ATLANTA (AP) – As the World Cup kicks off across North America, some host cities are using the 39-day soccer spectacle as part of their events. An opportunity to tackle the homeless issue.
Among them are atlantaannounced an ambitious plan last summer to eliminate downtown encampments and other street sleeping areas ahead of the tournament. The program, called “Downtown Rising,” has housed nearly 500 people so far. But the constant sight of people waiting outside downtown shelters is a visceral reminder that efforts are not reaching everyone.
Dallas and Seattle have also launched targeted efforts, with Dallas expanding its efforts to house homeless people downtown and Seattle announcing a housing push to house hundreds of people.
But an Associated Press investigation found that most of the 16 host cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, are relying on existing programs to address homelessness, and most are not receiving any new World Cup-related funding.
In the past, many cities Treated the homeless as people It’s a pain to have it deleted Ahead of big sports political events.
“These events provide options for communities,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “They can do simple things and force people out of encampments and into jails and prisons. other neighborhoodsOr you can do hard work that benefits everyone in your community, housing or not. ”
Here are the highlights of the AP report:
Different strategies for different US host cities
The city of Atlanta has raised $185 million in state and city funds, corporate grants and other contributions toward a $235 million goal to house 3,900 people citywide by next year. While the program has helped hundreds of people secure housing, some are skeptical that it has had a significant impact on downtown’s homeless problem.
In Dallas, a $30 million campaign starting in 2024 has reduced the number of people sleeping on the streets downtown by 87% and placed about 2,000 people into permanent housing. But supporters have criticized police tactics, including using cable ties to remove people who refused to leave after encampments were cleared.
Workers in Seattle are putting the finishing touches on 75 tiny homes with beds, space heaters and air conditioning that are scheduled to open just before the World Cup. But that housing falls far short of Mayor Katie Wilson’s ambitious plan to open 500 new shelters by the start of the World Cup. A homeless man who was camping just a few blocks from the stadium said he had not heard about the city’s housing plan and expressed concern that he and his wife would be forced to move.
In the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, where the city’s stadium is located, Mayor James Butts told The Associated Press, “We don’t have homeless people in Inglewood,” pointing to the low local numbers. But less than two miles (3.2 kilometers) from the stadium and just outside Inglewood’s city limits, nonprofits continue to distribute aid and the Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing secured a motel site ahead of the game.
Canadian cities rely on existing services
In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver said they already rely on a wide range of services, including thousands of shelter beds, temporary housing rooms and support for people living on the streets. Vancouver also has a center where games will be broadcast. Both men said there were no plans to relocate homeless people before the game.
Still, there have been sporadic reports by advocates of crackdowns targeting homeless people, such as last month when transit police at Toronto’s main train station forcibly removed people from bathrooms and shouted abuse at them. In a statement to The Associated Press, the city did not directly address the complaint but said it does not “condone, ignore or condone discrimination or harassment.”
Hundreds of activists protested in Vancouver against increased security in the run-up to the World Cup. One woman said the van she lived in with her pet rabbit was towed away last month.
The city is “sweeping homeless people under the carpet to make FIFA look like a clean city,” she said.
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Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press writers Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Jim Morris of Vancouver, British Columbia; Robert Gillies of Toronto; Charlotte Crammon of Atlanta; Heather Hollingsworth of Kansas City, Missouri; Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Jamie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.
