Homelessness

Outreach workers in the Bay Area city of Fremont worry the new ordinance could target them, despite assurances from the city.

Every January, across the country, local social service groups set out to count the number of homeless people in their communities. Data from what’s called the Point in Time Count is sent to the federal government and used to decide how funding is distributed. JPR reporter Jane Vaughan recently followed one team in Grants Pass.

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week.

The non-profit group Disability Rights Oregon and five disabled homeless residents have sued the city of Grants Pass claiming new camping restrictions violate state laws.

On Friday morning, homeless residents dragged tarps and carried piles on their backs, heaping their belongings just outside the fence. They were given until 9 a.m. to get their possessions off the city-owned site.

Despite billions spent and thousands of people helped, the most recent available data shows homelessness is still increasing in the state.

In a sometimes raucous, nearly five-hour-long meeting on Tuesday, the recently-sworn in councilors clawed back a key grant, sharply reduced official camping opportunities for homeless people and pulled the plug on several advisory committees.

This year the Redding Police Department is losing one of its teams trained in responding to mental health emergencies.

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've worked on this week.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its annual report assessing homelessness across the country. California and Oregon continue to have large numbers of people without permanent housing.

In June, the nation’s highest court ruled in favor of the City of Grants Pass, deciding that cities could impose criminal penalties without running afoul of constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment.

City leaders around the state want more authority to remove encampments they deem problematic. Homeless advocates say it’s a distraction from real solutions.