Tent Cities: The Secret That Won’t Go Away

Since the economic crisis began in late 2007, many Americans have suffered foreclosure. By October 2011 the foreclosure rate had climbed to 33%; greater than the 31% reported during the Great Depression.

For many, homelessness was brought on by job loss, but there are an ever-growing number of renters who have found themselves out on the street when the landlord lost the home to foreclosure. Others struggling to get by have found themselves the victims of escalating rent prices and for others; homelessness arrived when the social services they received was cut off as cities themselves experienced economic insolvency.

Tent cities are a reflection of America’s insolvency and may be an indicator of what we can expect should we join the ranks of the unemployed. The US Department of Housing and Development reports that on any given night, 650,000 people experience homelessness.

Cities across America have chosen hard-line abandonment over compassion for the homeless. The plight of the homeless is difficult to unearth, as it is not being reported on to the extent it deserves. Yet, even though mainstream media seems to have swept their struggles into a dark corner of obscurity, there remains a voice being broadcasted daily through You Tube by ordinary citizens who care enough to report on their areas homeless.

Marginalizing the homeless has lead to draconian measures. In Phoenix, Cross Roads United Methodist Church received a verdict of guilty by a judge who ruled the pancake breakfasts they were serving to the homeless was illegal; http://www.azfamily.com/news/Judge-says-Phoenix-church-cannot-feed-homeless-69650502.html

Churches are not the only ones being punished for their good deeds. A couple in Houston, Texas who for over one year had been feeding the homeless each and every night was ordered to stop. The reason? They did not have a “permit” to do so; http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7898553

More: The Final Hour: Tent Cities: The Secret That Won’t Go Away