What's in a Street Name?
Earlier this year, a homeless man in Philadelphia was killed. His identity was unknown, so he was buried as John Doe. Many argue that this is unacceptable, that we must honor these individuals, in the very least, with an accurate burial that marks who they were by name. Others believe that any kind of mandatory ‘system' that keeps records to identify homeless people is an invasion of privacy. The

A View from (Under) the Bridge
On paper, Leonard Grant might say that a combination of unemployment, addiction, and mental health caused his homelessness. But that's not the whole story. Even these reasons for homelessness can have their own causes. You see, Grant tragically lost his son in a car accident, which sent his world spiraling out of control. His depression turned into drug use, his drug use made him unemployable, and without an income, he lost his home. Grant calls the past thr

Houston Metro to Homeless: Stay Off Our Trains!
Is Houston creating a public transportation caste system? Yesterday, at a public hearing in Housing, Metro Vice President Todd Mason made it abundantly clear that homeless people in Houston should take the bus rather than the area's light rail system. Hair Balls, the Houston Press Blog, transcribed the banter between Mason and Anthony Love, president of the Coali

Jobless Rates Soar to 10.2 Percent
The number one cause of homelessness has gotten worse, according to October unemployment numbers. For the first time since 1983, the jobless rate in the U.S. has reached the double-digits. Although experts claim that the recession has ended, the trickle-down effects of our economic woes are far from over. As more Americans lose their jobs, they will come closer to losing their homes. Many of the jobs shed over the past several months are in industries that tend to be lo

Real Story: Meet Pam
I met Pam while passing through Cleveland, Ohio. She is mother and a grandmother who never thought she would become homeless. Many people think that if a person has close family members, they can just go live with family when all else fails. But for Pam and many others, it's just not that simple. Pam wished for a home; I hope she finds it. Pam from InvisiblePeople.tv on