Tent cities rise, fall, rise....

Wednesday was the last night for the Warming Place shelter and its guests UNLESS shelter guest Ali Mohammed wins his injunction in Housing Court today. Mr. Mohammed's actions have actually put the city of Springfield and the Open Pantry on the same side as defendants-- at least for the the moment. He is trying to keep the city from closing the Warming Place by focusing on the problems homeless people will face at Springfield's two other shelters

Meanwhile, I can catch up on some other homeless/tent city news....Huntington, Ohio police cleared several small tent cities from the banks of the Ohio River this week. ""This is insanity," one homeless man said.. "It's one big family down here. We don't mess with nobody." Herald Dispatch.

Two city councils in Washington are considering an ordinance which would legally recognize and regulate tent cities.

"In an unusual move, Olympia and Tumwater are considering the same measure at the same time. Olympia Councilman Jeff Kingsbury will bring the ordinance to the Olympia City Council on Tuesday and ask for a vote July 17. The Tumwater City Council will have a public hearing about it July 17, Councilwoman Karen Valenzuela said, and she wants to pass the measure as an emergency ordinance the same night.
“If you don’t have an ordinance, essentially, whoever is hosting a tent encampment can do so without any rules whatsoever,” she said.
Kingsbury, who once was critical of homeless encampments, said he now thinks tent cities offer a good option for transitional housing and that the city should work with churches.". The Olympian.

Four teenagers in Huntsville, Alabama have been arrested for robbing and physically assaulting homeless people in a small homeless encampment. Huntsville Times.

In Edmonton, Alberta, a street pastor is calling for the city to open its parks and abandoned buildings to the homeless. About 2,600 people are homeless in Edmonton. Radio News 1130.

A sad story with-- maybe-- a happy ending: A University of Pittsburgh student who has been missing for some months was found at Glacier National Park in Montana, living in a small homeless encampment. Will he go home now? KX News.

Fresno tent city photo by Mike Rhodes, Fresno Alliance

Is the “Housing First” model being used to clear out the homeless?

From around the country:

New York City is finishing “cleaning up” 70 sites where homeless people are encamped. Of 300 people, 68 were placed in temporary housing; the rest have moved on, possibly to living underground in the subways.

Birmingham, Ala is also “clearing out”: the homeless from area encampments, at the same time as the city is trying to figure out how to give the homeless a “virtual” address and phone number to help them look for work.

“Quite honestly, we've taken them from one spot to the next, and we realize that. We've gotten some off the street. We've been successful in some cases. We've offered services to every one of them,” said Don Lupo of the City of Birmingham.

In Tacoma, Washington, 42 people out of an unknown number have been placed in permanent housing after the city used some of its “Housing First” money to clear out 13 homeless encampments.

On the other hand: In Oakland, CA, city officials plan to open a temporary encampment and step up outreach to the more than 60 semi-permanent camps across the city, currently sheltering 600 to 900 people. They want to place 20 people a month from the temporary encampments into stable housing. About 6,000 people in Oakland are homeless at any given point in time.

Oakland has a fifteen-year plan to provide 7,380 affordable housing units with supportive services by 2020.

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Two homeless people I couldn’t do much for: A 17 yr old girl I’ve known for three years and who has been homeless for most of them called me…she’s homeless again but not eligible for shelter because she’s under eighteen, even though her mom and dad are in a shelter right now. So far she’s managed to avoid addiction, disease and pregnancy. Last night, I got a phone call from a guy who described himself as “62 and unexpectedly homeless.” When he became homeless he had two dogs; one was quite elderly and he had her put down earlier this week. He has his small dog still with him, but shelters don’t accept animals. He’s been sleeping in his car….