Supreme Court Free Speech Ruling Challenges Anti-Panhandling Laws Posted on November 2, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Huffington Post Cities trying to limit panhandling in downtowns and tourist areas are facing a new legal hurdle because of a recent Supreme Court ruling that seemingly has nothing to do with asking for money. Federal judges in at least three states have cited a June ruling by ..Read More
Why Richard Gere’s “Homeless” Photo Went Viral: It’s More Common — and Closer to Home — Than We Like to Think Posted on October 28, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Salon A photograph of actor Richard Gere, homeless man, has gone viral. He’s not actually homeless: he was in character for a recently-released film called “Time out of Mind“. In it, Gere plays a mentally ill homeless man trying to reconnect with his daughter, ..Read More
Fixing Homeless Issue Helps All of Us Posted on October 23, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Democrat & Chronicle When I say that fixing homelessness is good for business, many skeptics may raise an eyebrow. The assumption is that caring for homeless individuals costs money, and those individuals don’t have the financial means to participate in the local economy. But, a ..Read More
There’s a Good Reason New York’s Homeless Often Sleep in the Subway Posted on October 23, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Huffington Post Ten years ago, William Burnett often spent his nights sleeping on the New York City subway. It was better than his other option: a shelter on Wards Island where he said two rival gangs, the Bloods and the Latin Kings, were “trying to outdo each other ove ..Read More
‘No Camping,’ and Other Laws That Sneakily Push the Homeless Away Posted on October 25, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Atlantic Early in August, the Department of Justice weighed in on a legal dispute over ordinances in the city of Boise, Idaho, that make it a crime to sleep in public. The plaintiffs, who first filed the lawsuit in 2009, were themselves homeless people convicted of dis ..Read More
Evictions Throwing More Families Into Homelessness Posted on October 23, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Al Jazeera America The national campaign to end chronic homelessness in America’s cities has focused on veterans and the chronically homeless. But there is another class of newly homeless: Evicted tenants, often families with children, who can’t afford a roof over their head ..Read More
Mayor de Blasio Launches $400G Ad Campaign Urging Landlords to House Homeless Veterans Posted on October 22, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News The city is looking for a few good landlords. Mayor de Blasio’s administration is launching a $400,000 ad campaign to urge landlords to house homeless veterans who have vouchers to pay their rent, as officials try to meet a goal of ending veteran homelessnes ..Read More
Homeless Model: New York’s Hidden Homeless Posted on October 23, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in BBC News Amid a documented rise in the number of homeless in New York City, many of those without homes may be effectively invisible – going about seemingly normal routines and even work without a place to live. Walking through Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan&# ..Read More
In Chelsea, a Great Wealth Divide Posted on October 23, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The New York Times Once a month, Darlene Waters grabs her shopping cart and heads uptown from Chelsea to the Port Authority. Walmart and Sam’s Club beckon, just a bus ride away in Secaucus, N.J. “Right now, they are my two favorite stores,” she said. Ms. Waters doesn’t l ..Read More
