Homelessness

Federal officials say the United States saw an 18.1% increase in homelessness, a dramatic rise driven mostly by a lack of affordable housing as well as devastating natural disasters and a surge of migrants in several parts of the country.

Homelessness is at the top of the agenda for candidates in mayoral races across the U.S. West. But they differ on whether it’s OK to clear encampments that have spread as the crisis has deepened and how much to rely on temporary housing.

A group of non-profits is staging a massive online fundraiser to battle homelessness, and Kye Martin has more on the remarkable effort.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that city laws which punish homeless people who sleep outside are constitutional and do not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

In downtown Atlanta, shipping containers have been transformed into an oasis for dozens of previously unsheltered people who now proudly call a former parking lot home. It’s just one example of micro communities that have been popping up across the U.S. In Denver, 1,500 people have been moved indoors through that city’s own micro community program.

About 653,000 people were homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007.

The man charged Monday with the serial murders of three homeless men around Los Angeles, and the follow-home robbery and murder of an LA County employee in San Dimas, was the recipient of a $700,000 personal injury payment in recent months, court records and city officials confirmed.

An arrest has been made in the killing of three homeless men in the last week, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a press conference Saturday.

A family of eight, including six children, finally have a roof over their heads after living for months in their minivan in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

A family of eight, including six children, finally have a roof over their heads after living for months in their minivan in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. NBC 5’s Sandra Torres reports.

At least 73 people are dead and dozens more injured after a fire ripped through a five-story building in Johannesburg, South Africa.

For the past four months, Alicia, her partner and their six children have been living out of a minivan in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. But one day after NBC Chicago shared their story, Alicia’s family has found themselves on a pathway to permanent housing.

For many families in the Chicago area, finding a permanent place to live can be a real struggle. Such is the case for Alicia, her partner and her six children ages 1 to 14. Since May 2023, the family says they have been living in their mini-van. Sandra Torres has the story.

For many families in the Chicago area, finding a permanent place to live can be a real struggle. Such is the case for Alicia, her partner and her six children ages 1 to 14. Since May 2023, the family says they have been living in their mini-van.

For many families in the Chicago area, finding a permanent place to live can be a real struggle. Such is the case for Alicia, her partner and her six children ages 1 to 14. Since May 2023, the family says they have been living in their mini-van. Sandra Torres reports.