A timely, multidimensional view of poverty-related need

In the News

Growing Homelessness Problems Spur Interest in Tiny Houses

During this past winter, which was the coldest here since 1985 and unusually wet, Kirei Mei Johnson slept most nights in a tent in city parks. “You’re shivering and freezing and you can’t warm up,” Ms. Johnson said. “There’s no insulation in tents.” In early April, the 24-year-old moved into a house for the first […]

Most Americans Don’t Want People To Buy Soda And Candy With Food Stamps

It should come as no surprise that Americans hold strong opinions about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, colloquially known as “food stamps.” But there appears to be more of a bipartisan consensus on the matter than heated rhetoric on the matter might suggest. According to a study released Wednesday by the Voice of the People, […]

Reducing homelessness by 80-percent since 2009-10 a milestone for New Orleans

In New Orleans, we are all too familiar with the feeling of homelessness. After Hurricane Katrina, literally all of us were without a home. We believe it is unacceptable that in one of the world’s richest, most powerful countries there are people living and dying on our streets. This is an urgent problem. It is […]

This tech platform brilliantly helps businesses curb food waste and fight hunger

The biggest hunger relief organization in the U.S. is using technology to help restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses fight food waste. In honor of Earth Day on Saturday, Feeding America launched a new tech platform called MealConnect. As its name implies, the free service taps into the organization’s large network, connecting businesses that have […]

In New York City Schools, an Ever-Rising Tide of Homeless Students

The number of New York City public school students living in homeless shelters has increased in each of the last five years, reaching nearly 33,000 in the 2015-16 school year, the city’s Independent Budget Office said in a report on Monday. That is 4,000 more students than at any point during the previous academic year, […]

As government saunters, homeless crisis accelerates

San Diego’s homeless crisis is rapidly getting worse. Of course, regular visitors to downtown or practically any beach area knew this already. Sections of America’s Finest City are turning into Calcutta, as officials leave severely disabled people to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, well-housed taxpayers wonder which politician, judge or police chief thinks it’s a good […]

At Salvation Army, we help the homeless every day

A guest column was published April 15 in The Bee’s “Valley Voices” regarding The Salvation Army and our work here in the United States. I would like to correct some inaccuracies and clarify the mission of The Salvation Army. Our mission is “to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” This includes providing services […]

These Numbers Prove the Affordable Housing Crisis is Nationwide

Over the last ten years, a record number of Americans have entered into the rental market. But even as demand for affordable – which is defined as when cost doesn’t exceed 30 percent of the median family income in a given area – rental units are skyrocketing, the supply is either stagnant or plummeting.

Behind the Problem of Student Homelessness

College students live on ramen noodles. College students couch-surf. These popular images can obscure more ominous realities: hunger and the little acknowledged problem that some do not have a place to live at all. “‘Homeless college student’ seems like a contradiction in terms,” said Paul Toro, a psychology professor at Wayne State University who studies […]

New Mexico Outlaws School ‘Lunch Shaming’

The law’s passage is a victory for anti-hunger activists, who have long been critical of lunch-shaming practices that single out children with insufficient funds on their electronic swipe cards or who lack the necessary cash. These practices can include making the child wear a wrist band or requiring the child to perform chores in exchange […]