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Another homeless man murdered

Posted on January 27, 2010
A man found dead in a homeless camp south of Sanford was a homicide victim, authorities said.Deputies were flagged down and by a man who told them someone was dead in a homeless camp in the woods behind the Quick Stop at U.S. Highway 17-92 and Collins drive, south of Sanford, said a spokesman for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office...

Think you know where the poor folks live?

Posted on January 24, 2010
Florida suburbs were among the first to see the effects of the ?Great Recession? translate into significant increases in poverty between 2007 and 2008.It was the leading edge of a trend seen all across the country. By 2008, suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population...

People on public assistance are like stray animals, candidate says

Posted on January 24, 2010
A candidate for governor of South Carolina has compared giving people government assistance to "feeding stray animals.""My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed," said Lt...

Jacksonville mayor endorses daytime homeless shelter

Posted on January 21, 2010
The creation of a daytime homeless shelter in the urban core is being supported by Jacksonville's mayor.The shelter, proposed by area non-profits, would help the homeless and needy off the streets and into jobs. Mayor John Peyton says it would be located at the Sulzbacher Center and provide a location for individuals to do laundry, make phone calls and receive counseling...

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Homeless convince city leaders to suspend no-camping law

Posted on January 20, 2010
A group of about 60 homeless people and their supporters convinced the Boulder City Council on Tuesday night to consider a moratorium on tickets for sleeping in parks, under bridges or in other public areas.The City Council directed City Manager Jane Brautigam to bring back language within a few weeks for an emergency ordinance that would suspend enforcement of the no-camping rule...

Remembering Sister Cathy and her work

Posted on January 17, 2010
Sister Cathy Gorman was in her 20s when she arrived at the wary farm-working community of Apopka. She quickly earned migrants' trust working beside them in the fields.Sister Cathy Gorman touched the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers and poor and disenfranchised families in Central Florida...

Florida Legislature takes steps to add the homeless to hate-crimes law

Posted on January 14, 2010
Prompted by the 2006 homeless attack in Fort Lauderdale that gained worldwide notoriety, the Florida Legislature is moving to add the homeless as a protected class under state hate crimes laws.Senate and House committees approved legislation that would make prejudice-driven attacks against the homeless a hate crime, meaning longer jail sentences for offenders...

Would an "official" campground get homeless people out of downtown?

Posted on January 13, 2010
A plan is circulating to create a campground for homeless people somewhere in the Panama City limits, as a way to alleviate what some call the downtown homeless problems.?This idea has worked in other areas, and I think it is something that could be applied to Panama City,? said Rick Dye, speaking of Pinellas Hope...

Florida does (surprisingly?) well in helping needy families

Posted on January 10, 2010
The total number of persons, both adults and children, receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families decreased in 22 states, says a new report from Legal Momentum.In Florida, the total number of TANF recipients increased 22.2%, from 78,783 to 96,294...

Acid bombs thrown at homeless in downtown St. Pete

Posted on January 08, 2010
Denny DeJesus shows where he and his fiancee were nearly hit by an acid bomb.Police say someone threw three acid bombs at a group of homeless people in downtown St. Petersburg."These (homeless) people are already in poor circumstances, each has their own story and they're sleeping on the streets...

It is winter. A third of the city is poor. And unworn clothing is being destroyed nightly.

Posted on January 06, 2010
At the back entrance of a New York City clothing store, awaiting trash haulers, were bags of garments that appear to have never been worn. And to make sure that they never would be worn or sold, someone had slashed most of them with box cutters or razors, a familiar sight outside H&M?s back door...

No longer homeless!

Posted on January 06, 2010
CarCamper is no longer homeless! Read more here.

Run a red light to support the homeless

Posted on January 03, 2010
The dollars produced by red-light cameras are hard to ignore.So the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County has been quietly shopping an idea around to a handful of county officials. Their proposal: Let the revenue pay for social service programs, particularly those aimed at the problem of homelessness...

Another homeless camp gets shut down

Posted on January 02, 2010
A cardboard box serves as a living room rug in a homeless camp under an interstate highway in Baltimore.The days are numbered for an encampment that has been the site of Baltimore's downtrodden for years.City officials say they will close down the camp this week...

How many homeless people?

Posted on December 31, 2009
There are likely half as many homeless in St. Johns County as previously thought, according to a pilot study performed by local volunteers and the University of North Florida.Volunteers from People United to Stop Homelessness, Food Not Bombs St. Augustine and the community counted around 600 homeless living in the area...

