Thread: 'Tent cities' of homeless on the rise across the US

Homeless encampments dubbed "tent cities" are springing up across the US, partly in response to soaring numbers of home repossessions, the credit crunch and rising unemployment, according to a report.


By Our Foreign Staff
Last Updated: 7:37AM BST 20 Sep 2008


The tent city that recently sprung up next to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nevada

In Reno, Nevada, the state with the nation's highest repossessions rate, a tent city recently sprung up on the city's outskirts and quickly filled up with about 150 people Photo: AP
Robert Scott Cook, originally from Alaska, walks his dog Tramp through the tent city in downtown Reno, Nevada
Robert Scott Cook, originally from Alaska, walks his dog Tramp through the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nevada Photo: AP

Nearly 61 per cent of local and state homeless organisations say they have witnessed an increase in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, the Washington DC-based National Coalition for the Homeless study says.

And the problem has intensified since the report was produced in April, along with rising repossessions, soaring energy and food prices and job losses, the group says.

"It's clear that poverty and homelessness have increased," Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the coalition, said.

"The economy is in chaos, we're in an unofficial recession and Americans are worried, from the homeless to the middle class, about their future."

Homeless groups and government agencies from Seattle, in Washington state, to Athens in Georgia, report the most visible increase in homeless encampments in a generation.

"What you're seeing is encampments that I haven't seen since the '80s," said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, an umbrella group of homeless groups in west coast cities.

In Reno, Nevada, the state with the nation's highest repossessions rate, a tent city recently sprung up on the city's outskirts and quickly filled up with about 150 people. Many, such as Sylvia Flynn, 51, who came from northern California, ended up homeless after losing their jobs and home.

Officials say they do not know how many homeless the city has. "But we do know that the soup kitchens are serving hundreds more meals a day and that we have more people who are homeless than we can remember," Jodi Royal-Goodwin, the city's redevelopment agency director, said.

In California, the upmarket city of Santa Barbara is housing homeless people who live in their cars in city car parks while Fresno, has several tent cities. Others have sprung up in Portland in Oregon, and Seattle, where homeless activists have set up mock tent cities at city hall to draw attention to the problem.

Meanwhile, new encampments have appeared, or existing ones grown, in San Diego, Chattanooga in Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio.

A recent report by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development noted a 12 per cent drop in homelessness across the nation, but the latest figures – from 2007 – predates the current housing and economic crisis.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... he-US.html

We are a troubled country and Americans need to get into action.

WE HAVE HAD HOMELESS EMCAMPMENTS HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR YEARS AND YEARS. THEY ARE NOT AS BIG AS THE ONE MENTIONED...BUT THERE ARE MANY OF THEM. THEY USE CARDBOARD BOXES TO FORM SHELTER. IN WINTER THEY COVER THE BOXES WITH PLASTIC GARBAGE BAGS TO STAY DRY AND TO KEEP IN THE WARMTH. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON HERE SINCE THE REAGAN "TRICKLE DOWN" YEARS. BUT NOW IT IS GROWING.

they are already all over California and Florida... your going to see many, many more pop up in the years to come

redpony wrote:

THEY USE CARDBOARD BOXES TO FORM SHELTER. IN WINTER THEY COVER THE BOXES WITH PLASTIC GARBAGE BAGS TO STAY DRY AND TO KEEP IN THE WARMTH. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON HERE SINCE THE REAGAN "TRICKLE DOWN" YEARS. BUT NOW IT IS GROWING.

I saw that in Cairo, with people using cardboard as their bedding in the fanciest shopping districts. In DC, there were plenty of homeless folks that tied cardboard to their bare feet and slept on grates bringing up heat from the subway exhaust (along Pennsylvania Ave., which happens to be the address of the White House). And I am talking about the 1970s.
In FL, there were plenty of people that did not want to come into any sort of living arrangements but preferred to live in in the woods, and a lot of them were war vets that had never been taken care of for trauma, according to one charitable organization that raised funds to give them tents and sleeping bags.
It is getting to the point where this whole situation will not end very well for the American people, and life as we know it may not really be the same.

Originally Posted by vortex

redpony wrote:

THEY USE CARDBOARD BOXES TO FORM SHELTER. IN WINTER THEY COVER THE BOXES WITH PLASTIC GARBAGE BAGS TO STAY DRY AND TO KEEP IN THE WARMTH. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON HERE SINCE THE REAGAN "TRICKLE DOWN" YEARS. BUT NOW IT IS GROWING.

I saw that in Cairo, with people using cardboard as their bedding in the fanciest shopping districts. In DC, there were plenty of homeless folks that tied cardboard to their bare feet and slept on grates bringing up heat from the subway exhaust (along Pennsylvania Ave., which happens to be the address of the White House). And I am talking about the 1970s.
In FL, there were plenty of people that did not want to come into any sort of living arrangements but preferred to live in in the woods, and a lot of them were war vets that had never been taken care of for trauma, according to one charitable organization that raised funds to give them tents and sleeping bags.
It is getting to the point where this whole situation will not end very well for the American people, and life as we know it may not really be the same.

YES YES. IN THE BEST PARTS OF TOWN. IN THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT IN SAN FRANCISCO....YOU CAN SEE CARDBOARD CONDOS ALL THE ALONG THE STREET. THEN THEY LEAVE EARLY....LIKE 6 AM. THEN SUITS FOR 8-10 HOURS OR SO....THEN THE CARDBOARD IS BACK FOR THE EVENING.

There is at least one in my city.

People with TB are not allowed in homeless shelters.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

There is at least one in my city.

People with TB are not allowed in homeless shelters.

Dixie

THIS IS SAD....THAT THE SICK GET KICKED OUT INTO THE STREET. I THINK THAT IS THE CASE HERE IN SF ALSO. THEY DONT LET IN THOSE WITH TB. BUT THERE ARE MANY LEFT IN THE STREET DUE TO LACK OF ROOM IN THE SHELTER.

YOU KNOW WHAT IS MORE SAD? THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE SHELTERS HERE THAT HAVE JOBS. THATS RIGHT, THEY WORK....SOMETIMES FULL TIME. BUT THEY GET PAID SO LITTLE THAT THEY CANT AFFORD HOUSING. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? WAGES ARE SO DEPRESSED THAT A PERSON CAN WORK FULL TIME AND NOT AFFORD HOUSING. TRAGIC. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE KIDS...AND THE KIDS LIVE IN THE SHELTER ALSO.

Related:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-132310-tent.html
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-126450-tent.html