Homelessness

a photo of the catholic church in Mission Woods

Johnson County Churches, Cities Going to Court Over Land Use Disputes

Johnson County churches and cities increasingly are going to court over land use disputes.

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A homeless person sleeps on a bench as volunteers and homeless outreach officials walk in the area during the Point In Time Homeless Census in Miami.

Homeless in Johnson County

With cold weather setting in, and winter fast approaching, advocates for Johnson County’s homeless population are scrambling to provide overnight shelter.

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Jordan Webster portrait

Emerging From Abuse With Hopes of Working for a Better Foster System

Jordan Webster was born with some abdominal organs on the outside of her body, and at age 3 had a liver and small-bowel transplant. Problems in her home led to several hospitalizations during a childhood that also included severe abuse at the hands of family members. The state took her out of her home, and…

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skylight in corridor of transitional living program

From the Frying Pan of Foster Care to the Fire of Adulthood

Finally becoming old enough to drink legally is often accompanied by a night out on the town, but the experience can be quite different for foster kids in Missouri. “We’ve heard stories of kids who were dropped off at City Union Mission by their social worker because it’s the kid’s 21st birthday,” said Nathan Ross,…

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Michael is 19, transgender and homeless, he is trying to complete community college but facing some tough challenges. Transgender youth of color represent a disproportionate amount of homeless youth on the streets in Seattle.

Part-Time Student, Full-Time Homeless

Washington has an invisible problem: College students face homelessness in some of the biggest numbers anywhere. Michael is 19, transgender, and homeless. As a transgender person of color, Michael embodies some of the most sobering data on who is impacted by homelessness. Most estimates put LGBTQ people at less than 7 percent of the population….

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‘Housing first’ model creates a place to stay

In the post-institutionalization era of mental health treatment in America, the usual model of support for people with mental illness is temporary hospitalization and treatment following a psychotic episode, then a temporary stay in “transitional housing” before patients are expected to obtain and secure housing on their own in the private market. But some advocates think that creates dangerous instability for some people with severe and persistent mental illness. The antidote, they say, is an open-ended place to stay that allows people with a mental illness to get comfortable with their surroundings and fall into a routine that makes them better able to manage their conditions.

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