Roommates convicted of murdering homeless man

Posted on December 22, 2009
Two roommates have been convicted of murder in the July slaying of a 56-year-old homeless man in Oregon.Herbert ?Pac-Man? Bishop was attacked by the men after they went to a park ?to find someone to beat up.? They were drunk when they left their apartment in Eugene...

Not forgotten: We remember those who died without homes

Posted on December 21, 2009
It's the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, so it's time to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember our homeless friends who paid the ultimate price for our nation's failure to end homelessness.Each year since 1990, people have gathered in cities across the country to observe National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day...

A voice for legal aid to the poor is silenced

Posted on December 20, 2009
F. William McCalpin, one of the earliest advocates and most vocal defenders of the Legal Services Corporation, a federal program that has provided legal aid to millions of poor people, died Dec. 9 at his home in St. Louis. He was 88.McCalpin butted heads with the Reagan administration when it sought to eliminate the program he had long championed...

Stimulus kept 425,000 Floridians out of poverty

Posted on December 20, 2009
About 425,000 Floridians would have found themselves living in poverty had they not received assistance through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.The Act also reduced the severity of poverty for about 1,970,000 more Floridians who are poor by lifting their incomes, said the study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities...

Homeless newspaper debuts in St. Pete

Posted on December 14, 2009
The St. Petersburg Homeless Image -- a forum for advocates, homeless and formerly homeless people, students and the general public -- made its debut this weekend on the streets of St. Pete.The paper includes articles on the homeless lawsuit against the city, St...

Firefighter rescues homeless squatter from blaze

Posted on December 14, 2009
A 63-year-old Boston firefighter, making his way up a stairway through black smoke, pulled a homeless man to safety from a burning warehouse in South Boston.John Smith, a firefighter for 40 years, was being hailed as a hero for rescuing the man from the two-alarm blaze...

2 teens arrested in homeless man's shooting death

Posted on December 14, 2009
Two teenagers are accused of killing a homeless man and shooting his friend outside a Pompano Beach apartment complex.Harry Velez, 17, and Brady Fisher, 19, were arrested in connection with the shooting of Cristobal Mariano and his homeless friend, Eustoquio Lopez...

City won't appeal camping ruling

Posted on December 12, 2009
The city of Victoria will not appeal a court ruling which upholds the right of homeless to set up tents in parks."Appealing this ruling does nothing to solve homelessness, and the real goal for this council is to ensure that all members of the community have a home," Mayor Dean Fortin said...

Orlando t-shirt seller uses homeless models

Posted on December 11, 2009
Photo by Wheat WurtzburgerAn Orlando t-shirt business called Fat American every so often uses homeless people to model their t-shirts in photos by Wheat Wurtzburger."It may be an unorthodox way of flaunting our t-shirts, but we feel it is appropriate when we consider our feelings about the failure of the United States social system...

It's OK to camp in parks, says Canadian court

Posted on December 10, 2009
Homeless people can camp temporarily in public parks if municipalities can't provide them with sufficient alternative shelter, British Columbia's highest court has ruled.The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that struck down a Victoria bylaw banning camping in city parks by the homeless...

Give to the Public Defender's Clothes Closet Drive

Posted on December 09, 2009
If you're in the Orlando area, take a few minutes to dig to the back of your closet and find some gently worn professional clothes that you don't wear any more. The Public Defender?s Office Clothes Closet will use them to provide people with suitable attire for court appearances...

Two Florida cities among America's most unequal cities

Posted on December 09, 2009
If you're feeling like the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, you may be on to something. Especially if you live in one of the two Florida cities to make the top 10 of America's most unequal cities.Naples is home to many people who have gotten rich somewhere else and then moved to Florida's Gulf Coast...

After winning legal challenge to panhandling law, he's back in jail -- for panhandling

Posted on December 09, 2009
David Timothy Booher found himself in a familiar place on Monday for a familiar reason.Booher, 52, wound up in the Marion County Jail after being arrested by Ocala police for panhandling.It was his 24th arrest in Marion County since July 2003, according to Sheriff's Office records, and Booher's latest visit to the jail comes with some irony...

DeLand passes ordinance regulating panhandling

Posted on December 08, 2009
A new ordinance prohibiting panhandling at night ? between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. ? anywhere in the city of DeLand takes effect immediately.One may not panhandle on downtown streets and sidewalks at any time, except during special events, in the daytime...

St. Pete police to homeless: Move your belongings or lose them

Posted on December 06, 2009
Authorities are poised to confiscate the property of a group of homeless people camped outside the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen -- or at least those belongings the homeless can't carry off on their own.A posting outside the kitchen in downtown St...

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