From sputniknews: Alarming Number of Homeless, Hungry Americans Flood Major US Cities, Dec. 28, 2015
“The US capital increased its homeless population by more than 60 percent in 2015.
The biggest cities in the US are struggling from a lack of homeless shelters and food pantries as they appear unable to cope with the rising number of homeless people nationwide, a study by the US Conference of Mayors revealed on Tuesday.
The past year has marked the year of homelessness in the US as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Seattle — America’s most populated areas — hosted a huge jump in the number of people on the streets, according to the Hunger and Homelessness study. Washington, D.C. ranks first in the list of cities with homeless as figures say it has 28 percent more homeless and 60 percent more transient families. The demand for food for the hungry rose 27 percent over last year’s.
‘More Than a Dozen US Cities Destroy Homeless Camps Days Before Christmas’
“On any given night in the United States, there are an estimated 578,000 people who are sleeping without a roof over their head.
Instead of embracing the spirit of the season and being a little more giving and compassionate than normal, 15 American cities are trying to sweep their homeless members of the community out of public view, NPR reported. Portland, Seattle, Mendota, Eureka, and the rest were “listed in the report on cities giving those who are already having a tough time an even harder one this holiday season.”
Popular Resistance adds Phoenix, New Orleans, Kissimmee, Washington DC, Boise, Honolulu, and NYC.
From UnicornRiot.ninja, Dec. 16: Homeless Forced Out of Tents and into Snowstorm by Denver Police.
“In the early morning of December 15th, Denver police forced dozens of homeless community members of Resurrection Village into blizzard conditions. Since their tiny homes action on Oct. 24th, Resurrection Village members have been sleeping near various unused empty lots owned by the Denver Housing Authority and had set up tents the night before to provide temporary shelter from the impending snowstorm.
Unicorn Riot was at the scene of the newly fashioned tent city and documented Denver Police threatening everyone with arrest if they did not dismantle their camp.” (contains livestream videos)
https://twitter.com/NYCLU/status/680420066521931776
https://twitter.com/stackzanon/status/678995828694994944
Nov. 9
https://twitter.com/GabeCarrollNYC/status/654333096767160320
Not forgotten, and in need of help:
https://twitter.com/ChicagoRising/status/684410324347387904
davidly
Greyson Smythe
LeMoyne
juliania2
ohiobarbarian
stephenadavis1
wendyedavis
café babylon 
for some reason this wouldn’t embed.
RePossess the 0bamavillas from the BANK$TER$ and put we The PEOPLE Back in ’em. OTOH, foreclose upon and evict the pResident at 1600 Pennsylvania, D.C., NOW!
you know, there have been a few cities who’ve done close to that, bruce, although not to the point of giving deeds to homeless. but certainly it’s one good answer, but i’ve forgotten which cities, maybe buffalo, for one.
i didn’t used to care for the ‘facts’ this organization (national coalition for the homeless) made in terms of numbers of homeless across the US, but as to the vast emergency level, they do at least say at the end:
“For long-lasting change we must focus on long-term systemic solutions, such as affordable housing, rent control, jobs that pay a livable wage, healthcare, and adequate funding for services like social security and disability, and so much more. The big picture response that we advocate is not easy, but it is necessary to correct the structure that has produced inequality and vulnerability for the last few decades. Homeless shelters alone will not remedy the factors that have produced homelessness in epidemic proportions.”
washington deecee; hmmmm….ya might have an idea there.
but by and large, it has to be the city managers and mayors who want to ‘clean up’ the camps, but fuck them for throwing everything they own away, evil bastards. i was surprised not to see chicago on the lists, myself.
It’s always emotional to see people get the Bum Rush from the Pigs but these people represent a small fraction of the homeless who are sheltered safe and warm every night. In DC according to Community-partnership.org over 5000 people stay in emergency shelters every night while about 1700 are in transitional housing leaving about 500 people unsheltered. These are the bums displayed sleeping under tarps in the first photo who either refuse shelter or are rejected because they are drunks, druggies or crazies. It’s hard if not impossible to help these people while the majority of homeless are trying to escape their situation and will at least follow basic rules that will get them assistance. Funding for homeless assistance is lacking and that probably won’t change but it might be helpful to use pictures of the sheltered and transitioning homeless instead of bums to promote this cause.
