Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
UN Investigator Accuses US of Shameful Neglect of Homeless
UN special rapporteur says wealthy US ignoring deepening homeless crisis while pumping billions into bank rescues
Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur for the right to adequate housing, who has just completed a seven-city tour of America, said it was shameful that a country as wealthy as the US was not spending more money on lifting its citizens out of homelessness and substandard, overcrowded housing.
A homeless man sleeps against a wall in Los Angeles January 26, 2009. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson) "The housing crisis is invisible for many in the US," she said. "I learned through this visit that real affordable housing and poverty is something that hasn't been dealt with as an issue. Even if we talk about the financial crisis and government stepping in in order to promote economic recovery, there is no such help for the homeless."
She added: "I think those who are suffering the most in this whole situation are the very poor, the low-income population. The burden is disproportionately on them and it's of course disproportionately on African-Americans, on Latinos and immigrant communities, and on Native Americans."
Rolnik toured Chicago, New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Wilkes-Barre, a Pennsylvania town where this year the first four sheriff sales – public auctions of seized property – in the county included 598 foreclosed properties. She also visited a Native American reservation.
The US government does not tally the numbers but interested organisations say that more than 3 million people were homeless at some point over the past year. The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families with children, often single parents. On any given night in Los Angeles, about 17,000 parents and children are homeless. Most will be found a place in a shelter but many single men and women are forced to sleep on the streets.
Los Angeles, which is described as the homeless capital of America, has endured an 18-fold increase in housing foreclosures. Evictions from owned and rented homes have risen about tenfold, with 62,400 people forced out last year in Los Angeles county.
Welfare payments are not enough to meet the rent, let alone food and other necessities. A single person on welfare living in Los Angeles receives $221 (£133) a month – an amount that hasn't changed in a decade. The rent for one room is typically nearly double that.
Rolnik said that while she saw difficult conditions in all the places she visited, the worst was on the Native American reservation of Pine Ridge in South Dakota.
"You see total hopelessness, despair, very bad conditions. Nothing I have seen in other cities compared to the physical condition of the housing at Pine Ridge. Nothing compared to the overcrowding. They're not visible, they're isolated, they're far away. They're just lost," she said.
Rolnik says that one of the greatest matters of shame is that the US has the resources to provide decent housing for everyone.
"In the US, it's feasible to provide adequate housing for all. You have a lot of money, a lot of dollars available. You have a lot of expertise. This is a perfect setting to really embrace housing as a human right," she said.
Rolnik has given a verbal report to the US state department, which has a month to respond to her observations. She will submit a final written report to the UN human rights council early next year.
63 Comments so far
Show All"the worst was on the Native American reservation of Pine Ridge in South Dakota."
Leonard Peltier, fought for rights on this encampment called Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Leonard is still in jail on charges that don't hold water, made by the FBI when the FBI raided the place.
So it no wonder the federal government doesn't want to acknowledge the issue and pretends the whole place in time didn't exist! Maybe the residents at Pine Ridge don't want ANYTHING from the government! Government Bad! Land Good! They would rather live in poverty that ask the government for anything!
I would be surprised if the American Indian had any dealings with the White Man's government at all, considering the atrocious way in which they have been treated.
Mrs. Rolnick simply does not understand the way our country works.
Once you fall below a very moderate economic level you simply cease to exist in our country.
You're effectively nameless, faceless and worthless.
You'll be lucky to have even one political representative in all of government who will legislate in your behalf.
This is the norm during "good times".
As the economy worsens expect millions more to virtually "disappear".
Exactly. Well and succintly stated. Getting serious attention paid to the truly poor, by the hucksters and shysters in Washington, is like waiting for a spider monkey to play a Brandenburg Concerto on a Steinway.
WOW! Concerto # 3, Allegro Moderato just brought tears to my eyes. I hate that. But some things, enough homelessness mixed into the right cocktail; mental Molotov, and you don't come back.
Heard of Koln? Germany? Kieth Jarrett? Guy made the other students at Juilliard hate their hands and ears?
Kieth J., Yhe Koln Concert. A motif so subtly and with such over-arching genius extrapolated, that Angels pause when it's in the air. He recorded Bremen too; for this, even THEY weep.
Beyond shameful, that the homeless situation has been exacerbated by US economic policies with failure and government bail-outs built-in as part of the "business model."
Even more shameful is that the so-called mainstream media in the US continues to all but ignore this problem, preferring instead to focus on fluff, which is essentially irrelevant to these times, while willfully ignoring issues that impact the lives of so many.
