“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment and counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”
Let that sink in. It costs less than accepting homelessness. #Finland#Helsinki#homeless#cities#homes https://scoop.me/housing-first-finland-homelessness/
Oregon bill would decriminalize homeless encampments and propose penalties if unhoused people are harassed or ordered to leave | This makes me very happy, as it puts the onus of dealing with the #unhoused population exactly where it should be - on society in general and local municipalities specifically. If you don’t want the #homeless in your downtown, provide them a safe space elsewhere. It’s our responsibility as a society to care for our homeless citizens, it is society that has failed them in most cases. So instead of NIMBY vigilantes at all levels punting the population from one place or another, it’s long past time to deal with the crisis head on and provide the space for their tents, tiny houses and warming centers during harsh winters, cooling centers during blazing summers, and access to service at all times. Proud of my state: #oregon and proud of our Governor, Tina Kotek, who with her first lady constitute our first same sex first couple. #LGBTQIA#LGBTQ#Governancehttps://www.cnn.com/2023/04/28/us/oregon-homeless-camp-bill/index.html
Today in Labor History February 4, 1974: The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) kidnapped Patty Hearst, granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, in Berkeley, California. One of the SLA’s demands for releasing Hearst was for her family to pay for millions of dollars’ worth of food to be given out free the poor and unhoused of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Hearst complied, with various community organizations distributing 100,000 bags of groceries at 16 sites in 4 counties, before violence brought the program to a halt. The violence occurred because the crowds were bigger than expected and workers started throwing boxes of food off of moving trucks. As a captive, Patty Hearst was held in a closet, blindfolded, with her hands tied, raped and threatened repeatedly with death. She was later offered the choice of freedom, or joining the SLA. She chose the latter. Consequently, she was later sentenced to 35 years in prison for her complicity in SLA robberies. After several years in prison, her sentence was commuted by President Carter. President Clinton pardoned her. Congressional Representative Leo Ryan was murdered by the Jim Jones cult in Guyana several weeks after collecting signatures for her release. Actor John Wayne, of all people, expressed frustration that everyone accepted the idea that Jones had brainwashed hundreds of his followers into mass suicide, but wouldn’t accept that the SLA could have brainwashed a teenage girl. After her release, Hearst went on to become an actress, appearing in several John Waters films, as well as many others.
A new study by the University of California, San Francisco shows that homeless people in California were struggling with poor health and deep poverty before becoming homeless. The study released Tuesday by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative aims to provide a comprehensive picture of adult homelessness in a state...
According to the controller's office, 96% of those eviction filings were for non-payment of rent, 91% came with a 3-day notice and represented $186.5 million accumulated rent owed....
The Office for National Statistics may stop publishing mortality data on #homeless people.
Who next? The disabled? The old? Foreigners?
"An official count of the deaths of homeless people would no longer be published in England and Wales under proposals to increase the efficiency of health data that campaigners have called “callous”.
There have been efforts to #criminalise people who live on the streets in the #UnitedStates.
Supreme Court judges are due to rule on whether a law that essentially makes being #homeless a crime, is #constitutional.
The ruling could affect the lives of more than half a million people.
Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reports from #LosAngeles.
"VC Star: CFO stole millions, developer of T.O. homeless project says..." (company says that) "The company’s recently fired chief financial officer took it and spent much of it on Beverly Hills real estate, expensive cars, private jet travel, VIP passes to Coachella and more than a quarter of a million dollars in jewelry and handbags for his girlfriend."
🧵1)
I picked up two pretty grungy bikes donated to Repeat Boutique several weeks ago. They are good sturdy machines that can provide transportation to someone who shops there for free clothing, household goods, etc. But not in the shape they were in. Both are mountain hybrids with handlebar extensions and rat trap pedals. Lots of mud, 4 flat tires, 1 chain jammed, 4 nonfunctional combo shifter- brake levers, no kickstands. Ugh. So Friday I ⤵️
Those who received the $750 monthly #stipend were less likely to remain #unsheltered and closer to having enough #money to meet all of their #basicNeeds as compared to a control group who accessed usual #homeless services.
More importantly, the initial findings dispels this #myth that people will use money for #illicit purposes.
Only about 2% of the $750 per month was spent on #alcohol, #cigarettes, or #drugs; the majority of that money was spent on cigarettes.
“We are up against a bunch of rich people who don’t want to see #homeless people anywhere near their stuff.”
Volunteers with #Houston Food Not Bombs are going to court to fight an anti-food sharing ordinance which they say violates their First Amendment rights, reports Staff Writer Michelle Pitcher in our latest article: https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-food-not-bombs-trial/
You guys, this is terrifying. I’m freaked out that nobody seems to be talking about this except for people who are actually homeless.
“In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a major case that could reshape how cities manage homelessness. The legal issue is whether they can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if there's no shelter available. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has deemed this cruel and unusual punishment, and this case is a pivotal challenge to that ruling.” https://www.nhpr.org/national/2024-02-20/how-far-can-cities-go-to-clear-homeless-camps-the-u-s-supreme-court-will-decide
I hope y’all realize that this could happen to anyone. I never thought I would end up homeless I started working at 14 & I worked multiple jobs at a time most years, I had careers, I went to college and got a degree, I had savings. Then I became disabled in an accident I didn’t cause. It kicked in MECFS too. I didn’t have three years worth of savings, which is how long it took for the SSA to approve disability for me. Three years. So of course I ended up homeless.
But even once I started getting disability payments, and even with a large lump sum from all the backpay they owed me, it was still a struggle to get housing because my disability check wasn’t 3 1/2 times any rent anywhere. I also had a part-time job so my averaging income was four dollars more than the minimum wage here but it still wasn’t enough to qualify to even apply for an $825 one bedroom apartment.
The only reason I’m not homeless anymore is because I finally got to the top of the section 8 waitlist, it took five years. I moved up quicker because I was homeless and because I had a job in the city I was applying in, but it still took five years. #housing#homeless#CriminalizingPoverty #WorkCampsAreComing
New study says high housing costs, low income push Californians into homelessness (apnews.com)
A new study by the University of California, San Francisco shows that homeless people in California were struggling with poor health and deep poverty before becoming homeless. The study released Tuesday by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative aims to provide a comprehensive picture of adult homelessness in a state...
Eviction notices in Los Angeles County skyrocketing (www.foxla.com)
According to the controller's office, 96% of those eviction filings were for non-payment of rent, 91% came with a 3-day notice and represented $186.5 million accumulated rent owed....