No one wants the street people around and I doubt anyone here would offer to let them camp in their backyard.
your hateful ignorance is stunning, wayoutwest, and i won’t even bother to challenge it.
It’s hard to have empathy for people who live this lifestyle but I don’t hate anyone. You say I am ignorant so tell us about your direct involvement with the unsheltered feral people of the streets. There must be some success stories about bums to back up your dismissal of my support for the majority of homeless who are working to escape their poor conditions.
FYI, I know and depend on a number of unsheltered street people to help me with work at my home and I recently bought an old RV and gave it to my helper to replace the trashed camper he was living in. I know the money I pay them will buy booze and little else, the ones who get SNAP trade that for booze and they are unlikely to change their habits, I don’t deal with addicts.
The idea that you can house this group is unrealistic, they only want a flop to sleep off their high and any camp or housing will be nothing but trouble and no one will take on that liability for their benefit. We saw what happened at some of the Occupy sites when they moved in and it was disturbing.
no, i’m pretty sure i’m done with your self-righteous “i’m always right” and straw man constructions, wayoutwest. you remind me of the silly study my friend in geneva spoke about. the theorem they tested was that: most people think what they believe/opine…is correct.
guess what they found?
drunks, druggies and crazies don’t deserve housing. is it ok if we give them a blanket? how about a warm cup of cocoa? is it ok to say hi to them? should we list hypothermia as a secondary cause of death after alcohol, drugs, ptsd, etc.?
“you drinking? insider trading?”
aw, jeez, jason. how kind of that gentleman to put him out of OUR misery, yes? oh, is, he smelled like shit, and might have been heading to one of our backyards given his bad attitude.
a person who doesn’t have any “real” property obviously cannot have any “personal” property. duh. and you can’t have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat. one’s biggest fear of violence, theft, rape, murder, being framed up, etc., would not be from the cops if one were playing by the rules. if we won’t stop bombing vietnam for xmas, why should we give the homeless a xmas turkey instead of a kick in the teeth?
well, yes indeed. as long as so many are ‘snug and warm’ in shelters…that are often anything but ‘safe’, causing many to pass them by. or if they even have room when one goes to the door.
but sure, we know who is sleeping under tarps and newspapers. the dregs of society who deserve no better…at least in this nation, so fuck them. them ARE the rules by now, aren’t they? in a ray kelly kinda world. ah, sorry rabble, ya losers. ya shouldda taken your meds, invested in a better portfolio, and gotten an education so you would still be askin;: “would ya like that super-sized?”
thanks jason; smoke was comin’ out of mine ears.
Just a little OT to recommend reading about the 1875 Mississippi Plan. It might make some things come into clearer focus.
I remember the work that Occupy Atlanta was doing with the homeless who hung out in the vicinity of the state capitol (the one with the Georgia-mined gold dome). When the folks at Occupy Atlanta started turning around some of these guys and especially when they organized to prevent the closure of the nearest homeless shelter (in the way of gentrification, you know), all of a sudden civil rights veteran Kasim Reed, the mayor, had the APD out on the streets with their horse patrols and their gas.
There was this guy named Copper who went clean just to participate in Occupy Atlanta (reducing the possibility of winding up in jail for hard time from protests). And he was organizing other homeless to participate as well, even as Occupy Atlanta was also defending people from eviction because of the housing meltdown. But an alliance with homeless and actions to address homeless existence – like decreasing the stigma by camping out in the same places — really got the city powers’s briefs in an outright twist.
oh, my, and bless your heart, thd. mine eyes are about to give up the ghost, so here do be ‘the MS 1875 plan‘ (i’ll try to read it tomorrow, to buy a fat pig..
but oof! kasim reed of the comprador class? how utterly banal by now, although..sad and…sad.
bless Copper, if i grasp your story of him. gotta shut own now before i embarrass myself further.
on edit: was the sainted andrew young of the same cloth? retweet, seems a bit full of himself.
vicious ground blizzards and drifting wet snow here today; so hard not to think what it’s like for the homeless pushed into the snow without…anything but the clothes on their backs. goddam; that ‘homeless shelters’ are even ‘a thing’…can be too much to bear. OT: remember when churches kept their doors open to permit…sleeping in the arms of the lord, or close?
