Americans resort to tents for shelter as housing crisis deepens
As the cost of living and inflation rises in the US, the quality of life for a wide spectrum of Americans declines. The lack of affordable housing, combined with inadequate policies to address the issue, has left vulnerable individuals in dreadful conditions.
A tsunami of evictions has swept across the US as the nation struggles with runaway inflation. The state of New Jersey, for example, provides a grim picture of the harsh reality, with rent prices hitting record highs. As a result of the broken housing system, many people have resorted to sleeping in tents, parks, cars, and abandoned houses.
Ocean County is one of many places in the US without a full-time shelter structure for homeless people to turn to. Minister Steve Brigham describes the situation as "a terrible shame," emphasizing that "there is no shelter for them to go to...that they have to sleep out in the woods."
Homelessness affects people from diverse backgrounds, whether it is inherited poverty or individuals who were once wealthy. The lack of security and loss of dignity is a common factor among the people who confront such harsh conditions. Angelo, for example, was once a Harvard student, but is now barely surviving in a muddy homeless camp.
RT Documentary’s new film, ‘US Homeless: The Fight for Equality,’ highlights the stories of the marginalized and their struggles of having their voices heard.