[aggregation-styles] Business Insider Pop-up personal shelters originally designed for post-disaster housing could soon become part Sacramento's solution to its growing homelessness problem. Sacramento County has seen homelessness increase by nearly 20 percent since 2017. Shelters Include Bunk Beds, Shelves and Windows The 64 square foot pop up shelters take just...
To Solve Homelessness, Californians Must Treat Certain Crimes as Cries for Help
Those of us who have watched a friend or family member wrestle with addiction or cope with mental illness recognize that certain acts are a cry for help. For one of my friends, it was getting into a car accident while under the influence, with her young children inside. For...
With Street2Home, Fresno Agrees on Plan to Cut Homelessness
It's rare to get politicians to agree on anything. But, in Fresno County, there's universal agreement that homelessness is the No. 1 issue. Listen to this article: More importantly, that agreement has inspired the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and the Fresno City Council to bless the creation of...
Affordable Housing Among Striking Chicago Teachers' Demands
CHICAGO — Striking Chicago teachers who are seeking smaller class sizes and higher pay also are demanding that the nation's third-largest city do more to lower housing costs and put more resources into helping homeless students. The demand for affordable housing citywide — for students and their financially-strapped families as well as...
Bredefeld Says Fresno Is 'Under Siege' by Homeless People
Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld says the community is overwhelmed with chronically homeless people suffering from drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness. And he blames laws approved by California voters via propositions 47 and 57, for increasing homelessness and victimizing law-abiding residents throughout the state. Listen to this article: ...
Police Arrest Stabbing Suspect as Homeless Concerns Raised
Fresno acting police chief Andy Hall praised his officers for their restraint when arresting a suspect armed with a knife Monday in downtown Fresno. "I could be standing up here talking about an officer-involved shooting," Hall told the media at a Tuesday news conference. "The bravery, the professionalism, the restraint...
Help Floods in for Homeless LA Subway Singer
LOS ANGELES — A homeless woman whose angelic singing in a Los Angeles subway was captured on video is being offered praise and help. About $70,000 has been raised on GoFundMe sites since a police officer captured Emily Zamourka, 52, clutching a push cart and bags full of her possessions...
Leaders of California Ministry Charged With Forced Labor
EL CENTRO — A dozen leaders of a California-based ministry were arrested Tuesday on charges that they used homeless people as forced labor, holding them in locked group homes and forcing them to panhandle up to nine hours a day, six days a week, U.S. prosecutors said. The former pastor...
LA Audit: Homeless Agency Fails to Hit Housing Goals
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has failed to meet goals for placing people into permanent housing and for referring them to substance abuse and mental health treatment, according to a city audit released Wednesday. Despite having more than doubled its number of outreach workers over the...
Should Fresno Try Sacramento's Tactic With 'Nuisance' Vagrants?
SACRAMENTO — The city of Sacramento has filed an unusual lawsuit to ban seven men considered to be a "public nuisance" from a popular business corridor. The lawsuit alleges the men are "drug users, trespassers, thieves ... and violent criminals" who have illegal weapons and ammunition and have forced police...