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☆ After prison, getting banking services is hard. This startup wants to change that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FRSH is a banking solution for the formerly incarcerated community. "We are justice-impacted and we know this is the best solution," Sam told Insider. FRSH offers banking products and services to help returning citizens — those who have been released from jails and prisons, per the US Department of Justice — establish financial stability. Sam, Daniel Feldman, and Chris Heckler, all of whom were formerly incarcerated, founded the fintech. The startup also trains caseworkers and case managers to teach financial-education courses and offer FRSH as a banking solution for returning citizens.

☆ A mother was raising her son in a city she loved. Then San Francisco changed and stole her boy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Sara Sidner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And her son got caught up in a scene you can almost not avoid in the city: the drug scene. “When I got out of the BART station, the first thing that I was asked is if I wanted to buy drugs,” Tilghman said. “All the tents started going up in the city,” Tilghman said. “What makes me sad is that I see my son’s face in everybody’s faces … out on the streets,” Tilghman said. The Tenderloin Linkage Center, which was later renamed to just the Tenderloin Center, closed last December.

☆ Phoenix homeless camp to be cleared after neighbors sued. What happens to vulnerable residents remains unclear
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Gabe Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Rayann Denny lives in a tent in a homeless encampment in Phoenix. So for now, the crew of helpers has stepped up its years-old effort to try to get residents off the streets. Katie Hobbs this year vetoed one such bill, saying it only served to make homelessness “less visible.”Debbie and Joe Faillace own the Old Station Sub Shop near where a homeless encampment developed. A person walks through a homeless encampment on April 18 in Phoenix. “I think we have a lot of work to do.”Stefanie Powell, right, lives in a tent at a homeless encampment in Phoenix.

☆ After the killing of Jordan Neely, New York City Mayor Eric Adams faces backlash over his approaches to subway safety and mental illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is being blasted by progressives over his response to Jordan Neely's killing. Neely's death has now placed an even brighter spotlight on Adams' policies regarding homelessness, which the mayor defended during a press conference last Thursday. "People who are dealing with mental health illness should get the help they need and not live on the train. The chief medical examiner's office last Wednesday said that the cause of Neely's death was compression of the neck and ruled his death as a homicide. Meanwhile, protestors are demanding that Penny face charges in Neely's death.

☆ Republicans dismiss fears that their debt ceiling bill would make the housing crisis worse for 1 million families as 'scaremongering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

House Republicans' debt ceiling bill would cut significant funding from federal housing services. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said the agency would suffer "the most devastating impacts in HUD's history" if the funding cuts in the bill are made law. He went on, "It's being positioned as congressional Republicans are heartless because they want to pass these spending cuts. "The House bill reduces spending to the levels we had in 2022. The last I checked, 2022 was not a horrid apocalypse sweeping across our country," Cruz told Insider on Wednesday.

☆ Jordan Neely: The man who held New York subway passenger in a fatal chokehold 'never intended to harm' him, his attorneys say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Aya Elamroussi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement said. As soon as Neely got on the train, he started yelling about being “fed up and hungry” and “tired of having nothing,” Vazquez told CNN. Neely did not appear to be armed or looking to attack anyone, Vazquez told CNN. In the video recorded by Vazquez, Neely and Penny are seen on the floor of a subway car with Penny’s arm wrapped around Neely’s neck. One appeared to be mediating the situation while the other seemed to help Penny restrain Neely, according to Vazquez.

☆ 26-year-old pays $1,157 a month for a 240-square-foot studio: 'I didn't even know they made apartments this tiny'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Before Chi Baik moved into her 240-square-foot studio in Seattle last year, she tells CNBC Make It she"didn't even know they made apartments this tiny." Baik moved in September of 2022 and used to pay $1,550 for the place. John Paget | CNBC Make ItHer kitchen has modern finish with a two-burner stove but no oven. John Paget | CNBC Make ItChi Baik moved to Seattle from the Washington, D.C., area in the fall of 2022. Chi Baik is getting her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in special education Jon Paget | CNBC Make It

☆ Why You Should Forget What You Think You Know About Housing in L.A.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Julie Lasky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In “Common Ground,” Ms. Anderton, 60, makes the point that while Los Angeles may seem like a sprawling breeding ground of American dream houses set in gardens, it has an equally compelling history of shared real estate that continues to this day. Perpetual sunshine has allowed the city’s multifamily housing to be opened to courtyards and parks and festooned with exterior staircases and balconies, breaking the stolid blocks of traditional apartment houses and fostering social connections. As contemporary architects and developers work to relieve Los Angeles of its vicious housing scarcity — almost 42,000 people in the city are currently unhoused — “Common Ground” shows examples of affordable multifamily buildings that look like anything but. Real estate development is never a walk in the park, but because some relief from the city’s draconian restrictions is granted to creators of affordable housing, this area has attracted design innovators working with progressive developers who are committed to righting decades of inequities created by exclusionary housing policies. For this reason, many of the projects that “Common Ground” highlights make the most out of the least: those with oddly shaped lots, peripheral locations and components produced in factories.

