Alaska

Homeless camp to be razed Thursday - November  8, 2009
by Eric Morrison; Juneau Empire
After the tent city Michael Talton has called home for the past year and a half is razed on Thursday, the 58-year-old has no idea where he will bed down… Read more

Arizona

Tent city fights ignorance - November 10, 2009
by Gabriel Matthew Schivone; Daily Wildcat
Sociology senior Hali Nurnberg, co-founder of Social Justice League, the UA student club putting on Tentropolis, a sort of tent city erected on the UA Mall all this week, describes the event as a simulation of homelessness designed to bring awareness to an issue that we don’t often see or understand… Read more

(The article above is one of the best opinion pieces I’ve seen regarding the portrayal of the poor in TV and film, written on the occasion of the “Tentropolis,” put on by the Social Justice League at the University of Arizona. Bravo!)

California

Homeless man burned to death near Carson not homicide victim - November 9, 2009

by Sandy Mazza; Los Angeles Daily Breeze
A homeless man found burned beyond recognition in a shanty near Carson was not the victim of a homicide, investigators said today…The fire had fully engulfed a homeless shanty. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames and found the man’s charred body inside… Read more

Homeless count results released in San Bernardino County - November 9, 2009
by Imran Ghori; Riverside Press-Enterprise
On the same day a survey was released reporting that 1,736 were found to be homeless, San Bernardino County officials said coordination between the county, cities and service organizations has improved in the two years since the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership was formed… Read more

Colorado

Cheyenne sees uptick in homelessness - November 8, 2009
by Jeffrey Wolfe and Adam Chodak; KUSA-TV
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The homeless population has grown significantly in Cheyenne over the past year, according to area shelters. “A lot of people are struggling,” said Teresa Garrido, executive director of COMEA House, a Cheyenne shelter that provides beds and food for those in need… Read more

Florida

Holidays amplify debate about feeding homeless - November 1, 2009
by Megan Rolland; Gainesville Sun
Public outcry against city laws limiting how many destitute people can be served at any one location resounded this past week as the city’s largest meal provider on Thanksgiving and Christmas grapples with a 130-meal limit… Read more

Schools must help homeless students, but the problem is often hidden - November 4, 2009
by James Kirley; TCPalm
Nakia Contois and his sister, Emma, were students at Pelican Island Elementary in Sebastian last school year, which began with a short bus ride from the family home. By late November, the family was homeless, bouncing between efficiency apartments, motels — any place that parents Jason and Stacey Contois could afford after his work as a chef and hers as a nursing assistant dried up… Read more

Idaho

Homeless Idaho residents sue city over camping law - November 8, 2009
by Rebecca Boone (Associated Press);  Miami Herald
BOISE, Idaho – Seven homeless Boise residents are suing the city and the police department, saying that rules against camping in public spaces amount to cruel and unusual punishment in a city where homeless shelters are overflowing… Read more

Indiana

Homeless man dies in church he helped look after - November 3, 2009
by Robert King; Indianapolis Star
“Father, is there somebody asleep back there?” In the darkness of St. Mary Catholic Church, a Downtown sanctuary rimmed in stained glass so rich that light struggles to penetrate, it wasn’t clear what the boy had found. But when the Rev. Michael O'Mara investigated Saturday morning, he knew he needed to get the children out of the church… Read more

Kansas

Number of homeless Kansas veterans rises - November 10, 2009
by Brent D. Wistrom; Wichita Eagle
The number of homeless veterans in Kansas has grown in recent years, according to a new report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. New estimates show that there were 712 homeless vets in Kansas in 2008. That’s up from 689 in 2007 and 601 in 2006… Read more

Maine

Homeless Veterans Stand Down Day - November 8, 2009
by Wayne Harvey; WABI-TV

As lawmakers debated health care reform in Washington, the medical needs of needy veterans were being addressed here in Maine. The Togus V-A center hosted its annual “Homeless Veterans Stand-Down” event Saturday… Read more

Michigan

Homeless tell their story through art - November 4, 2009
by Kathryn Prater; Lansing State Journal
About a dozen Lansing-area homeless adults are telling their stories through artwork in a traveling exhibit that is raising awareness about homelessness. Lansing-based Advent House Ministries and the Michigan Historical Museum today unveiled “Your Story and Mine: A Community of Hope”… Read more

