Jacob, a young homeless man with hearing loss, recently walked into one of the free clinics that my colleagues and I had organized at his shelter. He sat down with me and described how severe hearing loss had impacted his life. During a previous job interview, he had been unable to properly hear the interviewer, … Read more
In 2013, the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, population about 40,000, sought to do something about the growing presence of homeless encampments on public property. The City Council decided to heavily enforce laws prohibiting homeless people from sleeping anywhere at any time by issuing significant, escalatory fines. The intent was to drive the homeless population … Read more
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California voters have approved a measure that will impose strict requirements on counties to spend on housing and drug treatment programs to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis, in a tissue-thin win for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who personally campaigned for the measure’s passage. Democrats outnumber Republicans by a staggering 2-to-1 in California, and … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor London Breed on Thursday pledged even more improvements under a pair of controversial public safety proposals voters approved this week that expand police powers and force some welfare recipients into drug treatment, marking a shift from the city’s staunchly progressive policies. She also made the case in her annual State of … Read more
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters were split in early returns over a statewide ballot measure touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom as a necessary step to tackle the state’s ongoing homelessness crisis. Proposition 1 would be the first major update to the state’s mental health system in 20 years. The measure needs a simple majority … Read more
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians are voting on a statewide ballot measure that is touted by the governor as a major step to tackle homelessness and would be the first major update to the state’s mental health system in 20 years. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says Proposition 1 is needed to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis … Read more
OROVILLE, Calif. — Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging voters to approve a ballot initiative that he says is needed to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis, a change social providers say would threaten programs that keep people from becoming homeless in the first place. In 2004, voters approved legislation that imposed a tax on … Read more
The Office of the Federal Housing Advocate (OFHA) is calling on all three levels of government to create a strategy to end chronic homelessness in Canada. Marie-Josée Houle on Tuesday called for an end to forced evictions of encampments and urged “alternatives that are designed following meaningful engagement with encampment residents.” The OFHA report, released … Read more
PHOENIX — With his gap-tooth smile, hip-hop routines and volunteer work for a food charity, Roosevelt White III was well known in the downtown Phoenix tent city known as “The Zone.” But like many homeless people, White suffered from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He died unexpectedly one sweltering September day at age 36. Thousands of … Read more