Andrew Young, the sainted, seemed to go over to the Chamber of Commerce side when he was elected mayor.
Churches stopped closing doors when they got rich enough to have gold crosses on the altar.
that early on for andy? i’d forgotten. quite a tweet, eh?
goodness, i’m old enough to remember open door sleeping sanctuaries, but they must have been in boulder and denver. but…point taken. i’ve never cared for church bling, though. art is wholly different, of course.
i knew the history, but not the name of the plan. i did look up kasim reed’s policing arrests in atlanta; quite disturbing how many democrat elected officials, and often black, have been so ugly and heavy-handed.
some folks note that as the next wave of depression begins, more of the formerly middle class are mindful that they’re a paycheck away from homelessness themselves.
bobby jindahl just let his SNAP waiver expired; more food stamp cuts to ‘able-bodied singles’ who can’t find jobs. what a country.
i’d been hoping you might explain why the MS plan would make things come into clearer focus, tarheeldem, but i see now…that i hadn’t remembered to ask. busting the homeless, or other black issues, like voter disenfranchisement by Ridiculous Rules?
or: far worse than that…?
i’d seen a piece on ella baker recently, including a video of her speaking. searching for that one, or her “The Voice that Says Life is More Sacred Than Property Must Be Heard!” (i failed, and it’s inspirational, too long to transcribe), i ran into pascal roberts’ essay on the historical failure of black leadership. now you may know all of this already, including the history of the colored farmers’ alliance confederating with the white Southern alliance in 1890, but this was a key section, imo:
“This interracial cooperation, within such a short period after Slavery, mobilized Black and White farm workers into a powerful force threatening the Southern establishment and the political order benefiting the elites.
One of the responses to this rising progressive interracial cooperation by the Southern establishment was supporting Booker T. Washington and financing his Tuskegee machine. Washington would provide an ideological thesis to extinguish the populist activities among Blacks, and neutralize the combined forces of the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and the Southern Alliance by arguing for political disenfranchisement and acquiescence to the forces of the larger Southern agricultural interests. These efforts worked to the detriment of members of both alliances, Black and White.
Sadly, few Blacks today even realize that there was a Progressive movement in the South made up of both Blacks and Whites that fought for both political and economic empowerment with sophisticated political platforms until Booker T. Washington, combined with the repressive forces of the wealthy interests that backed him, assisted in stifling all that activity. Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee machine was significant to that demobilization effort.”
“
Next bad news for the working poor in WI was heard yesterday as state Republicans announced legislation to give landlords extra-judicial powers to evict tenants on mere suspicion of criminal activity. Aside from speeding up potential means of property owners to attempt upscale gentrification of buildings and neighborhoods, extremely greater instances of homelessness could literally blossom overnight and with the restrictions to WI voter access would likely further disenfranchise voters now required to reside in somewhere 28 days prior to an election in order to qualify to vote. Force a move on a potential population group and they are either forced to return to their old voting district just to vote or be unable to establish voting rights at a new location in time to vote in a particular election cycle.
Another roadblock to social justice, the hits just keep on coming.
http://malcontends.blogspot.com/2016/01/new-gop-scheme-to-evict-tenantscan-be.html
Good Morning wendyedavis, dropped you a note with a bit of background on this. The best.
yikes, nonquixote; that’s quite a star chamber/voter disenfranchisement bill. is it likely to pass? i’ve forgotten the 2 aisles makeup, not that it always matters, esp. ahead of elections.
how ’bout this one from march of this year? ah, memories, sweet memories…”Food stamp cuts pay for new policies to combat child hunger
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act created anti-hunger programs by cutting food stamps by $5 billion”
“The USDA was able to issue these grants because of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), a 2010 piece of legislation championed by first lady Michelle Obama.
But the bill carved billions of dollars out of the federal government’s biggest anti-hunger program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps.” (the lost billions were never returned, yada, yada…
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/3/billions-in-food-stamp-cuts-finance-new-policies-to-combat-child-hunger.html
i’ll read the email, and thank you. but eee-crikey, i’ve been working on a new diary, just put my head up…and saw it’s after 10:30. uh-oh. ;-)
oopsie; rob peter to pay…for FLOTUS?
