Gimme shelter: Why a city as poor as Philly has relatively fewer people living on the streets
Despite being America's poorest big city, Philly has a surprisingly low rate of street homelessness compared to other large cities. What's behind this counterintuitive trend?
Listen 12:23
Luke Dunn talks to a homeless man and takes down his contact to make sure he gets entered into the homeless database, and promises to return for a referral for an I.D. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Despite being America’s poorest big city, Philadelphia has surprisingly low rates of homelessness compared to other large cities like Los Angeles and New York. What’s behind this counterintuitive trend? On this episode of The Why, WHYY reporter Aaron Moselle explains how a combination of outreach and housing options are working to keep people off the streets.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
Brought to you by The Why
The Why
There’s more to every story if you take the time to tell it.
100-plus cities in the U.S. banned homeless camping this year. But will it work?
The burst of new laws follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling and reflects public frustration with record-high homelessness.
2 months ago
U.S. home prices have far outpaced paychecks. See what it looks like where you live
In nearly half of metro areas, buyers must make more than $100,000 to afford a median-priced home, a Harvard University report finds.
8 months ago
Chester County organizations to host ‘poverty simulation’
The simulation is intended to be a role-playing experience designed to give participants a glimpse of what someone may experience living a month in poverty.
11 months ago
Listen 1:05