Not that these problems haven't always existed, but it sure seems like the corporatocracy, including governments of rich and near-rich countries, appears to be competing to outdo each other in the race to the bottom.
May God help us all..!
"instead to focus on fluff, which is essentially irrelevant to these times, while willfully ignoring issues that impact the lives of so many."
M$M fluff is irrelavant all the time.
Chances are high this article will not be picked up by any of the major US M$M outlets. Ever notice how the most relavant news that affect Americans comes from foreign media, like the Guardian?
NMBill shouldn't suppose that the Sioux people of Pine Ridge don't accept help from the government. In a way, this blames the Native people for their predicament, which is not of their own making.
The trillions of dollars handed over to the Wall Street bankers, the world's richest people in terms of money, should have been passed through the rest of the people on the way. That money could have paid off all the mortgages on primary residences in the entire country and would still have gone immediately to the banks and in the process would have firmed up all the derivatives based on mortgages thereby actually solving the financial crisis while at the same time providing all homeowners with a huge increase in their net worth.
It was not beyond the imagination, after the statements of his campaign, that Obama would have seriously considered such an approach to the financial "meltdown." After he has been in office for 10 months though it seems unlikely that such an idea would even be spoken aloud in his White House which appears depressingly similar to the Bush White House.
Your solution is brilliant in in it's simplicity. Unfortunately it seems that since Raygun ALL solutions must involve "trickle down" solutions. Give money to the rich and whatever they can't hoard will "trickle" down to the masses. Has we all know now after 30 years of this B/S it really is just a trickle that sustains nothing it touches.
What a sick joke this country has become.
On the left had side of the CD main page you'll see the "Further" section. Go down to "Shelter From The Storm" and read the discussion. It is about this study. The comments section contain some pretty powerful posts, along with some by one very narrow minded individual.
Everybody who cares about his issue should really check it out.
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Thanks for the reminder of the Kris Kristofferson song and the young Janis Joplin.
The point is, the homeless aren't trying hard enough.why should we all help them, there will always be the poor and it would mean we would have less.
mujeriego! Brilliant.Always make me laugh
This is indeed shameful. I live on an island country where people freaked out when "official" unemployment numbers reached 6%. Granted, there is still rampant underemployment here, and with our economy linked to the US$ there are still hard times to weather. Along with earthquakes. And typhoons. And the stress and strain of being in the middle of a decades-long US-China tug-of-war.
We have our own indigenous population, too: suppressed and oppressed, marginalized and stigmatized. The "ruling power from another continent" (sound familiar, Pine Ridge residents?) continues to fail them: look up "Taiwan, Typhoon Morakot" if you need more references.
But for me, the shame is compounded by a feeling of guilt. I am employed in a profession for which I was not classically trained, yet the market for my nascent skills is very good: I am paid well both by local standards as well as standards for my profession in the US. I benefit to no small amount (given having broken the same bone twice in three months and not having to go into bankruptcy to get it taken care of!) from this country's nationalized, single-payer health care programme. This country is at war with no-one. Our banks (notice how I suddenly shifted to a possessive pronoun?) are solvent--even the national one. Home gardens are the norm, fresh local produce is available everywhere.
True, not everything is rosy, but my god: 20% unemployment, 3M people homeless, trillions in spending on needless wars, and even more trillions in dollars of international debt? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH AMERICA'S GOVERNMENT?
Nothing, by their measure: they're doing exactly what the deep pockets who elected them bid. If ever there were a moment of clarity, it should be right here, right now. The government in the US is not elected "by and for the people" any more. To quote Sean Connery's character in "The Untouchables," I can only ask: What are you prepared to do?
-------------------------------------------------------
If you don't ask yourself why, you know nothing.
You ask yourself what the hell is wrong with the United States government. The answer is: just about everything.
...can I immigrate to YOUR country, askyourselfwhy, ha ha?
askyourselfwhy.
Eloquent, logical, truthful and poignant.
There is hope for the human race as long as people like you are with us.
Thank you
there was an article by an expatriate american living in Taiwan now - who basically said:
he will never think of living again in america, his home country..because where he is - taiwan , is far more civilized to his needs . he described that their government funded health care allows people to go to clinics or emergency or hospital and all they have to have is what amounts to a few dollars they can scrounge up as upfront fee. and the rest is free. and he said that it is "first class treatment". something like that.
I did know a friend many years ago from taiwan who attested to this. and recnetly another one - with advanced degrees in computer architecture technology - that went home after he asked me my opinion whether he should remain in the USA or go home...and I told him he is better of back there, and "look east" or BE chinese, BE asian.
