http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/homeless/ en-us Mon, 6 Oct 2008 12:51:10 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098583/posts CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- The number of homeless families in Massachusetts has surged -- a spike that has overwhelmed the state's shelter capacity and forced it to again place homeless families in motels. AP via CNN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098583/posts#comment Mon, 6 Oct 2008 12:51:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2097920/posts Washington—Democrats on Capitol Hill have done the unimaginable. The U.S. House of Representatives have created the most significant homeless legislation in American history, slashing homeless numbers to insignificant levels for the first time. Spearheaded by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA—a woman capable of handling children and the country—H.R. 9300 will face a vote that is all but a formality on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, literally redefining homelessness through a new set of legal standards. Some of these standards include: 1. Those watching a large screen HDTV will not be considered homeless. 2. Car owners will no longer be considered homeless. 3.... Elective Decisions http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2097920/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 13:30:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095701/posts Bills Force Family Out Of Home, Into Tent Parents, 3-Year-Old Daughter Staying At Campsite POSTED: 10:25 pm CDT October 1, 2008 UPDATED: 10:42 pm CDT October 1, 2008KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A local family is having such a difficult time making ends meet that they can't find the money for housing. Kathy Mankey and Brian Fears said they've hit rock bottom. They've been living out of their car and are desperate to find a place to live. "We're trying -- day to day. It's all you can do," Fears told KMBC's Jere Gish. Mankey and Fears are engaged, but... KMBC TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095701/posts#comment Thu, 2 Oct 2008 13:24:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095099/posts A homeless thug now registered to vote comments: “They picked me up. They seen me walkin’ around. So day said, ‘You wanna vote?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll vote.’ (laughs) Day said, ‘We’ll take you anywhere you want.’ I said, ‘Dat’s cool’…If day say ’sign the ballot,’ just give ‘em and do exactly what they want you to do.’ I mean, hey, dis is America, you know?” (laughs). Who does this new voter support? “Barack! I mean, I want him to do his thang. You know, do his thug thizzle. You know. That’s how I like it to be. You know.... MichelleMalkin.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095099/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 19:02:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088098/posts It’s funny how greed only afflicts the other guy. With John McCain jumping on the anti-avarice bandwagon, the consensus that the greed of rich Wall Street CEOs, analysts, and investors is to blame for the financial market turmoil now spans the New York Times editorial page, the Democratic punditocracy, and the highest reaches of the Republican ticket. Liberal columnists, university professors, and crusading politicians railing against market selfishness are all supremely confident that their own salaries reflect exactly their worth and not a penny more—because they would never seek to make a profit from their labor, right? It’s also axiomatic... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088098/posts#comment Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:14:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086779/posts Homeless encampments dubbed "tent cities" are springing up across the US, partly in response to soaring numbers of home repossessions, the credit crunch and rising unemployment, according to a report..."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 of homeless groups in west coast cities.Homeless encampments springing up due to soaring home repossessions. Photo: Mack Martinez from Iowa smoking in front of his tent in a tent city in Reno. Telegraph UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086779/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:11:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086375/posts RENO, Nev. - A few tents cropped up hard by the railroad tracks, pitched by men left with nowhere to go once the emergency winter shelter closed for the summer. 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... PMSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086375/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:06:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086123/posts (AHN) - More cities around the country are finding themselves with tent cities housing otherwise homeless people, and homeless advocates say the foreclosure crisis is partly to blame. Even before the foreclosure crisis, officials in St. Petersburg, Florida tired of criticism over police routing homeless people camping in and near the downtown area on sidewalks in tents. The city allowed various groups to form a permanent, regulated tent city that offers services to occupants to help them get back on their feet. But now, even the upscale community of Santa Barbara, California has found itself with people sleeping in cars... All Headline News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086123/posts#comment Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:15:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081817/posts In his best-selling autobiography, "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., writes movingly about his high school best friend, whom he calls "Ray." Ray's real name is Keith Kakugawa. And Kakugawa's life could not have veered more starkly from that of his old friend, the presidential candidate. Kakugawa is currently homeless in Los Angeles, sleeping in the beat-up Mazda of his friend Jason Myles. He has been in and out of prison for the past few decades, mostly on charges related to cocaine possession and dealing. "To be honest with you,... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081817/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:36:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067373/posts A new generation of shakedown artists hampers America’s urban revival.___ Barbara Bradley, an editor with the Memphis Commercial Appeal, moved into the River City’s reviving downtown about a year and a half ago, loving its “energy and enthusiasm.” But a horde of invading panhandlers has cooled her enjoyment of city life. Earlier this year, she recalled in a recent column, as she showed some visitors around the neighborhood, “a big panhandler blocked the entrance to our parking area and demanded his toll.” Now a nervous Bradley avoids certain downtown areas, locks her car when fueling up at local gas stations,... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067373/posts#comment Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:57:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065195/posts Link only - Organization reiterates plan for homeless during DNC 9 News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065195/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:56:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064766/posts Being a beggar will not be so easy anymore if draft legislation approved by the cabinet yesterday becomes law. The bill proposed by the Human Security and Social Development Ministry sets conditions for people who want to be beggars. They must provide proof they are underprivileged, disabled, homeless or elderly without children to care for them. And this will be a reserved occupation, exclusively for Thais who must carry ID cards. Would-be professional beggars will have to report to local administration organisations for approval and work permits. Local agencies will be responsible for controlling beggars in their jurisdictions, while the... Bagngkok Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064766/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:47:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064880/posts Denver's homeless get free haircuts to look good for Obama and his Democrats Last month The Ticket wrote that officials in Denver, worried about the impression that 50,000 visitors to the Democratic National Convention would get next week, were planning to hide the estimated 4,000 homeless people who hang around the city's downtown area. They arranged for free movie passes and bingo games to get them off the street, as well as temporary housing and free tickets to the zoo and Museum of Nature and Science. Downtown Denver awaits the Democrats Do you see any homeless? Now, with a Hat... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064880/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:54:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064681/posts DENVER (CBS4) ― One week before the Democratic National Convention, CBS4 cameras were rolling as police moved in on a group of homeless people. Some of the homeless believe police are cracking down because of the convention. One of the areas homeless believe they are being targeted is Park Avenue West and Broadway. With two large homeless shelters, the area is sometimes considered the epicenter of the homeless community in Denver. A businessman came up to CBS4's Rick Sallinger and suggested doing a story on how police are now cracking down on the homeless in the Park Avenue area. A... cbs4denver.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064681/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:53:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064496/posts DENVER (CBS4) ― The City of Denver has been working to make sure everything is in tip-top shape for all the visitors coming to town for the Democratic National Convention, and now a local salon is helping in that effort. It seems to be a first -- don't move the homeless, clean them up. That was the work of one salon and the recipients didn't even seem to care if the Democrats were coming to town. Sly's Salon at 17th and Grant was offering free haircuts to the homeless Monday. "To give them haircuts and make them all spiffed up... CBS 4 Denver http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064496/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:06:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059649/posts An investigation into what the authorities say was a scheme that used homeless people to bilk tens of millions of dollars from federal and state health insurance programs began four years ago with a tip from a rescue mission employee. The employee, Scott Johnson, who works for the Union Rescue Mission in the heart of Skid Row, said he had noticed vans and cars loading up homeless people. “Sometimes they were so full of people that they put people in the trunks of cars,” Mr. Johnson said Thursday as he passed out bottles of water to the homeless. “I wondered... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059649/posts#comment Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:55:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059503/posts The number of chronically homeless people in the United States is dropping, according to a new report from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, but the executive director of an area service organization says the challenge of caring for America's disadvantaged people remains great. Nearly 32,000 fewer people lived on the nation's streets and in emergency shelters in 2007, said the HUD report, which highlights a 15% average yearly reduction in chronic homelessness since 2005. Based on data collected from more than 284,000 people in 98 communities across the United States, HUD estimated that nearly 1.6 million people... Valley Press on http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059503/posts#comment Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:18:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2055403/posts THE GREEN BERET COURT MARTIAL Written by To The Point News Friday, 01 August 2008 US Army Green Beret James T. (Smokey) Taylor was awakened in the early morning hours of November 5, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home in Knoxville, Tennessee. