Academic

Sleep out for the homeless: worst fundraiser ever?

Posted on September 30, 2009
"Don't let the name fool you," says Dominic Mapstone over at End Homelessness. "Instead of being a gritty, real-life glimpse into the devastation of homelessness, they are simply glorified slumber parties."So what does it matter? Well, people (mostly kids) sleeping out in a controlled environment may think they have experienced a night on the streets, but they can easily go home with inaccurate assumptions based on their so-called experience...

Innocence and guilt are funny things in America

Posted on September 30, 2009
"If you are rich and guilty, if you have defrauded banks and customers and investment firms of billions of dollars," writes Chris Hedges, "if you wear fancy suits and have degrees from elite universities that cost more per year than Brown used to make, you get taxpayer money...

Homeless man beaten to death in jail cell

Posted on September 29, 2009
A 35-year-old homeless man, being held on charges of being drunk and disorderly, was found dead in his cell in a Louisiana jail, apparently beaten to death.He was also stripped of all his clothing.His three cellmates are being questioned in connection with what police are treating as a homicide...

Homeless set up temporary camp outside mayor's home

Posted on September 29, 2009
Carrying bags of belongings and their bedding, and under the watchful eye of Seattle police officers, a few dozen homeless and advocates for the homeless set up temporary camp in front of Mayor Greg Nickels' West Seattle home about 8:30 p.m. Monday.It was one of what the group SHARE/WHEEL* says will be a series of campouts at politicians' homes, according to its Web site...

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Sanford may pass tougher panhandling laws

Posted on September 24, 2009
The city of Sanford wants to be able to arrest some of its most aggressive panhandlers. Downtown business leaders have been pushing for tougher panhandling laws for years and now the city is about to pass them.However, there's nothing illegal about begging for money...

Cold-case murder of homeless man solved, police say

Posted on September 23, 2009
Police describe it as "four-year-old murder mystery."The mystery began when the remains of John Gavin, a 67-year-old homeless man, were found in the woods in Brevard County in 2005.David Wayne Slaton, 33, of Kathleen, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said...

Florida is the only state where median income decreased

Posted on September 22, 2009
It's not exactly breaking news (most of you knew this by just looking around), but incomes in Florida are dropping.According to new census data, the median household income in Florida fell from $47,804 to $47,778 between 2007 and 2008, a decline of .01%...

A homeless shelter so nice you might want to live there, too

Posted on September 20, 2009
The Spring Gardens Center, near London, England, offers a fresh approach to designing shelters as places of transformation.Instead of sticking homeless people in dank, miserable-looking shelters, why not put them in open, airy accommodations that inspire confidence?That's the idea behind Spring Gardens, a hostel for the homeless built by St...

Pinellas Hope deserves support, the Times says

Posted on September 19, 2009
Primarily a tent facility, Pinellas Hope also has 10 simple sheds for people with special medical needs and exemplary camp members.As Catholic Charities broke ground on a transitional apartment building at Pinellas Hope, the St. Petersburg Times called on the county to provide dedicated dollars to make sure the success of the so-called "tent city" for the homeless continues...

2,300+ low-income Florida families could lose housing assistance

Posted on September 18, 2009
More than 2,300 low-income Florida families could have their rental assistance reduced or eliminated as a result of a shortfall in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program* in 2009.Twenty housing authorities in Florida are among about 400 nationwide that may be forced to reduce the number of low-income families they serve, despite rising need as a result of increasing unemployment and poverty...

A bit of shameless self-promotion

Posted on September 18, 2009
If you've got a minute, head over to the People Power Hour heroes page and vote for Legal Advocacy at Work. If we win (and we're in the lead as of this writing), we'll get a chance to appear on the radio show and spread our message about homelessness and social justice.

Victory in a food-sharing case! (No, not ours)

Posted on September 16, 2009
A preliminary victory has been won in a lawsuit against the city of Dallas, challenging an ordinance that severely restricts locations where groups can share food, prohibiting many groups from providing food in locations where they have served homeless individuals for years...

Florida's safety net among the nation's weakest

Posted on September 16, 2009
Florida ranked 48th among the states in the share of needy people receiving benefits, and fell into the bottom 10 states in four of six categories.? Only 7% of poor children and parents in Florida receive cash welfare. In Vermont, the top-ranking state, 49% do...

An open letter to YouTube: Stop the hate against homeless people!

Posted on September 14, 2009
Over at LA's homeless blog, Joel John Roberts has posted an open letter to YouTube.Nearly 86,000 videos of degrading acts against homeless people have been posted on YouTube, the National Coalition for the Homeless announced this past July."Allowing 86,000 videos of blatant degradation of hurting, homeless people is simply immoral, and frankly, contributes to a national environment of dehumanizing people who are suffering on our streets," the letter says...