BLOTUS : Ya Can’t EAT “strategies”, FOOL$ !
;-)
“The lost billions were never returned. Instead, the HHFKA triggered what activists described as *the hunger cliff* — an across-the-board cut to SNAP benefits totaling $5 billion over just one year. The cut took effect on Nov. 1, 2013, trimming the monthly benefits for every food stamp recipient in the country.
Those cuts came out of the additional funds that had been added to SNAP in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. While those funds were always intended to be a temporary measure, Congress originally provided for them to be phased out more gradually. Besides, the emergency those funds were meant to address never actually ended: When the United States tumbled over the hunger cliff, 14.3 percent of U.S. households were food insecure, according to the USDA, barely down from the 14.6 percent that faced food insecurity in 2008.”
pffffft.
Hey, WD–
Hope you’re doing well, now that the Holidays are over!
The ‘Al Jazeera America’ piece is incredible–I vaguely remember this story, but I don’t recall seeing as much detail at the time that the cuts were made.
How sick is this quote (from that story)?
Jeeeeezzzzz!!!!!
If it’s not the corporations, it’s the MIC dictating public policy!
You’ve written some really powerful diaries this past week. I was hoping to post the “Say His/Her Name” video (my title for it) over at C99P with a ‘Hat Tip’ to you, if you have no heartburn with that. Talk about a powerful video–whoa!
Regarding your excellent ‘homeless’ essay–what’s goin’ on? Have our public officials/officeholders/lawmakers no shame at all?
I honestly cannot fathom the mindset that would allow the police actions that your post describe. And, I heard nothing about the pre-Holiday raids on these encampments, until I read your post.
I’m trying to settle on a theme for my blog/journal by the end of the Dem Party Primary contest (at least). I may swing by with a couple of screenshots after I narrow it down to either 2 or 3 themes. BTW, another thing I like about the background color of your blog–aside from it being aesthetically appealing–is that it is neutral enough in color that literally all the photos that you post here ‘pop,’ and look really great.
Good job, ole Girl!
;-D
Later . . .
Blue
goodness, blue. those quote must be from internal links. actually, given the dates…i’d almost rather their formulations would have been heeded, even though the reasons: arrrrgh.
but oh, my, anything on youtube, on twitter, or sites that announce ‘creative commons, just attribute’, are reproducible with abandon.
the ‘say their names’ (hell you talmbout) video mix is hard to stop playing over and over for me. the percussion is sincerely different, and addictive a hell.
folks like “dr.richard wolfe” (socialist economics, tra la la…are crap, imo, when one has to subscribe to read, get permission to re-post, etc.
the colors and other tweaks i’ve made here i really cannae remember which came with the free package v. the paid-for upgrade. but wordpress keeps tweaking their color scheme values. i used to go with dark teal, now have to go to the ishy purple to be able to see the fonts with my crap eyes.
but let’s hear the song, and my best to you and yours.
Let’s do (hear it).
It is so stark, powerful, and yes–addictive.
There’s a flat-out mesmerizing quality about this video, partly due to the rhythm, partly due to the starkness and weightiness of its message. (It’s impossible to play just once.)
I’ll post it as soon as Joe posts his daily news and video collection, so that it will get the most views.
I hate to admit it, but I had to ‘Google’ to find out about some of the women and female children in this video, although I knew about all but two of the males. I can’t figure out ‘how’ the lid stayed on these fiascos/injustices for as long as they did. (Thank goodness for access to cell phones/videos.)
Blue
my favorite protest sign is/was from a die-in. a man on the ground held a sign that said: ‘Please stop making us remember all these names’. i used a tweet of it once, but dayum, i never downloaded the image, and i can’t find it anywhere online now.
the poignancy of that just made my eyes leak tears. i couldn’t recall phillip white, looked him up…and became ill. yeah, we’d all have names we would have liked included, but there are just….too many. and it just doesn’t stop.
one or two more prosecutions may be in the pipelines, and the stories out of baltimore in the murder of freddie gray are takin’ some weird turns. i may stick some stories up in the near future.
it’s indeed down to citizen journalists and social networking we know so much now, but it’s also good to see the msm cover a lot of the stories now, as well.