Hope in the battle against homelessness, By Neal Peirce, November 8, 2009, Denver Post: “Veterans of America’s recent wars left homeless; abused women and their children seeking nightly shelter; out-of-sight medical system costs; rising tides of bankruptcies. What do they have to do with each other - and America’s current health care debate? A lot, it turns out. By failing to guarantee a roof over every American’s head, we’ve failed the test - as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan puts it - of ‘a civilized society.’ On a typical night, 650,000 Americans have no place to call home. We created this crisis ourselves, by the states emptying out their mental hospitals and cities demolishing thousands of low-income rental units. The result was a huge gap in affordable shelter. Plus, by failing to restrain medical system costs or guarantee care for all Americans, we’ve forced thousands of families to go into bankruptcy. Today, alarming numbers are being forced to take to the streets where their health is even more endangered by extremes of pelting rain or stone-cold nights, unsanitary conditions and sometimes violence. Yet as grim as all this sounds, it’s possible to see strong glimmers of light…”

Homeless in Colorado metro area up to 11,061, By Mike McPhee, September 17, 2009, Denver Post: “There are 11,061 homeless people in the seven-county metro region, and about half of them say they are homeless for the first time, according to the results of a 24-hour survey conducted Jan. 27 by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. While the total number is 4 percent higher than in 2007, when the last point-in-time survey was taken, homeless advocates say the much-delayed results are already out of date. The survey results were expected in June. John Parvensky, director of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said homelessness dipped slightly in 2008 but came roaring back this year. He estimates homelessness is now up about 20 percent from 2007. The methodology for the point-in- time survey was changed somewhat this year, making year-to-year comparisons difficult. Still, the survey represents the best count available, Parvensky said…”

Number of homeless in Oklahoma City slightly up, By Murray Evans (AP), August 19, 2009, Tulsa World: “A report released Wednesday found that Oklahoma City’s homeless population increased by 4 percent this year, though advocates said the ongoing economic slowdown likely will push next year’s count far higher. The “Point in Time” count found that 1,475 people were homeless in the city as of late January, when the annual count is taken each year. Since then, advocates say they’ve seen a spike in the number of people visiting shelters or seeking help from local homeless agencies…”

Downturn brings a new face to homelessness, By Alexi Mostrous, August 15, 2009, Washington Post: “The lowest point in Lawanda Madden’s life came in February, when she woke up on the floor of her friend’s run-down house in this city battered by recession. She was shivering with cold. She remembers turning to her 8-year-old son, Jovon, and thinking: ‘How did this happen to us? How did we become homeless?’ Only 15 months before, Madden, 39, had a $35,000-a-year job, a two-bedroom apartment and a car. She was far from rich, but she could treat Jovon to the movies. She occasionally visited her sister in Chicago and bowled in a local league. She dreamed of going to law school. Then she was laid off and lost everything. ‘I’ve had a job since I was 19,’ she recalled. ‘I never imagined I would be without a home. You think it’s going to get better — that it’s just temporary — and then six months goes by, and you wonder, ‘Wait a minute — this might be it.” With neat hair and clean clothes, a college education and stable job history, Madden represents the new face of American homelessness…”

Health-care barriers overwhelm Nashville homeless, By Christina E. Sanchez, August 18, 2009, The Tennessean: “Robert Tucker kept having dizzy spells and felt weak a couple of months ago, but he didn’t see a doctor because he didn’t have health insurance or even a job. Tucker, who is homeless, finally went to the doctor after a former boss offered aid, and he learned he has diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hepatitis C. But as health-care workers say, the easy part of caring for the homeless like Tucker is diagnosing their condition. ‘The hard part is treating,’ said Mary Bufwack, CEO of United Neighborhood Health Services. ‘And we are seeing more people in the streets and more families in hotels…’”

• Homeless families could face eviction over rules, By Julie Bosman, July 27, 2009, New York Times: “Homeless families can be kicked out of city shelters for repeatedly breaking rules like staying out past curfew or for refusing apartments offered to them, according to a tougher policy that takes effect Tuesday. The new policy gives the city greater latitude to push families out of the shelter system, which had swelled to a near-high of 9,720 families as of Sunday.  Families could always be evicted for illegal behavior like bringing in drugs or weapons, but they can now be ousted for any of 28 violations, including failing to sign in and out or not keeping an active case file with city welfare agencies…”
• City aids homeless with one-way tickets home, By Julie Bosman, July 28, 2009, New York Times: “They are flown to Paris ($6,332), Orlando ($858.40), Johannesburg ($2,550.70), or most frequently, San Juan ($484.20). They are not executives on business trips or couples on honeymoons. Rather, all are families who have ended up homeless, and all the plane tickets are courtesy of the city of New York (one-way).  The Bloomberg administration, which has struggled with a seemingly intractable problem of homelessness for years, has paid for more than 550 families to leave the city since 2007, as a way of keeping them out of the expensive shelter system, which costs $36,000 a year per family. All it takes is for a relative elsewhere to agree to take the family in…”

Number of babies in homeless shelters increasing, By Mike Clary, July 13, 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “At 5 weeks old, with a crown of dark hair and big blue eyes, Anastasia Garcia is one of the newest faces of the economic crisis. She was born homeless.  ‘When we are lucky enough to be settled, we will tell her that things were not always as easy as you may think,’ said Angela Garcia, 26, laying the infant down in a crib crammed into the corner of a small room at the Broward Outreach Center in Pompano Beach she shares with her husband David Henson and their two older daughters, ages 2 and 6…”

• Homeless numbers include more families, By Kevin Freking (AP), July 9, 2009, San Diego Union-Tribune: “The face of homelessness in the United States is changing to include more families and more people who live in the suburbs and rural communities.  The number of homeless has remained steady since 2007, but within the overall count are trends that can tell officials where federal resources would do the most good, the Housing and Urban Development Department says in its annual report to Congress being released Thursday…”
• Homelessness in suburbs, rural areas increases, By Wendy Koch, July 9, 2009, USA Today: “As the recession took hold last year, homelessness shifted toward rural and suburban areas and gripped a growing number of families, the U.S. government reports today…”
• Stimulus money targeted to help the homeless, By Evelyn Nieves (AP), July 8, 2009, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “The U.S. expects to send $1.5 billion in stimulus money Thursday to hundreds of communities around the country to prevent homelessness, including $1 million for Fresno to dismantle tent cities and move residents into privately owned apartments…”

• Homelessness surges as rents soars, By Stephen Lunn, July 9, 2009, The Australian: “More families are being squeezed into homelessness by the high costs of private rental, but better support services have led to fewer teenagers on the streets.  A new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare into Australia’s homeless finds numbers were on the march in Australia even before the global financial crisis hit home…”
• More sleeping rough in capitals, July 9, 2009, News.com.au: “The number of people sleeping rough on the streets of capital cities was on the rise before the financial crisis hit, a new report shows.  The number of homeless older Australians has also been increasing, new analysis by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows…”
• Govt pours money into help for homeless, By Susanna Dunkerley, July 7, 2009, Brisbane Times: “The Rudd government has poured millions of dollars into its plan to combat homelessness, amid criticism from the sector it had put it on the backburner.  The ambitious $800 million state and federal plan to halve homeless rates by 2020 was due to get off the ground last week…”