Mich. homelessness rises - November 4, 2009
by Brittanny Shamas; The State News
His accent is so deeply Southern everyone knows him only as “Tennessee,” but 31-year-old Daniel “Tennessee” Berry has not been home for 11 months, and has not seen his three children for three years. He hasn’t looked back since the July day he packed up his belongings and was dropped off outside a Lansing homeless shelter after losing the job that brought him to Michigan. Four months later, Tennessee still is living at the shelter, where he says he’s blessed to have a job and three meals a day… Read more

Homeless numbers continue to grow -November 12, 2009
WWMT Newschannel 3
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Many West Michigan families are already struggling with the state’s unemployment rate over 15 percent. Some of them find there are no options but to live on the streets or in a shelter… Read more

Missouri

Homeless Tent Cities Popping Up Across St. Louis - November 4, 2009
by John Auble; KTVI-FOX2now.com
ST. LOUIS, MO - The economy is swelling the ranks of the homeless who are taking to small tent cities being set up around town. Two of the largest groupings are beneath an old railroad tunnel on Tucker near the Post-Dispatchdowntown, and a spot near 1st and Florida on the Near North Side… Read more

City official apologizes to the homeless, says park rangers violated protocol by throwing away homeless’ belongings away - November 5, 2009
by Carolyn Tuft; St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Shortly after 5 p.m. today, a city official called to apologize for what he characterized as a “disturbing” display of disrespect for homeless people who had been camping in a small park near the St. Patrick’s Center for the homeless… Read more

North Dakota

NJ native sees ‘hidden homeless’ in ND - November 12, 2009
by Jill Schramm; Philadelphia Inquirer
MINOT, N.D. - New Jersey native Joe Lasky has seen a side of North Dakota that many people native to the state often don’t see. Lasky, 23, an Americorps worker with the Minot Area Homeless Coalition, has spent the past year working with a homeless population that stays largely under most people’s radar… Read more

Ohio

Homeless flock to Tent City for assistance - November 1, 2009
by Mark Reiter; Toledo Blade
Sandy Hartford waited for more than three hours Saturday to get inside the warm mobile clinic to have a dentist poke inside her mouth. Unemployed for almost two years, Ms. Hartford was one of hundreds of homeless people at 1Matters Tent City on downtown’s Civic Center Mall… Read more

Options shrink for elders, advocates say - November 3, 2009
by Mark Curnutte; Cincinnati Enquirer
In-home and assisted-living care options for Ohio seniors and disabled adults are another casualty of the state’s smaller 2010-11 budget… Read more

Cleveland: Former convent donated to homeless outreach organization - November 4, 2009
WKYC-TV; Staff
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Diocese has donated the former St. Procop convent to the Community Service Alliance (CSA), the parent organization which assists men moving from homelessness to self sufficiency. CSA has operated its housing program out of the site, now known as Procop House, for the past five years… Read more

Oklahoma

Homeless overflow shelter already busy - November 3, 2009
by Stan Finger; The Oklahoman
Michael recalled spending Sunday night under a Wichita bridge. “I’m don’t want to say,” he said when asked which bridge. “But it was warm.” Monday, the 50-year-old was at the Warming Souls Winter Overflow Shelter, which already is filling beds faster than expected… Read more

Tennesee

Homeless man shot to death in downtown Nashville - November 3, 2009
by Clay Carey; The Tennessean
Metro police have identified the homeless man found shot to death on a bench in downtown Nashville early this morning as Edward Mitchell, 46… Read more

Wisconsin

Homelessness Soars In Milwaukee Area - November 9, 2009
WISN- TV; Staff
It’s happening in every community - both city and suburbs - families are unable to find shelter, and left with no place to call home…It’s the end of the school day, but unlike his classmates, 17-year-old Nick isn’t heading home because he has no home… Read more

Homelessness Not Just Problem In City - November 10, 2009
WISN-TV
More families are living on the street than ever before, and the problem reaches beyond the city into every community in the region… Read more

Wyoming

Homeless population on the rise, say local non-profits - November 2, 2009
by Jodi Rogstad; Wyoming Tribune Eagle
CHEYENNE - In the past year, the economy has taken a turn for the worse, which means local non-profits are seeing an increase in homeless people. While they say the community is very generous, the COMEA House homeless shelter can use more winter gear, such as hats, gloves and scarves. The Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless reports an overwhelming response to requests for supplies - what it really needs now is cash… Read more