The recession is leading to a surge in demand for homeless shelters and services -- but also a dramatic drop-off in normal sources of funding.
"Shelters and related services for the homeless are facing funding shortfalls as the downturn takes its toll on state budgets and corporate donations. And while individual donors in many cases are keeping up gifts - or even digging a little deeper for charities that help with urgent needs like food and shelter - the service providers say they are faced with a rapidly growing demand from people losing jobs and homes in the economic crisis.
Even as census-takers fan out in cities across the country this week in an attempt to count homeless populations, advocates and experts point to a bevy of evidence that homelessness is rising and will continue to, most notably among families with children.
Shelters across the country report that more people are seeking emergency shelter and more are being turned away. In a report published in December, 330 school districts identified the same number or more homeless students in the first few months of the school year than they identified in the entire previous year. Meantime, demand is sharply up at soup kitchens, an indication of deepening hardship and potential homelessness."
FULL STORY: Homelessness surges as funding falters
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Camping Bans, but Challenges of Addressing Homelessness Remain
In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court upheld an Oregon city’s ban on camping in public places, paving the way for similar bans in cities across the country but doing nothing to solve the cause of homelessness.
Sweeps Aren’t Outreach: Policing Homelessness Still Doesn’t Work
A new study shines a light on the connection between homeless outreach teams and policing, and examines why so many cities still use resident complaints to guide their response to the homelessness crisis.
Los Angeles Tightens Restrictions on Encampments
During a city council meeting that had to pause while police cleared the room of activists opposing the measure, the council voted to ban public sleeping within 500 feet of schools, making one-fifth of city sidewalks off-limits to unhoused people.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
The Subversive Car-Free Guide to Trump's Great American Road Trip
Car-free ways to access Chicagoland’s best tourist attractions.
San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.
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