homeless

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This Is What Being Unhoused in America Looks Like

Patrick Fealey's Esquire essay portrays a raw, firsthand account of homelessness

(Newser) - "Do you need anything?" This is a common refrain writer Patrick Fealey says he gets from police officers when they knock on the window of the car he parks along beaches or in Walmart lots. Fealey has been unhoused since 2023 and lives out of his 2013 Corolla with...

In Big City Mayor Elections, Homeless Crisis Looms Large

Candidates, mostly Democrats and in the West, vary widely on how to solve a difficult problem

(Newser) - San Francisco Mayor London Breed has launched a crackdown on people sleeping outside in a campaign to clear homeless encampments. Her four challengers in November's election, all Democrats, say she hasn't handled the crisis effectively, though the city last month counted only 300 tents and other temporary structures,...

Why Unhoused Seniors Are a Growing Group

Many late baby boomers never achieved financial stability, putting them closer to the streets in middle age

(Newser) - If you think of Los Angeles County's homeless population as people struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues, you're not entirely wrong, but that picture fails to tell the full story. Seniors represent the fastest-growing group among the unhoused, per Cal Matters , but it's not just...

California Just Made a Big Move on Homelessness
California Just Made a Big
Move on Homelessness
the rundown
Jul 25, 2024 12:54 PM CDT

California Just Made a Big Move on Homelessness

Gov. Newsom orders state agencies to start dismantling encampments

(Newser) - Emboldened by a major Supreme Court decision in June, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has just taken a big step toward removing many of the state's homeless encampments:
  • New order: Newsom issued an executive order telling state agencies to take down encampments within their jurisdictions, reports the Los Angeles Times
...

DA: Man Laid in Wait Before Pushing Stranger Into Train

Transient charged with murder in BART attack on woman, 74

(Newser) - A homeless man in San Francisco has been charged with murder after allegedly pushing a stranger into a moving train. Police say Trevor Belmont, 49, approached 74-year-old Corazon Dandan as a train was arriving at the Powell Street Bay Area Rapid Transit station around 11pm on Monday. Dandan was then...

Homeless People Can No Longer Stay at Logan

Massachusetts also sends officials to border to warn immigrants about costs, cold winters

(Newser) - Homeless families and individuals will be barred from sleeping overnight at Logan International Airport in Boston beginning July 9, state officials said Friday. The state has made efforts to open more overflow shelter beds for homeless families, including many newly arrived migrants who have used the airport as a last...

SCOTUS OKs Ban on Homeless People Sleeping Outdoors

In 6-3 ruling, Supreme Court justices find that such restrictions don't violate Eighth Amendment

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is wrapping up its current session with a deluge of high-profile cases , and on Friday, it added even more rulings to the mix. Among them: a 6-3 decision by the high court to allow US cities to enforce restrictions on homeless people sleeping outside, overturning a San...

Cops Seek 2 Men Who Pushed Homeless Man Fatally Into Lake

Pair were seen tussling with man in broad daylight near LA's MacArthur Park Lake before he died

(Newser) - Los Angeles police are searching for two men allegedly seen pushing or dragging a homeless man into a lake, where he died. Surveillance video reportedly shows two men between 30 and 40 years old tussling with the victim in the vicinity of MacArthur Park Lake. Authorities discovered the body of...

You've Heard All About the 'Roof Ninja.' Now Meet Her

Footage released of unusual encounter in Michigan between cops, woman living in sign on store's roof

(Newser) - A woman who said she'd lived in a sign perched atop a Michigan grocery store for about a year is no longer living there after being busted by cops last month, but her first contact with the law was caught on video and is now circulating, reports MLive.com...

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...

Church Sues After City Restricts Free Meal Service
Church Told to Limit
Free Meals Wins Lawsuit
UPDATED
Mar 30, 2024 6:11 PM CDT

Church Told to Limit Free Meals Wins Lawsuit

Federal judge said feeding the hungry is a 'religious exercise'

(Newser) - A church in Brookings, Oregon has won a federal lawsuit it filed in 2022 over a city ordinance that said it could only give homeless people free meals two days per week. Judge Mark Clarke described the soup kitchen at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church as a "religious exercise....

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...

Ramaswamy Says Who He Thinks Are 'Vermin'

GOP presidential candidate echoes Trump, uses word to apply to San Francisco's homeless people

(Newser) - Former President Trump's use of the word "vermin" last weekend to describe his political enemies raised a red flag , with critics calling it "straight-up Nazi talk" and a Trump rep responding by calling those critics "snowflakes." Now, another GOP presidential candidate is getting in on...

City Plays Wiggles Song to Drive Homeless People Away

Australian children's band is 'deeply disappointed'

(Newser) - A city council in Western Australia is facing a backlash after deploying the Wiggles to deter homeless people. The council in Bunbury has admitted that it has been playing the popular children's band's song " Hot Potato " on a loop at a bandshell to discourage homeless people...

DA Sues Sacramento Over 'Collapse Into Chaos'

He says city has failed to take action to get homeless people off the streets

(Newser) - A Sacramento prosecutor is suing California's capital city over its failure to clean up homeless encampments. Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho says his office asked the city to enforce laws around sidewalk obstruction and to create additional professionally operated camping sites. He announced the suit Tuesday during a news...

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...

Family Wants Answers After Daughter Killed by Lawn Mower

27-year-old woman was in overgrown area at Modesto, California park

(Newser) - Relatives of Christine Chavez, a 27-year-old woman killed in an apparent lawn mower accident in Modesto, California, say the police investigation was so careless that parts of her remains were left at the scene and they kept finding more during daily vigils. "I went there and I still have...

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...

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