homelessness
‘Out of control’: Advocates rally in D.C. calling for action on housing crisis
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, joined about 100 tenant advocates at a press event outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to demand action on the housing crisis. Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to bolster tenant protections and rent regulations. The People’s […]
Monday numbers: New reports tout ‘Housing First’ to support formerly imprisoned people
The phrase, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time” is often hurled at people who have criminal records. But the “time” of a person’s punishment often extends beyond prison walls and follows a person home. People with criminal records who have paid their debt to society frequently have a hard time getting […]
Ruling explains why Asheville Blade reporters’ charges weren’t dismissed on First Amendment grounds
A Superior Court judge who refused to dismiss a case against two Asheville reporters convicted of trespassing based his decision on the First Amendment — not as protection for the journalists, but as grounds for him to uphold their conviction. In a ruling issued June 22 obtained by Newsline, Superior Court Judge Tommy Davis wrote […]
Asheville reporters scheduled for trial this week as a related one about protestors begins
Two reporters for the progressive online news source The Asheville Blade are scheduled to go on trial Wednesday after being arrested for covering a police sweep of Aston Park. Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit are each facing misdemeanor trespassing charges, a low-level crime that can carry up to 20 days in jail and a $200 fine. […]
Newly released body cam footage shows Asheville Police arresting journalists
Shortly after Aston Park had closed on Christmas night 2021, several Asheville Police officers surveyed the tents on the park grounds and strategized how they were going to get everyone off city property. “Why don’t we deal with the standing first, since they’re videotaping?” one officer asked. The people who were standing were Matilda Bliss […]
Homelessness and the First Amendment on trial in Asheville
City draws fire for its treatment of unhoused population and arrest of journalists attempting to cover police sweep of city park It was Christmas night, so Veronica Coit hadn’t expected to stay at Aston Park for long. They had come to bring their colleague, Matilda Bliss, a plate from dinner: turkey, sweet potato- and green bean-casseroles, collard greens and a slice of pie.
NC legislators find yet another vulnerable group to get tough on: homeless families
Homelessness. It takes many forms in modern North Carolina – some familiar, some less so. For several thousand families, it means double-bunking or “couch surfing” with friends or relatives for an extended period. For a tragic number, it means living in a vehicle or even camping out in tents, shanties, parking garages, and downtown doorways, under highway overpasses, or on park benches.
As rural homelessness increases, HUD aims money at helping people without access to shelters
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened up millions of dollars in funding for groups serving unhoused people in rural areas — an unprecedented move by the agency, say housing advocates. People living in cars, parks, and on the street at night, which the agency labels unsheltered homelessness, has increased across the nation, […]
Takeaways from a snowy night in I-95 purgatory
“My boss told me if I didn’t come in, I’d get fired.” So spoke a rather grumpy but nonetheless sight-for-sore-eyes Exxon attendant near Manassas, Virginia last Monday night around 10:00 pm as he mercifully allowed my wife Noelle and I to fill our gas tank and use the restrooms. The circumstances of our visit – we had recently taken leave from the excruciating crawl of a snowbound Interstate 95 a couple miles east – made both services essential.
NC public schools seek to cope with a big influx of homeless students
Additional federal funds are helping, but locals fear being swamped as evictions multiply A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month struck down a federal moratorium on evictions, threatening to displace thousands of North Carolina’s K-12 students whose families can no longer pay their rents.