VivirLatino

Forclosures=Tent Cities

17:47 H | Topics: Housing - Labor - US Presidential Race 2008

MSNBC is reporting that with the increase in foreclosures countrywide, there has been an alarming increase in a phenomenon known as tent cities. Tent cities are reminiscent of Hoovervilles of the Great Depression, basically areas where homeless people congregate and live. What makes these areas different than "normal" homelessness is that generally it's agreed that most of the people are living in these areas for reasons directly related to events connected to the government/free market, such as the Great Depression or the home foreclosure crisis.

The absolutely only good thing about this horrible mess?

Homeless people and their advocates have organized three tent cities at City Hall in recent months to call attention to the homeless and protest the sweeps — acts of militancy, said Harris, "that we really haven't seen around homeless activism since the early '90s."

I just wish that homeless activism wasn't dependent on people reacting to what is probably the worst times of their lives.

Related

• Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance Calls for Support (Tuesday, Aug 26 2008)
• Venezuela Might Go Dark (Thursday, Jun 05 2008)