Fix Homelessness How to rebuild human lives
Topic

California

Screenshot 2024-08-01 080952

Washington State Gubernatorial Candidate Dave Reichert Lays Out Plan to Tackle Homelessness

Tackling homelessness will be one of the top priorities for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert and he’s laying out his game plan for Washington State. Meanwhile, Democratic front runner Bob Ferguson has yet to unveil his strategy on this crisis and he’s now being called out for being quiet. No Response from Bob Ferguson I reached out to Ferguson’s camp for comment but still no response. If they get back to me, I will update here. Reichert’s Homelessness Plan Reichert’s homelessness plan was unveiled in June. Now he’s calling on Gov. Inslee to craft an executive order to clear encampments like the one California Gov. Gavin Newsom just put into play. Dave Reichert Tours Seattle Encampments Earlier this year, I Read More ›

Screenshot 2024-07-17 152919

Robert Marbut Discusses Grants Pass v. Johnson on [un]Divided with Brandi Kruse

On unDivided, hosted by Brandi Kruse, Robert Marbut discusses what Grants Pass v. Johnson means for cities and their homeless populations, what cities like Seattle and San Francisco need to do, and the importance of investing in treatment for mental illness and drug addiction, and the reality behind Housing First. Read More ›
cops-clearing-out-a-homeless-encampment-stockpack-adobe-stock
Cops Clearing Out A Homeless Encampment
Licensed via Adobe Stock

The Dirty Little Secret About Homelessness Is the Key to Ending It

The US Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments about what cities can and cannot do to end homelessness. What everyone agreed on was that homelessness is a difficult problem. I think most people listening to the Supreme Court would agree: it isn’t going to solve homelessness. That is a job for state legislators. So why haven’t they? Why has homelessness gotten worse? Read More ›
supportive-hand-on-man's-shoulder-adobe-stock
Licensed via Adobe Stock

The Four Phases of Recovery at Forge Center

Last year I wrote about how formerly-homeless residents of the Orange County Rescue Mission in California could progress through an 18-month program in four phases that give them the readiness to live on their own. Through hard experience the Forge Center in Joplin, Missouri has also come up with four phases, with completion possible in 16 months. Read More ›
jon-tyson-6wOeGqQ-5f4-unsplash

The Humanitarian Crisis Right Before Your Eyes

How could 6,000 shelter beds be unoccupied in Los Angeles County? It’s a number, reported in LAist in July, that makes no sense given the miles of homeless encampments that occupy area streets and sidewalks. Looking for an answer, I talked to Dave — a formerly homeless man who asked me not to reveal his last name. Dave told me how he ended up unhoused in the 1990s and then worked his way into a good job and a steady roof over this head. He believes that homeless individuals who live on the street choose to do so, because when he didn’t have a roof, he chose to spend the night in missions with rules, not on streets without them. Read More ›

paul-hanaoka-PGRlGx_6Ehk-unsplash

Eight days in the Golden State. First in a Series.

I’m used to hopeless stories about the growth of homelessness, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Last December LA Mayor Karen Bass declared her city to be in a “state of emergency” that demanded “a sea change in how the city tackles homelessness.” Fine, but six months later, on June 29, a Los Angeles Times headline blared about the change Angelenos has seen: “Homelessness grows 10 percent in the city.” Two weeks ago I headed to California to see for myself. I had already walked LA’s Skid Row, where 11,000 homeless people crowd into 2/5 of a square mile and create what locals call “a man-made Hell.” Didn’t need another look at that, and the hope of seeing a Read More ›

max-bohme-Skhc2Bm7J4s-unsplash

California, the Dream and the Nightmare

“The homeless are just like you and me.” That’s a politically correct assertion that doesn’t quite recognize the reality on the ground, such as the link between self-destructive behavior — most notably, substance abuse — and living on the street with no place to call home. California is home to 12% of America’s population, but 30% of the number “experiencing homelessness” and half the population of unsheltered homeless. Why? A new study on homelessness, the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness by UC San Francisco, lays out how a set of painful events can bring adults to the sad moment when they lose a roof over their heads. They lose low-paying jobs and then apartments; they bunk in spare Read More ›

unsplash denys nevozhai
overhead view of city of Los Angeles lit up at night
city of Los Angeles at night

How Much Do You Know About Homelessness?

Six in ten, defined as “sheltered homeless,” sleep in emergency shelters, safe havens, or transitional housing programs. These sites are often unpleasant but usually not dangerous. Four in ten are unsheltered, some in tents or cars not for recreational reasons but because they have no alternative. Read More ›
west-hollywood-homelessness-wild-tents-camp-stockpack-adobe-stock
West Hollywood Homelessness Wild Tents Camp
West Hollywood Homelessness Wild Tents Camp

‘Housing First’ Caused the Homelessness Catastrophe

Homelessness is a national disgrace. Large swaths of some of America’s (once) most beautiful cities are squalid squatter camps. Visit San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, or Los Angeles and you will see miles of homeless people living on the streets in tents—many openly drug-addled and soiling sidewalks with used needles and human waste. Read More ›
sun palm trees
Sun shining through tall palm trees. Summer, fashion, travel, vacation, tourism, lifestyle and weather concept.
Sun shining through tall palm trees. Summer, fashion, travel, vacation, tourism, lifestyle and weather concept.

Like a Dystopia, Only California

For years, the left argued that not enforcing "quality of life" laws was the humane and enlightened approach that would lead to more livable cities. But all they got was a toxic stew. Read More ›