What would it take to end homelessness in the US?

Imagine a world without homelessness -- or tinsel. It would cost about. read more

On any given night in the United States, half a million people are homeless. Some of them sleep in shelters, others on the streets; roughly one-quarter are children. About 15 percent are so-called chronically homeless, which means they haven’t had a permanent home in years, and often cycle through jails, hospitals and homeless shelters in search of a place to lay their heads. read more

The government is putting that idea to the test. In 2010, it launched Opening Doors, what it says is “the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness.” The goal is to end homelessness among veterans by 2015, chronic homelessness by 2016, and to end it for children, youth, and families by 2020. read more

Homelessness did not disappear in the 1990s, despite the nations economic boom. In fact, it appears to have increased. On any given day, at least 800,000 people are homeless in the United States, including about 200,000 children in homeless families. These startling statistics, however, do not tell the whole story. read more