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piqer for: Global finds Technology and society
Prague-based media development worker from Poland with a journalistic background. Previously worked on digital issues in Brussels. Piqs about digital issues, digital rights, data protection, new trends in journalism and anything else that grabs my attention.
Bussed Out: Investigation Into How U.S. Cities Deal With Homeless
Many cities in the United States have been grappling with high numbers of homeless people. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development counted nearly 554,000 people without homes. To deal with the issue, the cities across the country developed a rather unsophisticated practice: they've been offering homeless people free one-way tickets to relocate, either back to their hometowns or elsewhere.
The first publication ever to do so, the Guardian carries out a nationwide assessment of this strategy, looking closely at its long-term effects.
"Where are these people being moved to? What impact are these programs having on the cities that send and the cities that receive them? And what happens to these homeless people after they reach their destination? In an 18-month investigation, the Guardian has conducted the first detailed analysis of America’s homeless relocation programs, compiling a database of around 34,240 journeys and analyzing their effect on cities and people," the Guardian describes its project.
The Guardian's investigation ticks all the boxes for a good and worthy read. It explores an underreported topic, which definitely deserves attention and discussion. Combining a rich dataset with personal testimonials, it shows both the big picture and the detailed insights of the problem. The remarkable depth and breadth of data visualization, together with an amazing attention to detail exhibited through powerful images and videos, make the project feel complete. It's so well-thought that it even features an action button that allows an immediate donation to the National Low Income Housing Coalition to maximise the impact.
Most importantly, though, the Guardian doesn't try to give us a clear-cut judgement. Nor does it fall into the trap of moralizing. As we find in the article, there are homeless in the U.S. who benefited from the relocation programs, others who felt mishandled, and still more who literally ended up back to where they started.