"Because I got jumped in my sleep, I got off the street"

Posted on September 13, 2009
In May, Mike Montoya was beaten while sleeping at a boarded up motel in Salt Lake City. The attack spurred him give up his homeless lifestyle. "Because I got jumped in my sleep, I got off the street," Montoya said.As he remembers it, Mike Montoya was sleeping when two young men -- one with a wooden bat -- beat him severely in May...

Grim new economic data: Millions more thrust into poverty

Posted on September 13, 2009
The number of Americans living in poverty increased by nearly 2.6 million to 13.2% in 2008 -- a stark reminder of the toll the recession was already taking on families even before the economic picture worsened this year.Last year's 39.8 million poor people comprise the highest number of Americans living in poverty since 1960...

I haven't given up ...

Posted on September 13, 2009
I've just been struggling with my home Internet connection. Might have the problem solved now. I hope so.

Would health-care reform reduce homelessness?

Posted on July 30, 2009
The Obama Administration says yes, extending publicly-funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare is essential to combating homelessness in America."We already know that simply having 46 million uninsured people in this country clearly contributes to persistent and widespread homelessness," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, speaking in Washington at the annual conference of the National Alliance to End Homelessness...

March on Gainesville City Hall protests limit on meals for the homeless

Posted on July 30, 2009
About 25 marchers walk toward Gainesville City Hall, chanting "People need to eat" and carrying signs to protest limits on how many people can be fed at St. Francis House.About 25 people marched to City Hall in hopes of spurring the city to lift the 130-meals-a-day restriction on the St...

Another convert to Housing First

Posted on July 27, 2009
The number of homeless families housed in motels across Massachusetts is at a peak. This unfortunate statistic has prompted the state to admit that the approach it has used over the years to address homelessness has not solved the problem.Massachusetts has shifted its approach on homelessness from a sheltering model to a "housing first" model...

15-year-old arrested in homeless man's murder

Posted on July 26, 2009
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in the murder of a homeless man whose body was found at an encampment in downtown Reno, Nevada.An autopsy determined that Eric Burkart, 55, suffered violent, traumatic injuries before he died.The teen was taken into custody on a charge of murder...

Return of the Gilded Age*

Posted on July 26, 2009
"Here's a truism: The wealthiest 1 percent have never had it so good."According to government figures, 1 percenters' share of America's total income is the highest it's been since 1929, and their tax rates are the lowest they've faced in two decades."Read David Sirota's column here...

Teen charged stabbing death of homeless man in Ocoee

Posted on July 22, 2009
A homeless man was stabbed 15 times by a teen using a 6-inch pocket knife after a confrontation at a camp site, Ocoee police said.Joel David Boner, 32, collapsed a short time later near the site west of Orlando.John Hawthorne, 19, was charged with first-degree murder...

Teens charged with killing a homeless man over $7 and a case of beer

Posted on July 19, 2009
Two teenagers have been arrested in the slaying of a homeless man found dead at his camp in Anchorage, Alaska.The two robbed James Gordon Lockery of $7 and a case of beer, charging documents say. They kicked and punched the him several times then left, drank the beer and later came back to Lockery's campsite and beat him to death...

Here's a Number 1 ranking!

Posted on July 15, 2009
Orlando Food Not Bombs was voted Best Local Charitable Group in the Orlando Weekly's Best of Orlando! See the rankings here (scroll down to the readers' poll results for Food Not Bombs' listing).

Foreclosure Survival Guide (free online)

Posted on July 15, 2009
Nolo is making its Foreclosure Survival Guide available for free online. In addition to a wealth of information on bankruptcy and foreclosure, the guide also contains tips on nonprofit housing counselors, finding a lawyer, bankruptcy petition preparers and researching the law...

4 Florida cities listed among the 'meanest' to homeless people

Posted on July 14, 2009
St. Petersburg, Orlando, Gainesville and Bradenton are ranked among the "meanest" in the nation to homeless people.The report comes from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless.It tracks what it calls a growing trend in U...

Businessman offers to pay panhandler's debt to Tom Brady

Posted on July 14, 2009
Dennis Paiva can retire his begging cup, thanks to a businessman who has offered to pay the $4,000 in restitution that the ex-con owes for walking off with Tom Brady?s pricey Belgian flower boxes.?For them to come forward and do this for me, it?s like a dream come true...

Teen surrenders at jail in homeless hit-and-run case

Posted on July 11, 2009
Five months after a fatal hit-and-run, 17-year-old Jordan Valdez surrendered for booking into the county jail. She faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident with death, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison...

Buddy, can you spare a dime for Tom Brady?

Posted on July 11, 2009
Dennis Paiva, who lifted -- he says mistakenly -- two flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, panhandles on a Boston street in order to repay the football star.A 61-year-old ex-con, who was arrested for taking two Belgian flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, is now on the street panhandling to repay the New England Patriots quarterback...

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