Homeless News – March 22, 2021 – Camp sweeps and massive homeless increase

City of San Jose Removing Homeless Camp to Make Way for Coyote Creek Trail Renovations – NBC Bay Area

Renovations for San Jose’s Coyote Creek Trail may result in the largest homeless camp removals since the city swept the infamous Jungle encampments in 2014. On Monday, the city began breaking down dozens of tents, treehouses and other makeshift homes, and removing homeless individuals living along the Coyote Creek Trail, a nearly mile-long stretch starting at Olinder Dog Park to where The Jungle homeless encampment officially starts near Story Road. The Jungle was San Jose’s, and arguably the nation’s, largest homeless encampment. About 300 people who took shelter along 68 acres of the Coyote Creek Trail were ‘swept’ , or forcibly removed, in 2014 in an effort to find housing for individuals and reduce to pollution in the creek and environment.

Days Inn closure leaves some long-time residents homeless with only 2 days notice

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) – Several residents are out of their homes now that a Days Inn is shutting down. Richard Oliver, 72, said, he’s one of them. “There’s no answer. They just made up their mind. You have to be off the property and if you’re not off the property, we’re gonna call the police,” he said.

Shaw: No one chooses to be homeless in Silicon Valley – San José Spotlight

The problem of homelessness isn’t going away anytime soon, in fact, it’s apparent that it is increasing, which causes a tremendous amount of angst, because of the visibility. Homelessness can be seen just about everywhere, but there’s so much more that is not seen. And that’s why advocacy for the homeless is needed more than ever and it will continue whether it is liked or not. It’s often easier to look down on those who have less, to avoid looking up to see how many actually have more than you do. There are many more closer to the bottom than top. Jerome Shaw is homeless and living at a HomeFirst shelter in Sunnyvale. He’s a leader in the Sunnyvale Clients Collaborative — a union of homeless shelter residents in the region — and is part of a group of homeless columnists writing for San José Spotlight’s In Your Backyard column to shine a light on the homeless experience in Silicon Valley.

Turlock CA police sweep homeless camp in emergency response | Modesto Bee

Turlock Police began clearing a homeless encampment on West Main Street on Thursday morning, ordering about 50 people to vacate the area. The sweep marks the first enforcement action in the city’s 120-day homeless emergency plan, and comes nine days after officers first gave residents a trespassing notice. Unsheltered people living near 1400 West Main St., located between Planet Fitness and Evergreen Packaging, gathered their belongings while contractors cleaned up items left behind, such as tarps and water jugs.

UPDATE: Hamilton County homeless population grows 81 percent in – WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & Sports

The Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition is reporting a startling jump in homelessness. An annual count revealed the unsheltered homeless population has risen by 81 percent in Hamilton County in the last year. People facing homelessness are an already vulnerable population made even more vulnerable by COVID-19. “The increase we saw here is not unique, it’s across the nation,” CRHC Executive Director Wendy Winters said.

HUD: Growth Of Homelessness During 2020 Was ‘Devastating,’ Even Before The Pandemic | WYPR

The nation’s homeless population grew last year for the fourth year in a row. On a single night in January 2020, there were more than 580,000 individuals who were homeless in the United States, a 2% increase from the year before. The numbers, released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Thursday, do not reflect the impact of the pandemic. “And we know the pandemic has only made the homelessness crisis worse,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge

City’s attempt to clear Mpls. homeless camp leads to scuffles between police, camp defenders – StarTribune.com

An attempt by the city of Minneapolis to clear a homeless encampment Thursday morning led to a violent clash between police and civilians guarding the camp. Five people were arrested and five officers suffered minor injuries, according to police. More than 100 people showed up at the encampment at 205 N. Girard Av. in response to several activists’ social media accounts warning that the city of Minneapolis planned to clear the empty lot where about 20 people live in tents.