Tent Cities in America: A Pacific Coast Report

The
National Coalition for the Homeless announces the first in a series of
reports on the growing number of tent cities across the United States.
The new report released today is focusing on west coast encampments.
Tent Cities in America: A Pacific Coast Report looks at how current
tent cities have emerged and operate on a daily basis, highlighting the
community organizing efforts at work within these settlements and the
growing need for affordable and accessible housing nationwide.

As the United States continues to react to the worst economy since the Great Depression,
both
leading and lagging indicators of this crisis continue to grow. Home
foreclosures, unemployment, and the regional poverty rates continue to
rise, as newly homelessness families see a double digit increase.

44%
of people experiencing homeless in America are unsheltered (USHUD
2009). A growing number of unsheltered Americans are congregating in
tent cities for safety, community and as locations of last resort.

"Tent
Cities are American's de facto waiting room for affordable and
accessible housing. The idea of someone living in a tent in this
country says little about the decisions made by those who dwell within
and so much more about our nation's inability to adequately respond to
our fellow residents in need." -Neil Donovan, National Coalition for
the Homeless Executive Director.

This report is the first in a
series of National Coalition for the Homeless publications that explore
the tent city phenomenon. In future reports, NCH will profile homeless
encampments nationwide and include a section on policy recommendations
for local, regional and national policy and decision makers.

Click this link for more information: https://nationalhomeless.org/publications/tent_cities_pr.html
Click this link to read the report: https://nationalhomeless.org/publications/Tent%20Cities%20Report%20FINAL%203-4-10.pdf

"In the absence of proper shelter, it is the basic right of any living being to construct a temporary one." - Resident of Nickelsville, Seattle