Streets That Speak

In hard times, tent cities rise across the country
msnbc.com
AP

In hard times, tent cities rise across the country

RENO, Nev. - A few tents cropped up hard by the railroad tracks, pitched by men left with nowhere to go once the emergency winter shelter closed for the summer.

Then others appeared — people who had lost their jobs to the ailing economy, or newcomers who had moved to Reno for work and discovered no one was hiring.

Within weeks, more than 150 people were living in tents big and small, barely a foot apart in a patch of dirt slated to be a parking lot for a campus of shelters Reno is building for its homeless population. Like many other cities, Reno has found itself with a "tent city" — an encampment of people who had nowhere else to go.

From Seattle to Athens, Ga., homeless advocacy groups and city agencies are reporting the most visible rise in homeless encampments in a generation.

Nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say they've experienced a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group says the problem has worsened since the report's release in April, with foreclosures mounting, gas and food prices rising and the job market tightening.

"It's clear that poverty and homelessness have increased," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the coalition. "The economy is in chaos, we're in an unofficial recession and Americans are worried, from the homeless to the middle class, about their future."

Caught by surprise
The phenomenon of encampments has caught advocacy groups somewhat by surprise, largely because of how quickly they have sprung up.

"What you're seeing is encampments that I haven't seen since the 80s," said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, an umbrella group for homeless advocacy organizations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore. and Seattle.

The relatively tony city of Santa Barbara has given over a parking lot to people who sleep in cars and vans.

The city of Fresno, Calif., is trying to manage several proliferating tent cities, including an encampment where people have made shelters out of scrap wood.

Homeless encampments are springing up around the country, including this one next to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nev.

Photo: Scott Sady / AP

Homeless encampments are springing up
around the country, including this one next
to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nev.

Sylvia Flynn, 51, stands outside her tent at the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nev., Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Flynn has been homeless off and on for nearly 31 years she said.

Photo: Scott Sady / AP

Sylvia Flynn, 51, stands outside her tent at
the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless
shelter in downtown Reno, Nev., Wednesday, June
25, 2008. Flynn has been homeless off and on for
nearly 31 years she said.

Mack Martinez, 19, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, smokes in front of his tent at the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nev., Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Martinez, who says he has never been more than two weeks without work, had a run of bad luck in Las Vegas before moving to Reno to look for work. He recently got a job with a traveling carnival group. From Seattle to Athens, Georgia, homeless advocacy groups and city agencies are reporting the most visible rise in homeless encampments in a generation.

Photo: Scott Sady / AP

Mack Martinez, 19, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
smokes in front of his tent at the tent city
that sprung up next to the homeless shelter
in downtown Reno, Nev., Wednesday, June
25, 2008. Martinez, who says he has never
been more than two weeks without work, had a run of bad luck in Las Vegas before moving
to Reno to look for work. He recently got a job
with a traveling carnival group. From Seattle to
Athens, Georgia, homeless advocacy groups
and city agencies are reporting the most visible
rise in homeless encampments in a generation.

In Portland, Ore., and Seattle, homeless advocacy groups have paired with nonprofits or faith-based groups to manage tent cities as outdoor shelters.

Other cities where tent cities have either appeared or expanded include include Chattanooga, Tenn., San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently reported a 12 percent drop in homelessness nationally in two years, from about 754,000 in January 2005 to 666,000 in January 2007. But the 2007 numbers omitted people who previously had been considered homeless — such as those staying with relatives or friends or living in campgrounds or motel rooms for more than a week.

Robert Scott Cook, originally from Alaska, sits with one of his dogs, Zoey, at the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless shelter in Reno, Nev.

Photo: Scott Sady / AP

Robert Scott Cook, originally from Alaska, sits with one of his dogs, Zoey, at the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless shelter in Reno, Nev.

In addition, the housing and economic crisis began soon after HUD's most recent data was ...