I suppose the homeless are not big enough not to fail.
Who needs the UN to tell us that? The people can see that but the pols won't listen. Even conservative Republicans hit their Congress dumbos so hard on the phone but which pols listened?
It's about time!!!!!
The world usually only sees the "glamour" of America from its awful and tawdty movies and TV shows to the Icons of Sports, Entertainment and Music.....
I am glad that finally the REAL AMERICA OF WHICH THE ELITES HAVE KEPT HIDDEN FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD IS NOW BEING SEEN AND TALKED ABOUT....IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!!
America the Wonderful IS NOT SO!!!!
This is GREAT NEWS!!!! The Political and Media Elites have NEVER WANTED this cat out of the bag....for years the elites in America have been using the PRISONS AS A "REMEDY" OF ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS RATHER THAN USING OTHER MEANS....
America is a RACIST COUNTRY and one that IGNORES ITS OWN POVERTY!!!! THE DEMOCRATS ALSO IGNORE THESE ISSUES...THE DEMOCRATS ALSO GLADLY IGNORE THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR AND HOMELESS....IT WAS PRESIDENT CLINTON WHO GLADLY "ENDED WELFARE AS WE KNOW IT" SAYING THE "ERA OF BIG GOVERNMENT IS OVER." THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS CONTROLLED BY THE BANKSTERS, WALL STREET FIRMS AND THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL WHO DON'T GIVE A TINKER'S DAMN ABOUT THE POOR, HOMELESS AND NEEDY....THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BECOME AS BAD AS THE GOP IN THIS REGARD....DEMOCRATS FROM STATE TO STATE WERE ALL GLEEFUL AND GIDDY SAYING IN THEIR CAMPAIGN BROCHURES HOW "THEY SUPPORTED WELFARE REFORM."
IT'S BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES WHOM HAVE DECLARED A WAR ON THE POOR A LONG TIME AGO. FOR THE DEMOCRATS, BEING AGAINST THE POOR IS A CYNICAL POLITICAL TOOL TO HOLD ONTO THEIR SEATS BECAUSE OF A HOSTILE PUBLIC WILLING TO THROW THEM OUT IF THEY DO NOT VOTE TO CUT SPENDING AND THOSE CUTS ARE ALWAYS AIMED AT THE POOR AND DEFENSELESS. FOR THE REPUBLICANS, IT IS OUT OF IDEOLOGY THEY VOTE AGAINST SOCIAL SPENDING....
THE DEMOCRATS ARE SUCH PROSTITUTES THESE DAYS THEY WILL THROW ANY AND ALL CONSTITUENCIES UNDER THE BUS JUST TO MAINTAIN THEIR SEATS.....THE DEMOCRATS ACTUALLY STAND FOR NOTHING OR NOBODY ANY LONGER....
THE DEMOCRATS TIMIDITY AND LACK OF STANDING UP FOR THE POOR, GAY PEOPLE, WOMEN'S RIGHTS TO CHOOSE IS ALL TOO APPARENT. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THOUGH CONTINUES TO FUND BUSH'S WARS WHICH ARE NOW THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S WARS. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPPORTS THE SURVEILLANCE STATE AND THE PATRIOT ACT AS WELL....THE DEMOCRATIC ALLOWS OBANA TO CONTINUE BUSH'S TORTURE AND RENDITION POLICIES AS WELL...TELL ME WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE GOOD FOR OTHER THAN BEING GOOD LITTLE REPUBLICAN TURDS?
KATRINA EXPOSED TO THE WORLD - IMAGINE THAT - ON TV GLOBALLY...
EMBLAZONED FOR THE UNIVERSE TO SEE:
"AMERICA -- HOME OF THE CRUEL".
So TRUE, TEDDY! This country seems to love cruelty; justifying the worst kinds of vengefulness in the laws and punishments, especially in the last two decades.
We need to take this country back, because as you stated about Katrina and how EVERYONE else in the world can see our evil, greedy and cruel system here, most people I talk to DO care about others and want change and realise that we can't go on letting the powers-that-be continue to be-the-powers that run and rule this nation--a nation of 80% poor to lower-middle-class-income types who need hope, peace, help, and a compassionate, kind, caring and GOOD government! We don't have it yet!
Of course, in regard to Katrina, homeless, etc., it is also home of the victims of the cruel.
You may have had something worthwhile to read but all caps is just too difficult and not worth the bother.
