Homeless encampments are popping up in cities across the country. In San Francisco, local officials counted 649 tents at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic. Now, they estimate the number of tents at more than 1,400 citywide. The story is similar in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Reno and Seattle. The overall homelessness rate in America has only risen 2 percent during the covid-19 pandemic, but it may rise more now that the eviction moratorium is ending.
The big reason tent cities are spreading is that America’s homeless shelters are social distancing. This means shelters cannot accept many people, so those turned away are sleeping in the streets, in doorways, under overpasses and in tents rather than in designated shelters.
A Housing and Urban Development report found that “2020 marks the first time since data collection began that more individuals experiencing homelessness were unsheltered than were sheltered.”
Read more at “Tent Cities Spring Up Across America”