By Thea Chroman Homeless advocates have begun to note a striking rise in car and tent cities throughout the Bay Area, as low-income families are pushed out of the housing market.
The consequences of the economic crisis will continue to shake out over the coming months, but many of us have already been forced to tighten our belts. For those at the very bottom of the income scale, there's not a lot of belt left to tighten. Many families have been pushed out of the housing market completely, due to home foreclosures, rising rents and an increasing dearth of economic opportunity. Homeless advocates have begun to note a striking rise in car and tent cities throughout the Bay Area.
In this story I will speak with advocates about the trends that they are seeing, tour a tent city, and interview residents about what it's like trying to hang on while living on the very edge. I will also ask city officials about what San Francisco, which already has the highest per capita homeless rate in the nation*, is attempting to do to stem the growing problem.
* SF Bay Area counties point-in-time counts.