America is a diseased nation with pustulance evidenced everywhere. Uncle Sam is on his last leg and his knee is buckling badly. There is a burial approaching in our near future and the grave diggers are dressed as businessmen and politicians. Unseen tears flow like rivers as death stalks us. The end is near. Pray there is a rebirth.
America is a continent NOT a country.
Its about time the usa gets a real name instead of trying to steal a name that belongs to everyone born in the continent.
True, HUMANO!
In Jim Morrison's inmortal words: "The future is uncertain and the end is always near." That about sums up the life of the poor in Amerika
Where are the pro-family voices of the right now that unemployment increases by a half million a month and two thousand people a day lose their homes? Where are the Christian voices? The Christian voices are quieted by greed, contempt, and hatred for the poor. Damn the Christian bigots. If there is anything holy about them it's the holes in their souls.
Stone, your sweeping generalizations, hateful and sweeping, are partly correct; and much wrong.
I've been homeless a lot in my life. Hungry. From St. Anthony's in SF 30 yrs ago to where I am now, Christians are the one's helping, giving, more than any other group.
I'm a Christian. Now go read the last post. Who did you help and give to today who had nothing, ATHEIST.
You are confusing asshole empowered Christians, noisy scum, with Christ's quiet followers.
WHO DID YOU HELP TODAY? WHO? TODAY ATHEIST. WHO? Haha, don't worry. I know. Your effing SELFSELFMEMEMEMESELF. That's who you really hate.
Signed, a hell-bound Christian that feeds hungry people & gives to them in other ways; I've found one homeless family and 3 individuals HOMES, helped get them in.
And why ain't I homeless now? BECAUSE A CHRISTIAN FINALLY EFFING FINALLY GAVE ME A CHANCE. 4 yrs ago. Now we help others.
One of the main distinctions between the poor in the US and most developing countries (AKA third world in US parlance) is that the poor in the slums of Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Nairobi or Cairo receive much better education than their counterparts in the inner cities of US. As a student, it is much easier to improve your life through developing nations’ slums schools than inner city schools in US. Without doubt most poor people in the US still have basic amenities like running water and electricity that is not available in some of the slums in developing countries.
The government will do anything the voters want it to do as far as helping the individual. The problem is that an equal number of voters don't want the government to do anything charitable. So, the schizophrenic U.S. doesn't do much but argue with itself. The government will end the wars and occupations tomorrow if the majority of Americans and a majority of the corporate lobbyists want it to.
It's not an equal number of voters, it's a small group of screamers who have gotten used to having their way, even though a majority of the population voted against them. There was a mandate for change. No argument necessary. The arguments were done BEFORE Obama became president. It is simply not true that the government will do anything the voters want. They will do anything the corporate interests want them to.
What the majority of Americans want is totally opposite to what the corporate lobbyists want. How many times must this be said before the mentally challenged get it! What the hell was this last presidential election about, anyway?
True, George. What we really need to do is to GET RID OF LOBBYIST! At least the way lobbying is done now--where the rich corporations and special interests more or less PAY OFF, BRIBE and otherwise seduce our representatives and elected "servant-leaders" (they are leaders "elected" to serve the people...) into doing everything and anything for their own future profits and corporate welfare--like the bailing out of the Wallstreet gamblers and worthless money gamers; they serve no purpose and we can and should do without them--we don't need THAT institution to do market and sell any of the goods that ARE STILL produced here; and thanks to them, so few are!
Those billions thrown out to those greedy and irresponsible people belongs TO ALL U.S. AMERICANS!
We are forgetting the principle of the DANGEROUS PRECEDENT.
If we were to help the homeless now, then in the future, we (or our equally timid successors) might be called upon to do another admittedly right thing which we may not have the courage to do.
It would be heartless of us to disappoint the citizenry (or the future citizenry), so the only responsible course is to fail to do the admittedly right thing.
Thank you.
IF intelligent enlightened Space Beings with advanced civilization saw America - and its injustices and the way it spreads them...
they'd go:
"EWWWWEEEEEE, DISGUSTING, HIDEOUS!!!..EEEWWWWWWEEEE"
The homeless serve an exemplary purpose for the owner/rulers of the American plantation. "The homeless represent what could happen to you if you start agitating for worker's rights, so you had better obey us in whatever we demand." They never state this outright, but the homeless serve their purposes well enough. The homeless prop up the Republic of Fear and Hatred.
Jeevee
We live in the Disunited States of America, where most of its citizens wallow in their comparative luxury and boast about how superior this country is to the rest of the world. O yes, a country in love with war and other extreme forms of "exciting" violence.
