Associated Baptist Press reported that some cities in the U.S. are hostile to the issue of homelessness, passing laws that prohibit helping the homeless.
Almost 70 percent of the cities studied by National Coalition for the Homeless have passed one or more laws since January 2002 specifically targeting homeless people, making it harder for the homeless to find housing nor receive food.
Even some cities have made it illegal for charities and other organizations to perform “life-sustaining activities while refusing to allocate sufficient funds to address the cause of homelessness,” ABP reported.
National Coalition for the Homeless said in Milwaukee, a church was seen as irritating by the public for allowing the homeless to sleep at the church. In Gainesville, Fl., students of University of Florida received a warning from the police not to serve food to the homeless.
The National Coalition for the Homeless ranked the top 20 “meanest” cities to the homeless. Having Las Vegas as ranked first,
2. San Francisco, Calif.; 3. New York, N.Y; 4. Los Angeles, Calif.; 5. Atlanta, Ga.; 6. Cincinnati, Ohio; 7. Key West, Fla.; 8. Austin, Texas; 9. Orlando, Fla.; 10. New Orleans, La.; 11. Sacramento, Calif.; 12. Milwaukee, Wis.; 13. Santa Cruz, Calif.; 14. Miami Beach, Fla.; 15. Jacksonville Beach; Fla.; 16. Hollywood, Fla.; 17. Santa Monica, Calif.; 18. Nashville, Tenn.; 19. Honolulu, Hawaii; 20. Boulder, Colo.
