Keyword: recession
USA, The 10 Most Notable Homeless Stories of 2009
Gala Crum is homeless, pregnant and living in a tent alongside the interstate in Prince William county. (Bill O'Leary - The Washington Post, 2009 )
The economic recession made homelessness a hot topic in 2009. It seemed every day there was a story about shelter bed shortages, record numbers of school children, or a new tent city popping up. But which stories stood out the most? Change.org has scoured the headlines and trends to compile the 10 most notable homelessness stories of 2009.
U.S. Cities Criminalize Homelessness, Violate Human Rights Agreements
Jimmy Toon, right, 59, of Fancy Farm, Ky., talks with two men while sitting in the shade at a homeless camp in Paducah, Ky. The site, known as Tent City, has 20 to 30 homeless people residing in tents. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee, July 2011)
The challenges poor and homeless Americans often face accessing clean drinking water and restroom facilities violate international human rights standards, according to a report issued by a United Nations investigator this month. Catarina de Albuquerque, a U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, visited the United States in late February at the invitation of the U.S. government.