Tent Cities Arising Around the Nation!

[opebo]

Looks like we are in a 'depression'

RENO, Nev. - A few tents cropped up hard by the railroad tracks, pitched by men left with nowhere to go once the emergency winter shelter closed for the summer.

Then others appeared — people who had lost their jobs to the ailing economy, or newcomers who had moved to Reno for work and discovered no one was hiring.

Within weeks, more than 150 people were living in tents big and small, barely a foot apart in a patch of dirt slated to be a parking lot for a campus of shelters Reno is building for its homeless population. Like many other cities, Reno has found itself with a "tent city" — an encampment of people who had nowhere else to go.

From Seattle to Athens, Ga., homeless advocacy groups and city agencies are reporting the most visible rise in homeless encampments in a generation.

Nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say they've experienced a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group says the problem has worsened since the report's release in April, with foreclosures mounting, gas and food prices rising and the job market tightening.

"It's clear that poverty and homelessness have increased," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the coalition. "The economy is in chaos, we're in an unofficial recession and Americans are worried, from the homeless to the middle class, about their future."

[opebo]

Caught by surprise
The phenomenon of encampments has caught advocacy groups somewhat by surprise, largely because of how quickly they have sprung up.

"What you're seeing is encampments that I haven't seen since the 80s," said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, an umbrella group for homeless advocacy organizations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore. and Seattle.

The relatively tony city of Santa Barbara has given over a parking lot to people who sleep in cars and vans.

The city of Fresno, Calif., is trying to manage several proliferating tent cities, including an encampment where people have made shelters out of scrap wood.

In Portland, Ore., and Seattle, homeless advocacy groups have paired with nonprofits or faith-based groups to manage tent cities as outdoor shelters.

Other cities where tent cities have either appeared or expanded include include Chattanooga, Tenn., San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently reported a 12 percent drop in homelessness nationally in two years, from about 754,000 in January 2005 to 666,000 in January 2007. But the 2007 numbers omitted people who previously had been considered homeless — such as those staying with relatives or friends or living in campgrounds or motel rooms for more than a week.

In addition, the housing and economic crisis began soon after HUD's most recent data was compiled.

"The data predates the housing crisis," said Brian Sullivan, a spokesman for HUD. "From the headlines, it might appear that the report is about yesterday. How is the housing situation affecting homelessness? That's a great question. We're still trying to get to that."

In Seattle, which is experiencing a building boom and an influx of affluent professionals in neighborhoods the working class once owned, homeless encampments have been springing up — in remote places to avoid police sweeps.

[opebo]

"What's happening in Seattle is what's happening everywhere else — on steroids," said Tim Harris, executive director of Real Change, an advocacy organization that publishes a weekly newspaper sold by homeless people.

Homeless people and their advocates have organized three tent cities at City Hall in recent months to call attention to the homeless and protest the sweeps — acts of militancy, said Harris, "that we really haven't seen around homeless activism since the early '90s."

In Reno, officials decided to let the tent city be because shelters were already filled.

Officials don't know how many homeless people are in Reno. "But we do know that the soup kitchens are serving hundreds more meals a day and that we have more people who are homeless than we can remember," said Jodi Royal-Goodwin, the city's redevelopment agency director.

Those in the tents have to register and are monitored weekly to see what progress they are making in finding jobs or real housing. They are provided times to take showers in the shelter, and told where to go for food and meals.

Hopes for casino jobs dashed
Sylvia Flynn, 51, came from northern California but lost a job almost immediately and then her apartment.

Since the cheapest motels here charge upward of $200 a week, Flynn ended up at the Reno women's shelter, which has only 20 beds and a two-week limit on stays.

Out of a dozen people interviewed in the tent city, six had come to Reno from California or elsewhere over the last year, hoping for casino jobs.

"I figured this would be a great place for a job," said Max Perez, a 19-year-old from Iowa. He couldn't find one and ended up taking showers at the men's shelter and sleeping in a pup tent barely big enough to cover his body.

The casinos are actually starting to lay off employees.

"Sometimes I think we need to put out an ad: 'No, we don't have any more jobs than you do,'" Royal-Goodwin said.

The city will shut down the tent city as soon as early October because the tents sit on what will be a parking lot for a complex of shelters and services for homeless people. The complex will include a men's shelter, a women's shelter, a family shelter and a resource center.

Reno officials aren't sure whether the construction will eliminate the need for the tent city. The demand, they say, keeps growing.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Now, none of those members of these Bushvilles wants to pick lettuce for $50 an hour.
I'm kind of surprised that someone in the news media decided to have an article about the sh**tty job market.

[dead0man]

"I figured this would be a great place for a job," said Max Perez, a 19-year-old from Iowa. He couldn't find one and ended up taking showers at the men's shelter and sleeping in a pup tent barely big enough to cover his body.

So this genius leaves Iowa, with some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and moves to Reno looking for work, Reno is just north of the national average.

