Convenience stores are one of those 20th century developments that catered to the impatience of society. Easy access to liquor and cigarettes proliferated throughout...
This narrative in the Unheard Voices of the Pandemic series from Voice of Witness is published with permission, as part of a partnership with Prism, where...
Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus last month—absent any similar action from the Republican-led...
Economists and housing experts on Wednesday warned of an impending "avalanche of evictions" unless the federal government steps in to provide renters with robust...
According to a new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), homelessness in the United States is continuing to surge. While...
Last month, the Trump administration forced Matthew Doherty, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) since the Obama administration, to resign....
President Donald Trump on Tuesday complained that California's homelessness crisis is harming the "prestige" of major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, remarks...
Please, read, from the Washington Post: A team of Trump administration officials toured a California facility once used by the Federal Aviation Administration this week as they searched for a potential site to relocate homeless people, according to three government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private tour. Anytime one hears the term “relocate” within the same sentence discussing a marginalized group in society, it ought to send the shock of fear bolting within your body. This is the same administration, after all, interring migrants on the border, in “camps,” where people sleep sitting up for lack of space, cannot have access to a toothbrush, and drink toilet water. No one should trust this administration to provide “camps” for yet another group that “troubles” Trump. Notice the warning signs here: Trump has asked aides to figure out “how the hell we can get these people off the streets,” one senior administration official said. The FAA facility toured by administration officials is located in or near Los Angeles, but its precise name or whereabouts — or whether it is a current or former government facility — were not immediately known. Temporary housing for homeless people could be a good thing, perhaps a great thing. But good things start with a discussion like this: “Figure out how the hell we can help these people get off the streets and back into life.” Coming from Trump, the goal appears to be “cleaning up” these people’s presence in order to benefit the other citizens of Los Angeles. Moreover, why the cagey secrecy? If this were a well-thought out plan, one that truly could solve the problem in a well-intentioned manner, one would expect the administration to be revealing every detail possible, practically running ads in Los Angeles. They do have a specific facility in mind, there surely are other details that exist, yet they do not want the public informed. That ought to scare people, too. Of course, there is more, and you knew that: The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the administration is considering razing tent camps, creating new temporary facilities or refurbishing government facilities as part of Trump’s directive on homelessness. The changes would attempt to give the federal government a larger role in supervising housing and health care for residents. Policing, especially these types of problems, has always been entrusted to the states. Indeed, Republicans are the people that lead the charge to get the federal government out of “state business,” returning power to the states. Except maybe not so much here, with this administration. It appears that Trump’s people want to “impose” the solution. “Attempt to give … a larger role in … supervising housing for residents.” Perhaps in some other administrations this sentence wouldn’t be so terrifying. But the administration is not offering help to Los Angeles or the state of California, it is not “offering” money or a partnership. It seeks to “supervise.” If this attempt were well-intentioned, explain this: Los Angeles officials were blindsided by news of the sweeping plans being considered by the administration for the city’s homeless population. Some had thought White House officials were arriving this week to simply learn more about the issues. The administration’s delegation divulged little information to city officials about what they were doing in Los Angeles when they were not with […]
