Tent Cities Spread In U.S. As Economy Sags
Foreclosure Crisis Blamed For Rise Of Homeless Camps In Cities
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In Reno, officials decided to let the tent city be because homeless shelters were already filled. (AP)
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Then others appeared - people who had lost their jobs to the ailing economy, or newcomers who had moved to Reno for work and discovered no one was hiring.
Within weeks, more than 150 people were living in tents big and small, barely a foot apart in a patch of dirt slated to be a parking lot for a campus of shelters Reno is building for its homeless population. Like many other cities, Reno has found itself with a "tent city" - an encampment of people who had nowhere else to go.
From Seattle to Athens, Ga., homeless advocacy groups and city agencies are reporting the most visible rise in homeless encampments in a generation.
Nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say they've experienced a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group says the problem has worsened since the report's release in April, with foreclosures mounting, gas and food prices rising and the job market tightening.
"It's clear that poverty and homelessness have increased," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the coalition. "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."
The phenomenon of encampments has caught advocacy groups somewhat by surprise, largely because of how quickly they have sprung up.
"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 for homeless advocacy organizations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore. and Seattle.
The relatively tony city of Santa Barbara has given over a parking lot to people who sleep in cars and vans. The city of Fresno, Calif., is trying to manage several proliferating tent cities, including an encampment where people have made shelters out of scrap wood. In Portland, Ore., and Seattle, homeless advocacy groups have paired with nonprofits or faith-based groups to manage tent cities as outdoor shelters. Other cities where tent cities have either appeared or expanded include include Chattanooga, Tenn., San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently reported a 12 percent drop in homelessness nationally in two years, from about 754,000 in January 2005 to 666,000 in January 2007. But the 2007 numbers omitted people who previously had been considered homeless - such as those staying with relatives or friends or living in campgrounds or motel rooms for more than a week.
In addition, the housing and economic crisis began soon after HUD's most recent data was compiled.
"The data predates the housing crisis," said Brian Sullivan, a spokesman for HUD. "From the headlines, it might appear that the report is about yesterday. How is the housing situation affecting homelessness? That's a great question. We're still trying to get to that."
In Seattle, which is experiencing a building boom and an influx of affluent professionals in neighborhoods the working class once owned, homeless encampments have been springing up - in remote places to avoid police sweeps.
"What's happening in Seattle is what's happening everywhere else - on steroids," said Tim Harris, executive director of Real Change, an advocacy organization that publishes a weekly newspaper sold by homeless people.
Homeless people and their advocates have organized three tent cities at City Hall in recent months to call attention to the homeless and protest the sweeps - acts of militancy, said Harris, "that we really haven't seen around homeless activism since the early '90s."
In Reno, officials decided to let the tent city be because shelters were already filled.
Officials don't know how many homeless people are in Reno. "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," said Jodi Royal-Goodwin, the city's redevelopment agency director.
Those in the tents have to register and are monitored weekly to see what progress they are making in finding jobs or real housing. They are provided times to take showers in the shelter, and told where to go for food and meals.
Sylvia Flynn, 51, came from northern California but lost a job almost immediately and then her apartment.
Since the cheapest motels here charge upward of $200 a week, Flynn ended up at the Reno women's shelter, which has only 20 beds and a two-week limit on stays.
Out of a dozen people interviewed in the tent city, six had come to Reno from California or elsewhere over the last year, hoping for casino jobs.
"I figured this would be a great place for a job," said Max Perez, a 19-year-old from Iowa. He couldn't find one and ended up taking showers at the men's shelter and sleeping in a pup tent barely big enough to cover his body.
The casinos are actually starting to lay off employees.
"Sometimes I think we need to put out an ad: 'No, we don't have any more jobs than you do,"' Royal-Goodwin said.
The city will shut down the tent city as soon as early October because the tents sit on what will be a parking lot for a complex of shelters and services for homeless people. The complex will include a men's shelter, a women's shelter, a family shelter and a resource center.
Reno officials aren't sure whether the construction will eliminate the need for the tent city. The demand, they say, keeps growing.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 53 CommentsThanks, President Bush!