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in the house. "It was just after Halloween, on Monday morning at 4:30," Taylor testified in his trial. "I heard this commotion at the door and grabbed my fishing gun, a little .22 revolver, to see what was going on. "I got to the front door... email http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2055403/posts#comment Sat, 2 Aug 2008 16:55:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055325/posts ONE of the best ways to see a city's bones is to take a long jog in the hour before dawn. That's what I did in San Francisco this week. The city reminded me of Calcutta. By day, the camouflage of color and crowds makes the multitudes of homeless less apparent. At the chilly end of the night, though, they lie strewn on the sidewalks like plague victims, wrapped in filthy blankets and abandoned. New Yorkers have no idea how bad a homeless crisis can be. I didn't even run in the rougher sections, where old garbage fills the alleys... NEW YORK POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055325/posts#comment Sat, 2 Aug 2008 13:42:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2054440/posts Tom Sepa would rather not be called homeless. "That word is loaded," he said. "I prefer 'urban outdoorsman.' " It is true that Sepa has a lot of things that aren't generally associated with the stereotypical San Francisco homeless person - like a full-time job. A telemarketer, Sepa hits the phones at 7 a.m., working out of Zephyr Cafe in the Richmond District. He uses his laptop and a cell phone headset to make over 100 cold calls each morning. Currently, he's trying to get companies to take a meeting with a software firm he's representing. He gets paid via... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2054440/posts#comment Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:06:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053829/posts In March 2007, Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan of Gainesville, Fla., launched a program designed to reunite some members of the city's long-term homeless population with family members. "It's not just a bus ticket out of town," Hanrahan told The Gainesville Sun at the time. "It's trying to reconnect people to the places and people that have the resources to get them back on their feet." The program was new to Gainesville at the time, but it was by no means a new idea; San Francisco already had a similar program in place for two years that had been hailed as a... Madistan.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053829/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:11:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053711/posts WASHINGTON — The number of chronically homeless people living in the nation’s streets and shelters has dropped by about 30 percent — from 175,914 to 123,833 — from 2005 to 2007, Bush administration officials said on Tuesday. Housing officials say the statistics, which are collected annually from more than 3,800 cities and counties, may reflect better data collection and some variation in the number of communities reporting. But officials also attribute much of the decline to a policy shift promoted by Congress and the administration that has focused federal and local resources on finding stable housing for homeless people suffering... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053711/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:38:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050487/posts GUESS WHICH CANDIDATE WILL WIN THE HOMELESS VOTE Apparently Barack Obama can count on a newly empowered class of voter: the homeless. Michael Stoops, the executive director of the National Coalition of the Homeless says, "Low income and homeless people are more energized than I have ever seen before." Well ... they're that damned energized, tell them to go out and get a job! The mentality from those in the homeless industry is that if you are homeless you care more about who gets elected because your life depends on your ability to live the life of a parasite. A... Nealz Nuze http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050487/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:21:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050113/posts (SNIP) Among those following the campaign is Shera Greenwich, a mother of two living at a shelter run by the Henry St. Settlement in New York City. As she waits to move into a subsidized apartment, she says issues including economic security and obtaining quality healthcare are her focus, and she plans to vote Democratic. "I see so much change in the future if Obama is elected President," she said. "I think he can get America back on track." OBSTACLES TO VOTING Advocacy groups campaign each election season to get the homeless to register to vote, noting they often face... Yahoo - Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050113/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:58:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049740/posts As the military prepares to close Fort Lawton, an Army Reserve base nestled in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood, a city proposal to develop a 200-home subdivision that includes housing for the homeless angers some residents. ___ A newly released city plan to redevelop the soon-to-be-closed Fort Lawton in Seattle calls for building a 200-home subdivision of market-rate and affordable housing on about 18 acres. At a final community meeting Saturday at Fort Lawton, those living near the Army Reserve base said they didn't oppose housing for the homeless, but they worried that the total number of homes proposed and the percentage... Seattle Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049740/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:07:26 GMT