I live an hour away from Wilkes-Barre, PA. This is a city, not a town. I had no idea that so many properties were in foreclosure there, but this area has been depressed financially for years and it is getting worse. Many elderly cannot pay school and property taxes on a fixed income. But the PA legislature voted itself and all gov't workers a raise and a hefty pension--which now can only be paid for by raising taxes. So you ain't seen nothing yet.
Doesn't anyone around here know that individuals in the US do not qualify to have human rights unless they have a family income of over 100K or assets of over 200K? Of course those living elsewhere qualify if they are pro-US and they oppose a government that the US government classifies as an enemy, e.g., a government that takes the side of its little people against the predations of US corporations.
Those who read this UN report would think people are born with human rights. How messed up is that?
Amen, kivals! The only people who get heard in the mendia here--especially broadcast media, are the people that the five coporate owners of ALL THE MEDIA OUTLETS IT THE US want us to hear.
Here in Saint Louis its the worst kind of superficial yuppie-esque drival... The broadcast news stations report as if everyone here makes 100k or more per year when in truth Saint Louis has one of the largest popoulations of poor, lower-middle class and recently laid-off people in the Midwest.
We as a nation can esily affordto make sure EVERYONE has a home and health care--sure, the rich and greedy will have to learn REAL conservation and moderation, and pay their share of taxes, fees and costs, but then, everyone--97% of the population does! If they--the wealthiest 15% paid even a fourth per cpaita that the rest of us do there would be no shortage of funds to help EVERYONE!
Well said. One of the most telling events in our history is the "modification" of the "Life, Liberty and Property" statement by substituting "the pursuit of happiness" for "property". It was really quite cynical. Imagine the laughter as they agreed that it was okay for everyone to "pursue" happiness as long as those who owned property (the only male citizens elegible to vote) were already happy, thank you very much. Keep on pursung that happiness, rubes.
The celebration of the humorous rogue (see Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, Clinton, etc.) has a long, elite tradition in the USA. There was a tavern in Philadelphia that our founding fornicators would hang out in at night. I'm sure most of the constitution was crafted there. It was an oligarchy right from the start. None of these leaders had titles so they were against entailment and hereditary titles associated with a monarchy. It was in their best, greedy interests to associate power with property and then proceed to disingenuously claim we were a republic.
Of course the same pattern of noble promises followed by criminal behavior was applied with a vengeance to the native Americans... It took a while to get to the rest of the population.
camus13
Wilkes-Barre is the town that should be famous for the 2 county judges that were sending KIDS, yes KIDS, to two juvenile prisons that were privatized by the state. The judges made millions in kickbacks from the prison owner.
The kids did little if anything and over 5000 were sent to the jails. Most did not have a lawyer, which is against the law and the cases took about 2 minutes. One girl got into a argument with a friend and she slapped her, for that she received 11 months in prison.
These judges made a deal with the DA for 7 years each but a federal judge tossed out the sentences and gave them the option of a trial or he would change the prison time. They took the trail before this judge and they are in for it. He is one tough judge.
The PA supreme court tossed all 5000 cases.
Families broke up over this cases, the kids have had a very hard time after release and these two judges spend some of their millions on condos in Flordia.
It's a story that got little national play much to my surprise.......I sorry I forgot we have to cover Palin's book or some other crap story.
That's Wilkes-Barre, PA
"these two judges spend some of their millions on condos in Flordia."
Someone in Pennsylvania needs to make large wanted posters (background black and yellow or blue and yellow are the most effective at eye catching according to marketing studies) of these two bastards and print the details of what they did.
At the bottom of the poster, print this suggestion:
Pray for them because after the people are aware of what these judges did, only God can save their sorry, criminal, greedy asses.
Place the posters all over the state.
There wasn't any real history of homeless in this land when the land belonged to the Tribes. That was then & this is now. Change of ownership.
Life is good. What an experience! It's always best to forgive.
Remember, if this government took a lousy 10% off the top of the bloated Pentagon budget, we could take care of the homelessness, medical care, decent education, and at least make a start at rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure.
Instead, the Fed and the treasury tells us that to survive we must practice austerity and cut back on such frills as Social Security, Medicare, education and housing. In almost the same breath it awards the Pentagon and the MIC yet another $300 billion dollars for the war machine.
Priorities? You figure it out.
The homeless are free to go to any of the bailed out out banks and apply for a mortgage to buy an overpriced house.
riiiight
Homelessness is too often but a mask covering the lack of compassion among family, friends and the identifed "victim".