My family has been in the tent making business for 3 decades and now we are FINALLY living high-off-the-hog thanks to your Administration!!!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
As in 1929, when the homeless put up "shack cities" in vacant lots simply to survive, we now see "tent cities" popping up in every city in the country.
After all, given the state of the infrastructure of the USSA, its SAFER living in a tent, than it is under a bridge, near a river, or near a railroad.
Meanwhile, the Great Emperor Bush II is contemplating all the peaceful days he will have at taxpayer expense living in Crawford, Texas, while his older clone, John McBush McCain, considers which property he will buy next to add to the list of properties he owns but doesn''t know where they are!
SIG HEIL, WHAT DEPRESSION??, BUSH!!!
sig heil, THE GREAT LANDLORD, McCain!!!!
sig heil, I DON''T EVEN HAVE A TENT WHEN I HUNT MOOSE!, Palin!!!!
sig heil, THE GREAT LANDLORD, McCain!!!!
sig heil, I DON''''T EVEN HAVE A TENT WHEN I HUNT MOOSE!, Palin!!!! ------------------------------------------------------ Posted by walt1944
Ah, SHUDDUP!
Camping is FUN...gets you back in tune with nature!
Way to go!
IF you post enough stoopid things, people might start to think youre an IDIOT!
. . . ooops, too late
shouldnt you be out on a ledge somewhere?
Lets spend our last dollars for our noble war efforts -------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by lambor69
you made that up
thats not true
You took the words right out of my mouth. As I was reading the article I was thinking these people probably won''t be allowed to vote for one reason or another.
Was this what Bushie was referring to when he mentioned a "shock and awe" campaign? Hell, it''s time to say "Mission Accomplished."
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Posted by WogerWabbit at 03:00 PM : Sep 19, 2008
Thats all we have become. Nothing but cannon fodder for the uber, and mega rich.
People like Bill Gates, George Bush, and all the rest will pay dearly for this countries sins against the working class.
this is obviously all in their heads ... what economic chaos are they talking about ... all the fundamentals are sound.
there''s record estate ownership, the top tier income earners have more disposable income than ever, and their mercedes, jaguars, and porshes get better mileage than they did eight years ago.
so ... what''s the problem w/ these people again?
[Posted by fedupwithit1 at 02:18 PM : Sep 19, 2008]
remove private money from camapaigns ... publicly fund all campaigns.
term limits for all offices ... including the presidency ... one term.
enforce anti-trust regulations ... the allowance for all these corporate entities to consolidate creates greater volatility when they run into trouble (aig is an example)
restrict/remove the revolving door of congressional staff/official to lobbyist on k-street.
restrict access lobbyists have to elected reps.
elimnate earmarks completely.
tranparancy in government ... no more national security excuses for doing things in secret.
.... and it will never happen ... because short of a revolution ... all those that benefit from all these things staying the same are the same ones that are in the position to change it.
Posted by slim1h2o at 03:50 PM : Sep 19, 2008
What have you got against Bill Gates? The guy does a massive amount of charity. He wasn''t handed his fortune, he started out poor (Discovery Channel did a great documentary on him) and worked his way up. Do you no longer want the people at the bottom to have a chance to rise to the top?
Bush???........................Cough, Cough.
for a person to be out in the streets..its more an accumulation of one bad decision after another..
Posted by libluv2spit at 06:44 PM : Sep 19, 2008
What grade did you get to Cletis?? 6th? Now lets read your post and try to UNDERSTAND what you just said. FIRST you defend the President''s bail out of the Banks. They you say that those who have lost their homes and jobs BECAUSE of that SAME financial Mess was THEIR fault and thus do not deserve any help or assistance?? You really should consider a Night Course or two. Anyone who thinks like you isn''t safe for yourself or those around you...
Posted by libluv2spit at 06:44 PM : Sep 19, 2008
Indeed. Like Bush''s decision to push the ownwership society to a starry eyed public... invest in America, free loans! Suckers! All this money did not disappear from the face of the earth, it just disappeared from our pockets and re-appeared in vast quantities in someone else''s pocket. We''re getting fleeced once again to pay for the predatory lifestyles of the smirking rich and famous.
