As the foreclosure crisis grows, so do the number of homeless. The US is experiencing a rapid growth in what are commonly referred to as "tent cities". Areas where those with no place to go gather, build make shift huts, pitch tents, and band together.
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tent city in US" and you will be astonished at the number of hits you'll discover.
Each day we hear on the news about the growing number of homes in foreclosure, the ever increasing jobless rate in the US and the rising cost of food, gas and living expenses.
Nearly 60 percent more U.S. homes faced foreclosure in February than in the same month last year, with Nevada, California and Florida showing the highest foreclosure rates, a research firm said Wednesday.
A total of 223,651 homes across the nation received at least one notice from lenders last month related to overdue payments, up 59.8 percent from 139,922 a year earlier, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc.
This, combined with the falling number of jobs available, the low starting wages, often times beginning at $7.05 to $9.05 to start, is having a dramatic affect on the US population, and not in a good way.
Tent cities have sprung up around the country. The growing number of homeless have nowhere else to go. Cities nationwide are unprepared for the increase in those seeking food and shelter, and existing shelters have extensive waitlists. For those working minimum wage jobs, affordable housing is scarce, and safety on the streets is questionable. The only solution which seems viable is one of banding together for safety, security and companionship.
Local churches are adopting many of these tent cities, working with parishioners to supply food a water as well as clothing and other necessary items to those less fortunate.
The city of Olympia recently passed a law in July of 2007 recognizing and regulating tent cities.
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First United Methodist Church of Olympia, Washington has embraced Camp Quixote, as the tent city is called, and agreed to its grounds to their property. The church's Christian beliefs compel it to take on the camp.
"There's a great deal of biblical stuff about taking care of the poor and feeding the hungry," said Jerry Smith, a church parishioner. "It's pretty basic to the Christian core of beliefs about behavior."
The Methodist church will be the fourth congregation to host the homeless camp since it began in February. Previous hosts have included the Unitarian Universalist Congregation and United Churches of Olympia.
City officials are not always so welcoming.
Ontario, California recently took measures to reduce the number of residents of the tent city that had grown in numbers from 20 to nearly 400 in just under 9 months. Dozens of police and code enforcement officers entered the camp and began asking for identification.
Residents were issued colored wrist bands - blue meant they were from Ontario and could remain. Orange indicated they had to provide more proof to avoid ejection, and white meant they had a week to leave.
Southern California has seen a massive increase in residents in it's tent city, housed on vacant land between railroad tracks and the airport. The camp sprang up in July of '07 with 20 residents, and now boasts over 200 and is growing daily as the region east of Los Angeles continues to experience massive foreclosures. Most residents live in tents, some in mobile homes in various states of disrepair, their possessions crammed in with them or spread out on the ground.
The site is basic and food is prepared on makeshift tables
Amenities are basic as well. No electricity, no plumbing, no drainage. Portable showers offer a chance to wash, but there is nowhere to prepare food, apart from makeshift tables in the open air.
The residents come from all backgrounds and their stories range from typical to heartbreaking. Some, but not all, have struggled most of their lives with addictions. A growing number, however, are finding themselves living this way as a result of the economic crisis griping the nation.
Benson Vivier, a Vietnam veteran, said a leg operation allowed him to walk after years of being in a wheelchair. But as a consequence his disability benefits were cut, and he could not afford his rent.
One man, who did not want to give his name, said he and his family were living in Tent City because they were victims of America's foreclosure crisis.
It came down to "feeding my family or keeping the house", he said, "so I got rid of the house".
There are thousands like him across California, and across the country. People whose inability to finance their mortgages has cost them their homes.
"People lose their homes through foreclosure. They go and live in the hotels, and the homeless people who were in the hotels end up back on the streets." said Jean Beil, senior vice president for programs and services at Catholic Charities USA.
He fears that, as more people lose their homes in what appears to be a deepening housing market collapse, more former homeowners could end up in places like Tent City.
It is not just homeowners who are hit by the foreclosure wave. People who rent now find themselves in a tighter, more expensive market as demand rises from families who lost homes.
"Folks who would have been in a house before are now in an apartment and folks that would have been in an apartment, now can't afford it," said Beil. "It has a trickle-down effect."
