“Patrick Markee spent two decades walking through New York City’s tunnels, armories and intake centers. His book asks: what if homelessness isn’t a personal failing, but the result of policy choices?”
Category: social-exclusion-and-inclusion
Sharks Foundation Refreshes Elementary School Library as Part of the Goals for Kids Program
LEAD Elementary School Librarian Shannon McGovern said, “The [kids] are so excited about getting all of the new books, they’ve been talking about it since the first day I told them.”
More than 40 volunteers from Team Teal and SAP joined nonprofit Access Books Bay Area to refurbish the library at LEAD Elementary school in San Mateo. Volunteers prepared 1,170 books by stamping, alphabetizing, applying bar codes, wrapping, and shelving them.
Dolly Parton Imagination Library Expands to Alabama Foster Kids
State agencies broadened access, ensuring every foster child aged 0-5 receives a free book monthly, cultivating a love of reading and early success.
Educators Fear Their Homeless Students Could Become a Target for Trump Cuts
“At some point in the school year, roughly 1.4 million students are homeless. Federal law provides extra help to make sure they get an education. That law is overseen by the U.S. Education Department, which the Trump administration wants to close.”
Office of Community Planning and Development, within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to lose 84% of its Staff
The Community Planning and Development office at HUD disburses more than $3.6 billion in federal funding for rental assistance, mental health and substance use treatment, and outreach to try and get those living outside into shelter or housing.
Indianapolis’ First Library for Black Residents Reopens Through School Librarian’s Leadership
Maurice Broaddus was a writer by trade and became a middle school librarian by accident.
The award-winning Afrofuturist and sci-fi author once filled in at The Oaks Academy middle school, where he was also a teacher, for the librarian going on maternity leave. The librarian never came back.
The Supreme Court Rules on Homelessness: What it All Means
Last week, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which makes it easier for communities nationwide to fine, ticket or arrest people living unsheltered, even when there is no adequate shelter available.
Nobel Economist Tells G-20 to Slap Climate Tax on Billionaires
Duflo wants to raise $500 billion to mitigate climate effects.
Rich nations have ‘moral debt’ to poor countries, she argues.
Brooklyn’s New Affordable Housing Development is Built on Top of a Public Library
“A rebuilt branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is opening with a new feature: on the seven floors right above the library, there will be 49 affordable housing units. Michelle de la Uz, executive director of Fifth Avenue Committee, a nonprofit that builds affordable housing and which partnered with the Brooklyn Public Library on the project, said she’s excited to see how those tenants engage with the library, and that the branch’s programming and resources could help people feel less isolated.
Linda Johnson, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, and de la Uz hope to see it replicated, throughout New York and beyond. “There’s an urgent need for affordable housing, and there are a lot of underutilized libraries that need modernization anyway,” de la Uz says. ‘Why not kill two birds with one stone?'”
Maine’s Affordable Housing Crisis is Contributing to a Big Increase in Student Homelessness
Chris Indorf, the assistant superintendent for schools in Biddeford and Saco, said that before the pandemic, student homelessness was typically temporary — just a month or so — as a relatively ample housing supply made it somewhat easier for families to find a new apartment.
“Now the homelessness seems to be endemic. It’s lasting an entire year, or it’s spanning years,” Indorf said. “Most of those cases aren’t destitution — aren’t tents out behind the Starbucks. They tend to be intergenerational, families living with other families. Part of that is due to the economy. And a good part of that is owing to just extremely limited housing stock in Biddeford and Saco, and what is available is exorbitantly expensive.”