"The recession is catching many of the nation's largest cities in the middle of pioneering 10-year plans to drastically reduce the number of chronically homeless"

But we've got plenty of money to spend on wars or to give to banks, auto makers, politicians and crooks who masquerade as prominent leaders of the business community......


Economy stymies efforts for homeless
Risks progress made by cities
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, December 30, 2008

ATLANTA (AP) | Beneath the glowing red curlicues of the Coca-Cola headquarters sign, case worker Hylda Jackson bargains with one of Atlanta's left-behind.

"Are you ready, right now, this morning?" she says, kneeling beside a white-bearded man.

Harry Byrd's rumpled form is enveloped by the odor of stale beer, even before dawn.

"To do what?" he drawls.

"To go to a place to live. Are you ready right now?" Ms. Jackson presses.

A "yes" would land Mr. Byrd in his own apartment, surrounded by people ready to smooth his life's kinks.

"No," and he'll remain among the estimated 750,000 homeless sprinkled across the nation's streets and shelters each night.

He stirs, but doesn't get up. Ms. Jackson moves on. She has other sidewalks to cover, other parks to check, other bridges to pause beneath. This tug of war is bound to increase as the economy pushes more people into homelessness.

In Atlanta and other top destinations for the homeless, a sense of urgency has settled over the efforts of advocates such as Ms. Jackson.

The recession is catching many of the nation's largest cities in the middle of pioneering 10-year plans to drastically reduce the number of chronically homeless, city by city, by sweeping parks and alleys and by channeling people into apartments with built-in caseworkers.

Weary Wall Street donors have grown reluctant to open their pocketbooks to charity, and budget cuts have choked state support. By the time those dollars start flowing again, cities could be looking at restarting from scratch.