the #UK🇬🇧 is now the #homelessness capital of the world, with the number of people without homes rising rapidly, well beyond ANY OTHER DEVELOPED NATION IN THE WORLD
"Most of the belongings, such as clothing, makeup and blankets, could be replaced in time. But she panicked when she realized that her dentures, acquired after months of dental appointments, were also gone."
#Albuquerque Is Throwing Out the Belongings of #Homeless People, Violating City Policy
The city has violated a court order and its own policies by discarding the personal property of thousands of homeless people, who have lost medications, birth certificates, IDs, treasured family photos and the ashes of loved ones.
NEW:
Common narratives about #homelessness and #mentalhealth in #SF focus on people who reject help. But last fall, our reporters met an unhoused man so desperate for care that he asked to be detained just to get his meds. 🧵
Years ago, I read of a Hunter Valley garbage collector who was distressed at the increasing incidence of people sleeping in cars near the bins at supermarkets. Apparently, that's viewed as a safe place.
He was upset that he repeatedly scared children when he asked their mother to move the car so he could get at the bins. Clearly, the situation has not improved.
A gentle reminder that just because we don't see a certain type of people doesn't mean they don't exist.
I read and article about homelessness in the US, and lots of commenters "never saw" any homeless people in Spain or France.
Maybe their short stint as a visitor within a limited geographic area and their focus on architecture or weird foreign things shielded them from seeing homelessness.
I also live in a European city where you can go for some time without seeing any homeless people. You also rarely see people who are disabled.
Cultural, historical, legal/security, mobility, and other factors are in play here. It isn't that the social net is so very secure that homelessness -- or indeed, other suffering not alleviated by the state -- does not exist.
A real study here on Safe Parking and homelessness:
"As vehicular homelessness increases in the United States, safe parking programs have proliferated.... JFS SPP has a 40% positive exit rate, with younger clients, women, veterans, and families more likely to exit into housing. Second, JFS SPP is preferred over shelters by persons who have used both services. This preference is especially important for older clients and clients with disabilities for whom safe parking is a safety net. Finally, increasing access to lots and services would benefit all clients, including families, seniors, and individuals with nontraditional schedules." https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10511482.2024.2313511#safeparking#homelessness
"We have identified three key findings from the research described here: (a) safe parking programs bolster upward cycles for those with the capacity to work, draw on social ties, or access housing assistance; (b) safe parking programs prevent downward spirals for those with fewer resources by acting as safety net, are preferred as a safety net by clients who have used both safe parking programs and emergency shelters over the latter, and provide greater access to resources than is possible through street outreach efforts; and (c) expanded access to lots, case management, and showers would benefit all clients of safe parking programs." #SafeParking#homelessness#unhoused#policy
Helen Cruz racked up more than $2,000 in fines for sleeping in Grants Pass parks when she was homeless for about six years but now lives at a church feeding others who live on the southern Oregon city’s streets.
Almost half of Cruz’s fines came in 2022.
“Providing housing would be the best way possible and this is the cheapest way that we can afford to build one,” said Lacasse, a group member of United Front to End Homelessness.
The structures are entirely made out of sand bags.
“The sand bag houses that are being built are fire resistant, properly ventilated and easy to heat,” said Wren Wombwell, a member of Fight Back KW.