Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Safe parking programs are difficult to fund, but sorely needed

Jan 25, 2024
Lawmakers will unveil bipartisan legislation on Thursday that would give federal dollars to overnight parking programs for people living in their vehicles.
A man prepares to sleep in a Safe Parking LA location in 2019. On Thursday, new legislation will be announced that would put federal dollars toward safe parking programs nationwide.
Kyle Grillot/AFP via Getty Images

Mental illness plays a complicated role in the homelessness crisis

May 30, 2023
Though the affordable housing shortage is key, mental illness increases the risk of losing a home and makes it harder to regain one.
Being unhoused often limits access to treatment for people with mental illnesses.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Biden plan to end homelessness is missing a crucial ingredient: more money

May 30, 2023
Getting an unhoused person into a home can cost $10,000 a year — and more than 580,000 people are unhoused on any given night.
Unhoused people are cleared from a park encampment two blocks from the White House in February.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

As homelessness rises, some states make it illegal to sleep outside 

Aug 11, 2022
In Missouri, it’s now illegal. In Tennessee, it can be a felony. But criminalizing homelessness could make it harder for people to find homes.
Inflation and high rent prices in New York City are contributing the city's ongoing homelessness crisis.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images