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Urban Exile
Urban Exile: Poll—88 Percent of American Voters Say Candidates Should Focus on Poverty
by J.D. Berman
Now that we're officially in the 2012 election cycle, candidates for office may want to take note of a new poll on voter attitudes toward poverty and opportunity. According to a survey commissioned by Spotlight on Poverty,…
Urban Exile: Lifestyles of the Down and Out—Tent Cities in America
by Erika K.
“To be shelterless and alone in the open country, hearing the wind moan and watching for day through the whole long weary night; to listen to the falling rain, and crouch for warmth beneath the lee of some old barn or rick, or…
Urban Exile: Head of Shelter Association Claims Homelessness Is A “Lifestyle”
by Erika McNamara
Detroit organizations that assist the homeless in the city report that the number of homeless individuals is on the increase and the shelters are at over capacity. The number of people requiring assistance this year is…
Urban Exile: Do We Care More About Starving Kids in Africa Than Starving Kids in Michigan?
by Erika McNamara
Sometimes I wonder if needy people in Africa get more of our attention then people right here in our own state and town.
Almost a month ago a judge put a halt to the state of Michigan’s new cap on cash assistance for…
Urban Exile: Homeless Blamed For Closure of Downtown Ann Arbor Boutique Named, Yes, Poshh
by Erika McNamara
Being homeless, once again, is the evil that lurks in every shadow ready to destroy all that is good and right. This is obviously true after homeless individuals were blamed, in a recent piece posted to AnnArbor.com, for…
Urban Exile: Prepared to Slash Human Services Funding, County Commish Writes That Board “Needs Understanding”
by P.D. Lesko
Barbara Levin Bergman (left) is retiring from the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners at the end of her present term. As is the case in Washtenaw County politics, Andy LaBarre has been identified as the next District 8…
Urban Exile: Voter ID Laws Disenfranchise Many More Than Just the Homeless
by Erika McNamara
One of the very few civics lessons that high schoolers learn today is that citizens over the age of 18 may vote in U.S. elections. It is your right and your duty as an adult citizen of the United States to vote. Of…
Urban Exile: Michigan Legislature Votes to Toss 30,000 Puppies Out of Shelters
by Erika McNamara
Now. Replace "puppies" with "children," and "shelters" with "public assistance."
One morning last week while I made coffee and semi-listened, Good Morning America announced its exclusive new series HUNGER AT HOME: CRISIS…
Urban Exile: The Growing Problem of Homeless Senior Citizens
by Erika McNamara
If asked, the average person would probably describe a homeless person as a thirty-something male, addicted to some substance, too lazy to go out and find work. But thanks to the Great Recession, this demographic of the…
Urban Exile: On the 4th of July Remember…The Few, The Proud, America’s 76,000 Homeless Veterans
by Erika McNamara
On June 11, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported:
Contending that the region's population of disabled homeless veterans has reached crisis proportions, a coalition led by the ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit…