In dishonor of both parties, these tent cities should be named for both parties! Something like Gopbushville or Gopbushburg or even Gopbushtown. If you say it fast, it kinda sounds like the German language!
As these ''cities'' grow in size, the politicians might even want to include them on their campaign swings!
Well---maybe---if they take enough security with them!
Coming to a spat of land near you!
Real soon.
Hello, Bushville!
I guess they are lucky to be able to get tents. SAD!
Posted by zgomer at 01:13 PM : Sep 19, 2008
I am so sick to death of people trying to blame everything on a ''liberal Congress''. They have tried many times to put forth legislation that would help average middle-class Americans. The Republicans in Congress are the elite who are only looking out for their big-business cronies and won''t get on board with it.
Since the Dems don''t have a filibuster-proof majority or a veto-proof majority, they are constantly stonewalled by the idealogue Republicans.
Ergo, the ''do-nothings'' are the Republicans.
You took the words right out of my mouth. As I was reading the article I was thinking these people probably won''''t be allowed to vote for one reason or another.
Was this what Bushie was referring to when he mentioned a "shock and awe" campaign? Hell, it''''s time to say "Mission Accomplished."
Posted by DaGrandma at 02:37 PM : Sep 19, 2008
This is already happening in Michigan and it is SHAMELESS!
http://www.alternet.org/democracy/99087/obama_campaign_sues_michigan_gop_over_voter_challenges/
Posted by WogerWabbit at 03:00 PM : Sep 19, 2008
This seemed well worth repeating.
there''''s record estate ownership, the top tier income earners have more disposable income than ever, and their mercedes, jaguars, and porshes get better mileage than they did eight years ago.
so ... what''''s the problem w/ these people again?
Posted by bobnjersey at 04:47 PM : Sep 19, 2008
I DO hope that you are being sarcastic.
Posted by Bob5ford at 04:58 PM : Sep 19, 2008
Actually, that''s not a bad idea at all.
If I could add one suggestion: Make the companies that hire the illegals responsible for the cost of deporting them.
Posted by Questionnews at 05:54 PM : Sep 19, 2008
Also, Bill Gates, along with Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton and--yes--Joe Biden have said that they DO think it''s patrotic for wealthy people to pay more in taxes, since it will lessen the debt we owe to China.
Perhaps Obama should have suggested that more Americans learn to speak Chinese...[sigh]
Posted by libluv2spit at 06:19 PM : Sep 19, 2008
Would you rather have seen Social Security privatized in light of the recent Wall Street downturn? We need the ''lockbox''--Gore was right.
Can you name a healthcare provider that spends it''s $ more efficiently than Medicare? Look it up, Medicare is very efficient (although it could still be improved) compared to most for-profit health care providers.
Coming to a spat of land near you!
Real soon.
Posted by slim1h2o at 06:49 AM : Sep 20, 2008
I hope not. (Hope I won''t end up being one of them, too.)
But if it does happen, I''ll be out there with soup and produce from my garden if people are willing to help me with work on my house and lawn.
Welcome to the barter economy. No more ''I got mine, to hell with everyone else''. How about ''you scratch my back, I''ll scratch yours''?
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Posted by ofbyfor2 at 10:01 AM : Sep 20, 2008
Deal!
We may very well end up, or it may come to that.
In fact I try to practice the barter system anytime I deem it appropriate.
Some times, it''s better than money!
Posted by tootall10142 at 10:20 AM : Sep 20, 2008
You''e making a mistake by assuming that it is ALL due to their OWN irresponsibility. 2 years ago, I got a freak flu that lowered my body temp yo 90 degrees. No health insurance. No freebie from the ER (contrary to what some people would like to believe.) I got a bill for $12000 for a 2-day stay in the hospital which I am paying off. Thank God the hospital had a policy not to go after people''s homes or I might be one of these tent people.
PS-have a regular 30-yr fixed mortgage which I''ve been paying on religiously for over 15 years. No debt aside from that.
PPS-you sound like a self-centered pig.
Today we call them "GOPvilles".
Thank you George Bush and John McCain. I almost feel nostalgic.
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