• Northwest heat wave spurs help for vulnerable residents

    Northwest heat wave spurs help for vulnerable residents

    Aug 13, 2021 12:53 PM EDT

    ... and other cooling items to homeless encampments along the Columbia River on the eastern outskirts of the city. The effort was important because people experiencing homelessness are often reluctant to go to cooling centers, said Kim James, director of homeless and housing support for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare. Scott Zalitis, who ...

  • Northwest sizzles as heat wave hits many parts of U.S.

    Northwest sizzles as heat wave hits many parts of U.S.

    Aug 12, 2021 05:29 PM EDT

    ... air conditioning. People began coming into a 24-hour cooling center in north Portland before it opened Wednesday. The first few people in were experiencing homelessness, a population vulnerable to extreme heat. Among them was December Snedecor, who slept two nights in the same center in June when temperatures reached ...

  • Pacific Northwest braces for another multiday heat wave

    Pacific Northwest braces for another multiday heat wave

    Aug 11, 2021 02:07 PM EDT

    ... up cots and stacked hundreds of bottles of water in the air-conditioned center in a vacant building. The first few people in were experiencing homelessness, a population vulnerable to extreme heat. Among them was December Snedecor, who slept two nights in the same center in June when temperatures reached ...

  • We don’t know exactly how many people are dying from heat — here’s why

    We don’t know exactly how many people are dying from heat — here’s why

    Aug 10, 2021 08:34 PM EDT

    ... a standard in how to record, count or classify them. Maricopa County, Arizona, updated its system in 2020 to better track deaths among people experiencing homelessness. But advocates say the reported number of heat deaths — 172, more than double the year before — is an undercount. Curtice told the PBS NewsHour ...

  • WATCH: U.S. to probe Phoenix police over excessive force allegations

    WATCH: U.S. to probe Phoenix police over excessive force allegations

    Aug 05, 2021 08:14 PM EDT

    ... one Phoenix has set up. Part of the investigation will also examine whether police officers have been violating the rights of people who are experiencing homelessness by "seizing and disposing of their belongings in a manner that violates the Constitution," Garland said. The new investigation is known as a "pattern ...

  • As housing costs boom, how home-buyers in one city search for affordability

    As housing costs boom, how home-buyers in one city search for affordability

    Aug 04, 2021 10:45 PM EDT

    (LAUGHTER) John Cobbinah: We haven't. Paul Solman: Cobbinah, originally from Ghana, and his wife, Pamela Sue, came here to escape Sacramento's rising homelessness, they say, and its blue politics. But the license plates? John Cobbinah: We were driving, house-hunting. Somebody held a sign, "Go back to ...

  • Millions of renters are facing evictions. Will the government step in to help?

    Millions of renters are facing evictions. Will the government step in to help?

    Aug 03, 2021 10:45 PM EDT

    ... eviction case has a chance to make its way through the court system. Stephanie Sy: Are you talking to clients who are really concerned about homelessness at this point, that really could see their families and children turned out on the streets? Zach Neumann: Absolutely. And, I mean, it's ...

  • Millions of tenants at risk as federal eviction ban ends

    Millions of tenants at risk as federal eviction ban ends

    Jul 31, 2021 08:37 PM EDT

    ... expire tonight. A last-minute effort by House Democrats to extend the moratorium failed late yesterday. Missouri Democratic representative Cori Bush, who previously struggled with homelessness, spent the night on the capitol steps in a push for the senate to extend the ban. The moratorium was put in place to ...

  • For girls with mothers in prison, a summer camp offers much-needed support

    For girls with mothers in prison, a summer camp offers much-needed support

    Jul 21, 2021 10:30 PM EDT

    ... to breaking the cycle of incarceration. Children with incarcerated parents are at greater risk of dropping out of school, of experiencing mental health issues, and homelessness, all factors that also put them at greater risk of being incarcerated themselves. But every year, for three summer days, this camp is their ...

  • Extreme heat further complicates the lives of homeless women and LGBTQ people

    Extreme heat further complicates the lives of homeless women and LGBTQ people

    Jul 06, 2021 09:02 PM EDT

    ... where more than half of the homeless populations are unsheltered — including California, Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii, Arkansas and Arizona. States with the largest absolute increases in homelessness between 2019 and 2020 include Texas and Washington, other states recording extreme heat. As climate change exacerbates the effects of weather events like flooding ...