☆ Oregon lawmakers want to decriminalize homeless camps and allow unhoused people to sue if they are forced to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Taylor Ardrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Oregon lawmakers have proposed a bill to decriminalize homeless encampments. The Right to Rest Act would allow the unhoused to sue if they are harassed while camped in public spaces. If passed, the bill would grant unhoused parties the right to sue for up to $1,000 if they are harassed, the Washington Examiner reported. The number of unhoused people in the state rose by 23% between 2020 and 2022, according to The Oregonian, far higher than the national average. Some residents complain that the homeless population is driving up crime and some have even considered leaving the state, according to the Washington Examiner.

"It feels like I'm starting a new chapter in my life, and I'm really excited for it," she says. Chi Baik, 26, lives on $27,000 a year as a Ph.D. student in Seattle. Baik knows most people will think $27,000 is "so little money," but says "I feel very grateful that I'm making that much, that I have a home to live in, especially in Seattle. The unhoused population is really large, and that makes me even more grateful for the money that I am making." She decided to pursue her doctorate earlier than she planned as a sort of break from the demanding work of teaching special ed during the pandemic era.

☆ A composer of classical music blasted in the LA metro to force unhoused people out of a station demanded the system stop using his work, saying 'no form of art should be used to discourage or limit fr
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The LA Metro blasted classical music in one of its stations to deter people from hanging out there. But the composer said he wasn't informed his music was being used and demanded Metro stop using it. But that came to an end when one composer was informed his work was being used as a deterrent. But it faced pushback when news outlets reported that it was blasting music, including Barcelona-based composer Adrián Berenguer's four-minute piece "Immaterial", which it played on loop. The Westlake/MacArthur Park station played different classical music by long-dead composers, including Beethoven and Bach, at lower volumes on Thursday, L.A. Taco reported.

☆ Affordable housing is the best way to prevent heat-related deaths, Phoenix's chief heat officer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Phoenix's chief heat officer says more affordable housing will prevent heat-associated deaths. "It can be a little shocking," Hondula, director of the city's office of heat response and mitigation, told Insider. All these factors led Phoenix in 2021 to establish the country's first publicly funded heat office, with Hondula at the helm. Gallego told Insider in a statement that she and other city staff are working daily to address this issue. Hondula, for his part, said the heat office needs to be the biggest advocate for investments in affordable housing and homelessness services inside City Hall.

☆ Gavin Newsom says he's taking a road trip through red states to fight the policies and 'anger machine' of DeSantis and other GOP governors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is traveling to red states to tout the progressive agenda. Gavin Newsom of California already had a plan in the works to go on offense against Republican governors. California Gov. California Gov.

On TikTok, trans adults and supportive parents of trans youth have spoken emotionally about the heartbreaking decision to move. I moved to 3 major cities, each time with $400 or less in my pocketIn 2010, I moved to Chicago for college at 19 years old. Five years later, in 2015, I moved to New York City with no job, housing plans, or savings. Call LGBTQ organizations in your desired state to find housing supportMany LGBTQ organizations across the country, like the Los Angeles LGBT Center, offer social services and housing for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability due to these anti-trans bills. When you arrive to your destination, connect with local LGBTQ organizations or organizations that help the unhoused in that city.

☆ Can tiny homes save California? 4 villages illustrate their potentials and pitfalls.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While this is the first time the state is providing this many tiny homes directly, the solution is not a new phenomenon. Here is a list of some of the municipalities that have built tiny homes to solve this issue and how they have fared. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesSan Jose was quick to adopt tiny homes as temporary shelters, per the East Bay Times. It's set to send tiny homes to cities already constructed, eliminating much of the cost and process for local governments. It — like many cities in California — has turned to tiny homes as temporary shelters for people living on the streets.

☆ Louisville cops called Black people racial slurs and videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their police cars, explosive DOJ probe finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jack Newsham | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LMPD officers threw drinks at pedestrians from their cars and called Black people racial slurs. The DOJ report on Louisville Metro Police published Wednesday details various horrific incidents. The DOJ investigation continued: "Some officers have videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their cars; insulted people with disabilities; and called Black people 'monkeys,' 'animal,' and 'boy.'" The Justice Department mentioned an incident where a police officer used a swear word and called Black men "monkeys" but was not disciplined because he retired. The Justice Department said the officer was verbally reprimanded, but investigators didn't ask whether the use of the word "animal" reflected racial bias.

☆ Rise in Homelessness Hits Several New England States
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jon Kamp | Photography Philip Keith For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Inside a cavernous armory building in Rhode Island’s capital city, up to 185 people have recently gathered each night to get out of the cold. The federal- and state-funded site in Providence was slated to handle up to 66 people when it opened in mid-December to provide warmth for unhoused people. It has consistently seen much higher numbers, said Eileen Hayes , chief executive at Amos House, the nonprofit running the site. “More and more of our folks are falling behind and falling through the cracks,” she said.

