Homelessness

A pioneer family on the frontier, amidst a vast prairie, setting up their homestead, gazes towards a hopeful horizon.
A pioneer family on the frontier, amidst a vast prairie, setting up their homestead, gazes towards a hopeful horizon.
Licensed via Adobe Stock
Marvin Olasky
May 10, 2024
Homelessness

Go West, Young Man (and Woman) | Fix Homelessness

Marvin Olasky
May 10, 2024
Homelessness
We often think westward migration was for males only. In 1862 the Homestead Act allowed land claims from “any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years.” Women, including those widowed by the Civil War, made one third of all homestead claims. Some men and women who made it to the Midwest and went no further became homeless. Read More ›
Manhattan Midtown Skyline with illuminated skyscrapers at sunset
Manhattan Midtown Skyline with illuminated skyscrapers at sunset. NYC, USA
Marvin Olasky
May 3, 2024
Homelessness

Helping the Manhattan Poor: A History

Marvin Olasky
May 3, 2024
Homelessness
Much of what we hear in national media concerning homelessness originates in the salons of Manhattan, and if we want to understand why our policy savants sometimes go far off course, we should understand the history of New York City’s successes and failures. Read More ›
Contemplative Silhouette Sitting On Rock In Nature
Licensed via Adobe Stock
Marvin Olasky
April 26, 2024
Homelessness

The Ups and Downs of Recovery at The Forge

Marvin Olasky
April 26, 2024
Homelessness
The past two months I've written about those making progress at Forge, the Christian shelter I lived at in Joplin, Missouri. But not everyone perseveres. I played disc golf on a sunny day last October with one Forge resident who told me how he had become a devotee of YouTube Satanist channels. For a time, he combined demonic rituals, drug use, and increasingly elaborate drawings of skulls and skeletons. Read More ›
cops-clearing-out-a-homeless-encampment-adobe-stock
Licensed via Adobe Stock
Center on Wealth & Poverty
April 25, 2024
Homelessness

The Dirty Little Secret About Homelessness Is the Key to Ending It

Center on Wealth & Poverty
April 25, 2024
Homelessness
The US Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments about what cities can and cannot do to end homelessness. What everyone agreed on was that homelessness is a difficult problem. I think most people listening to the Supreme Court would agree: it isn’t going to solve homelessness. That is a job for state legislators. So why haven’t they? Why has homelessness gotten worse? Read More ›
colonial-village-the-heartbeat-of-early-america-adobe-stock-scaled
Licensed via Adobe Stock
Marvin Olasky
April 19, 2024
Homelessness

Homelessness in Colonial New England

Marvin Olasky
April 19, 2024
Homelessness
Since starting this weekly column in June 2022 I’ve covered lots of topics, including homelessness in late medieval England — but I’ve shorted American history. Since today, April 19, is the anniversary of the battles in Lexington and Concord that started the Revolutionary War in 1775, it’s a good day on which to take a rapid ride through the New England countryside and summarize common responses to homelessness in the 17th and 18th centuries. Read More ›
Supreme Court of the United States
United States Supreme Court Building in Washington DC, USA.
Licensed via Adobe Stock
Center on Wealth & Poverty
April 18, 2024
Homelessness

SCOTUS Will Hear Arguments in Controversial Homelessness Case that Will Impact Cities Nationwide

Center on Wealth & Poverty
April 18, 2024
Homelessness
As homelessness hits all-time highs across the country, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments next Monday about whether the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property are constitutional. The case will determine how cities nationwide are allowed to respond to the crisis of homelessness. Read More ›
heroin-syringe-on-rough-concrete-adobe-stock
Licensed via Adobe Stock
Marvin Olasky
April 5, 2024
Homelessness

Drugs and Homelessness

Marvin Olasky
April 5, 2024
Homelessness
Last week we gave our third annual set of Zenger Prizes to ten journalists for articles or podcasts that emphasize good street-level reporting and a willingness to see that all human beings have value. One of the winners we announced is Sam Quinones, for an article he wrote in The Atlantic updating his acute analysis of America's drug crisis. Read More ›
No Address- An Interactive Study Guide - Flat
Robert Marbut
March 5, 2024
Economics, Homelessness

No Address: An Interactive Study Guide

Robert Marbut
March 5, 2024
Economics, Homelessness

A four-session interactive Bible study, based on the documentary Americans with No Address, that examines the biblical response to people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is not an “issue”; it’s an opportunity for the church to love our neighbors. In this four-session interactive Bible study, we examine what Scripture has to say on the topic. A companion to the documentary Americans with Read More ›