pledge the demonstrators said was a betrayal of the progressive principles he campaigned on in 2013.

Rights Matter: A Guide To Ending Poverty

September 6, 2015 Michele Biss, www.rabble.ca Create! Homelessness, Human Rights, Poverty

By Michele Biss in Rabble.CA. Canada - It's the first of its kind: a human rights guide to ending poverty in Canada. A guide that clearly outlines what human rights mean concretely for policymakers, activists, community-makers and all other anti-poverty stakeholders. Last week, Canada Without Poverty released our Human Rights and Poverty Strategies, A Guide to International Human Rights Law and its Domestic Application in Poverty Reduction Strategies. This step-by-step guide breaks down international human rights obligations for all levels of government and stakeholders, and brings a human rights focus to poverty reduction work in local communities across Canada. The thing is, at Canada Without Poverty, we truly believe that we can end poverty.

Occupy Providence Returns To Confront Harassment Of Homeless

September 1, 2015 Steve Alhquist, www.rifuture.org Resist! Homelessness, Occupy

By Steve Alhquist in Rhode Island Future - In response to the alleged harassment of the homeless population in and around Kennedy Plaza by Providence Police, Occupy Providence met in the People’s Park (akaBurnside Park) with members of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project (RIHAP) to discuss what could be done going forward to stop the criminalization of homelessness going forward. Organizer and Occupier Susan Walker pointed out that in the winter of 2012, Occupy Providence broke their occupation of Burnside Park after negotiating with City Hall for a Day Center for the homeless. “Where is the Day Center today?” she asked. Occupy Providence has long concerned itself with homelessness, so this event marked a return to the group’s roots. John Freitas of RIHAP spoke about the harassment of the homeless downtown by theProvidence Police Department.

Study: 13,000 Become Homeless Every Month In Los Angeles County

August 31, 2015 Haya El Nasser, www.america.aljazeera.com Educate! Homelessness, Los Angeles

By Haya El Nasser in Al Jazeera - Chronic homelessness is such a daunting problem in Los Angeles County that even after 10,000 people were moved into housing in the last three years, about 13,000 people on public assistance slip into homelessness every month, a new study has revealed. The number of people who become chronically homeless overwhelms the dwindling supply of affordable housing, according to a report released today by the Economic Roundtable, a research organization based in Los Angeles. “Ending chronic homelessness will be feasible if fewer people become homeless,” said Daniel Flaming, author of the report. “This requires the combined resources of health, mental health, social service, education, justice system and housing agencies to restore a place in the community for homeless individuals.”

Connecticut Finds Homes For All Chronically Homeless Vets

August 31, 2015 Bryce Covert, www.nationofchange.org Create! Conneticut, Homelessness

By Bryce Covert in Nation of Change - On Thursday, the federal government announced that Connecticut is the first state in the country to end chronic homelessness among veterans. That means the state has found permanent housing for all veterans who have been homeless for at least one year or four times in the past three years, or has an immediate path to housing in place for them. A one-day survey in February found 18 veterans experiencing chronic homelessness in the state, just nine of whom were living without any shelter. Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) said that the state’s ongoing efforts have found permanent housing for a total of nearly 300 chronically homeless veterans. The governor credits state investments in affordable housing for the milestone, including at least $3 million in rental subsidies and obtaining an additional 129 housing vouchers from federal agencies.

Study: Cheapest Way To End Homelessness Is Ridiculously Simple

June 8, 2015 Drake Baer, www.businessinsider.com Educate! California, Homelessness, Housing

By Drake Baer in Business Insider - The Economic Roundtable just came out with the largest study on homelessness in American history. And it turns out the best way to combat homelessness is to provide homes. The study's focus was on Santa Clara County, California, home to the extreme wealth of Silicon Valley and the highest percentage of homelessness in the entire US. The methodology is enough to make a social scientist swoon: Researchers analyzed information about everyone in Santa Clara County who had been homeless between 2007 and 2012 — 104,206 people. Homelessness, the report details, gets very expensive. Between costs related to healthcare, social welfare, and the justice system, Santa Clara County as a whole spent $520 million on services for homeless residents. Those costs didn't come from everybody who was homeless in that time period. As Gabrielle Canon at Mother Jones notes, much of those costs came from the roughly 2,800 people who were persistently homeless.

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