There are a lot of places with ridiculously low unemployment rates. link

1 Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.4
2 Idaho Falls, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.5
2 Rapid City, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.5
4 Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.6
5 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.7
6 Logan, UT-ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.8
6 Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.8
8 Casper, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.9
8 Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.9
10 Billings, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.0
11 Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.1
11 Lafayette, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.1
11 Midland, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.1
14 Iowa City, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.2
15 Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.3
15 Portsmouth, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA 3.3
17 Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.4
17 Great Falls, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.4
19 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.5
19 Missoula, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.5
19 Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.5
22 Madison, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.6
22 Provo-Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.6
24 Odessa, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Pocatello, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
29 Amarillo, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Coeur d'Alene, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Dubuque, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Manchester, NH Metropolitan NECTA 3.8
29 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Rochester-Dover, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA 3.8
37 Charlottesville, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
37 Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
37 Honolulu, HI Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
37 Santa Fe, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
41 Cedar Rapids, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0
41 Lawton, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0
41 Oklahoma City, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0
41 Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0

250 Reno-Sparks, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.5

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

"I figured this would be a great place for a job," said Max Perez, a 19-year-old from Iowa. He couldn't find one and ended up taking showers at the men's shelter and sleeping in a pup tent barely big enough to cover his body.

So this genius leaves Iowa, with some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and moves to Reno looking for work, Reno is just north of the national average.

There are a lot of places with ridiculously low unemployment rates. link

1 Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.4
2 Idaho Falls, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.5
2 Rapid City, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.5
4 Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.6
5 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.7
6 Logan, UT-ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.8
6 Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.8
8 Casper, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.9
8 Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area 2.9
10 Billings, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.0
11 Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.1
11 Lafayette, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.1
11 Midland, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.1
14 Iowa City, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.2
15 Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.3
15 Portsmouth, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA 3.3
17 Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.4
17 Great Falls, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.4
19 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.5
19 Missoula, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.5
19 Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.5
22 Madison, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.6
22 Provo-Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.6
24 Odessa, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Pocatello, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
24 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.7
29 Amarillo, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Coeur d'Alene, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Dubuque, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Manchester, NH Metropolitan NECTA 3.8
29 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.8
29 Rochester-Dover, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA 3.8
37 Charlottesville, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
37 Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
37 Honolulu, HI Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
37 Santa Fe, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area 3.9
41 Cedar Rapids, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0
41 Lawton, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0
41 Oklahoma City, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0
41 Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.0

250 Reno-Sparks, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.5

There are a lot more unemployed people than that. The unemployed statistics are a lie, they only count people who recently had a job who are looking for work.

[dead0man]

Yes, we all understand that.  That had dick to do with my point.

(unless your point was that the numbers can't be used to compare cities in which case, cite?)

[opebo]

I think the point is that it is absurd to suggest that a desperate poor, probably only a few hundred dollars from homelessness and death, make his life-or-death decisions based on vague, general, inaccurate, and intentionally misrepresented government statistics.

[MODU]

I think the point is that it is absurd to suggest that a desperate poor, probably only a few hundred dollars from homelessness and death, make his life-or-death decisions based on vague, general, inaccurate, and intentionally misrepresented government statistics.

Of course, leaving the comforts of your home as a 19 year old to go to a city that he probably had very little info on, carrying with him a resume that wasn't a half of a page long, thinking he can get a job that would put a roof over his head is less absurd, right?

[Ban my account ffs!]

I think the point is that it is absurd to suggest that a desperate poor, probably only a few hundred dollars from homelessness and death, make his life-or-death decisions based on vague, general, inaccurate, and intentionally misrepresented government statistics.

Of course, leaving the comforts of your home as a 19 year old to go to a city that he probably had very little info on, carrying with him a resume that wasn't a half of a page long, thinking he can get a job that would put a roof over his head is less absurd, right?

Yes, let them rot.  The clear rise in tent cities is simply a case of a rise in the number of stupid people, right?

Why is it that America is beginning to turn out more and more like the semi-fascist America in those Sci-Fi novels where the rich few live in barricaded gated communities while the rest live in tent cities in parking lots and under bridges?

[MODU]

Yes, let them rot.  The clear rise in tent cities is simply a case of a rise in the number of stupid people, right?

Why is it that America is beginning to turn out more and more like the semi-fascist America in those Sci-Fi novels where the rich few live in barricaded gated communities while the rest live in tent cities in parking lots and under bridges?

OH NO!  THE ALIENS ARE COMING!

[??????????]

Why is it that America is beginning to turn out more and more like the semi-fascist America in those Sci-Fi novels where the rich few live in barricaded gated communities while the rest live in tent cities in parking lots and under bridges?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yes, we all understand that.  That had dick to do with my point.

(unless your point was that the numbers can't be used to compare cities in which case, cite?)

Well, the job market isn't great, even in Iowa. Yeah, moving probably won't be helpful for him.

[opebo]

Why is it that America is beginning to turn out more and more like the semi-fascist America in those Sci-Fi novels where the rich few live in barricaded gated communities while the rest live in tent cities in parking lots and under bridges?

Because that is the policy of the State, Snowguy.

[JSojourner]

As Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has been saying over and over this campaign season, "There are plenty of companies hiring here.  And lots of new jobs being created."

Why, just the other day a Duncan Donuts opened right here in Fort Wayne.  And Burger King is having trouble filling all its shifts.

Maybe Phil Gramm really was right.  Maybe we ARE a nation of whiners.