Macon-Bibb County is the only municipality in Middle Georgia where homeless camping and sleeping in public is banned. But the ordinances actually have allowed for more outreach and support than arrests.
The moratorium will last as long as it takes for the Atlanta Continuum of Care to review and update sweep practices and share the results with the public.
Fulton’s annual Point In Time Count of all the unhoused people in the county has been postponed this year due to cold weather. It was scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Scott Turner pledged to make HUD programs more streamlined and efficient. He declined to say whether he would oppose major budget cuts to the agency if Trump proposes them again.
NPR visited a homeless shelter in Washington, D.C., to see how residents and staff are faring during a cold emergency. The shelter is busy year-round, though the frigid weather brings in more people.
The annual federal count finds more than 770,000 people living in shelters or outside. It cites rising rents and the recent surge in migrants as key factors behind the increase.
The decision is a win for Western cities that wanted more powers to manage record homelessness. But advocates for the unhoused say the decision will do nothing to solve the larger problem
Officials in Atlanta and Denver believe that micro communities, unlike shelters, offer residents stability that, when combined with wraparound services, can more effectively put them on the path to secure housing.
Lower courts ruled it's "cruel and unusual" to fine or jail people on public land if no shelter is available. An Oregon city says that's hamstrung efforts to keep public spaces safe and open to all.
Thousands gather each year in Georgia and nationwide during the last 10 days of January to conduct the annual homelessness census that guides legislative, funding and support efforts. The Point-in-Time headcount is the most comprehensive census for sheltered and unsheltered individuals.
