CASCADE, Colorado — Matt Stys funnels a mound of finely ground God’s Gift, a sativa strain of marijuana, into his multicolored glass bowl and takes a hit. “It allows the images and all the things in your head to lose focus and drift away for a while,” says Stys as wisps of smoke curl from his mouth. For Stys, the …
College kids’ homeless hell: Why a secret, massive crisis is getting even worse – MATTHEW SACCARO
With colleges spending billions on lavish housing developments, it’s easy to think that all students are living large. The sad reality? Student homelessness in higher education is a larger issue than most realize, with tens of thousands across the country homeless. There are questions on the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) addressing homeless students — or “unaccompanied homeless …
Affordable Housing Crisis Grows Across the Country as Apartment Rents Skyrocket By Steven Rosenfeld
On Monday, New York City took a dramatic step that highlights just how out of control rental housing costs have become in the Big Apple and in many cities nationwide. For the first time, New York froze [3] rents for one-year leases on a million rent-stabilized apartments. “Today’s decision means relief,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told [4] reporters. “We know tenants have been forced to make …
Think Homelessness Can’t be Eradicated? These Communities Did It – Alex Pietrowski
The costs of homelessness is rarely discussed. We mostly hear statistics about the number of children living on the streets, the vast number of hungry individuals fed in soup kitchens, and the dangers that homeless families face during severe weather. As communities, we pull together by donating to food banks and participating in homeless outreach programs, even though government regulations …
Help Stop Laws that Make Feeding Homeless Illegal – Christina Sarich
In 2012, Houston, Texas passed a law that would fine anyone giving food to to more than five people in public. Just recently, a 90-year old man was arrested for trying to feed some homeless people in his city. The homeless are increasingly being treated like lepers, with city ordinances that make helping them punishable with jail time. Churches are even spraying homeless people with freezing cold water …
Paul Buchheit – A Nation’s Shame: Trillions in New Wealth, Millions of Children in Poverty
America’s wealth grew by 60 percent in the past six years, by over $30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number of homeless children has also grown by 60 percent. Financier and CEO Peter Schiff said, “People don’t go hungry in a capitalist economy.” The 16 million kids on food stamps know what it’s like to go hungry. Perhaps, some in Congress would say, those …
Thousands of New Yorkers living in dangerous ‘cluster units’ as homeless population tops 59,000, a record high
The homeless population has risen to an all-time high, forcing the de Blasio administration to house desperate families in decrepit tenements red-flagged by the city’s own inspectors as hazardous. Since he arrived at City Hall pledging to turn things around, Mayor de Blasio has struggled to confront a long-intractable problem that has only gotten worse. By mid-December, the homeless census …