☆ Abandoned shopping carts cost taxpayers thousands of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Abandoned shopping carts are a scourge to neighborhoods, as wayward carts block intersections, sidewalks and bus stops. There is no national data on shopping cart losses, but US retailers lose an estimated tens of millions of dollars every year replacing lost and damaged carts, say shopping cart experts. They pay vendors to rescue stray carts and fork over fines to municipalities for violating laws on shopping carts. “It is the shopping cart.” Another New York Times article in 1957 called the trend “Cart-Napping.”There’s even a book, “The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification,” dedicated to the phenomenon and a system of identification for stray shopping carts, much like guides for bird-watching. Coin-lock shopping cart systems are popular in Europe, and Poulos said more US companies are requesting coin-lock systems in response to the costs of runaway shopping carts.

☆ S.F. antiques dealer who was recorded spraying a homeless woman with a water hose is arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Johnson-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Johnson | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The San Francisco antiques dealer whose gallery was vandalized and denounced online after viral video showed him spraying a homeless woman with a water hose was arrested Wednesday and charged with battery, authorities said. The man, Collier Gwin, 71, was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge, police said. He was booked late Wednesday afternoon into the San Francisco County Jail, where he was being held on $2,500 bail, according to jail records. A nearby business owner recorded video of Gwin spraying the woman on the sidewalk outside Foster Gwin Gallery on Jan. 9. They will release her within a day.”Foster Gwin Gallery in San Francisco.

☆ Two researchers aim to better understand L.A.’s homelessness crisis with smartphone surveys
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Jake Traylor | Jake Traylor Is An Associate Producer For Msnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Two California researchers aim to get a real-time understanding of homelessness using a perhaps unexpected resource found among unhoused people: smartphones. Larry Posey works in MacArthur Park to share information about the PATHS study. Amy Stein / USC/UCLAOnce a month, a growing number of PATHS participants in Los Angeles County are texted a link to a 15-minute survey. Recruiters for the PATHS study share information with participants via postcard and directly into a web-based interface. The PATHS study found that 90% of participants would be interested in some type of interim or permanent housing.

☆ Sheng Thao, once homeless and fleeing abuse, becomes the mayor of Oakland, California
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Claire Wang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Thao spoke with NBC Asian American about her vision for Oakland and how her upbringing shaped her advocacy for working families. Mayor-elect Sheng Thao is greeted by supporters following a news conference at City Hall in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 23, 2022. Jane Tyska / East Bay Times via Getty ImagesNBC Asian America: You’re the first Hmong American to become mayor of a major city. The Hmong community itself is already politically engaged. That’s made a huge impact especially on our Hmong girls because the Hmong community is still quite patriarchal.

☆ Miami's mayor said the 'single hottest city in the world' will keep attracting tons of transplants in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez predicted people from all over the world would move to Miami in 2023. Suarez predicted Miami would effectively weather a recession. As the top executive for the city, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has shepherded along much of the city's economic changes by encouraging tech and venture capital companies to plant offices downtown. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, predicted the Magic City would be able to weather a recession. As some analysts forecast a global recession hit in 2023, the mayor predicted Miami would be able to weather it.

☆ I'm a nurse tech and the 'tripledemic' is pushing me to the brink. We still don't have enough beds because of the surge after holiday gatherings.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ananya Vahal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One hospital worker says the COVID-19, flu, and RSV outbreak reminded them of the early pandemic. We no longer have a separate floor for COVID-19 patients because there aren't any extra rooms available. The COVID-19, flu, and RSV patients are put on the same floor as the cancer, tuberculosis, and shingles patients. Flu and RSV patients also share some of the same treatments and equipments as COVID-19 patients. We don't put immunocompromised patients next to flu or RSV patients, but we do put them next to the COVID-19 patients.

☆ NYU's emergency room gave special treatment to donors and VIPs including Chuck Schumer, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The New York Times reports NYU Langone gave "VIPs" like donors and trustees preferential treatment. NYU Langone broadly denied the claims in a statement to Insider. Langone told the Times that he never asked for or was offered special treatment. Ambulance workers who brought these patients to NYU Langone were sometimes pressured to take them elsewhere, the report says. New York Senator Chuck Schumer once went into Room 20 with his wife, who was experiencing shortness of breath, the Times reported.

☆ An NYC group wants to keep homeless college students dropping out so they can achieve "a gateway to the middle class"
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A New York City non-profit is piloting a program to pay for students' housing so they can complete their degrees. The New York Times spoke with one student who was on the verge of dropping out before receiving this benefit. According to one 2019 reported from The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, almost three in five college students reported experiencing housing insecurity the previous year. 18% of two-year college students and 14% of four-year students reported experiencing homelessness at some point, the researchers found. Homeless students reported lower GPAs and higher dropout rates, according to a report by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.

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