News & Public Affairs

Homeless Memorial Day recognized in Tampa listen

12/22/10 Janelle Irwin
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Members of the Hillsborough County community gathered in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square in downtown Tampa last night to remember the lives of their homeless neighbors. WMNF's Janelle Irwin reports, residents showed their compassion by lighting 56 candles; each one representing one death.

"This year we will remember 56 homeless men and women who's names we know. They died from being hit by cars, by trains, drowning in local waterways and ponds, beatings, untreated medical conditions, and ...

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Hillsborough Homeless Coalition honors Homeless Heroes listen

11/15/10 Kelly Benjamin
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Tags: Betty Reed, Jim Joyce, Homeless, Homeless Coalition, homelessness, poverty

Last Friday, the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County presented their 2010 "Homeless Heroes" awards at their annual meeting in Westshore.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, The US's economy's ongoing recession has left more than an estimated 1.5 million Americans without a roof over their heads. Floridians in particular have been among the hardest hit with job losses, foreclosures, and people seeking government assistance in the state among the highest in the nati...

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Florida's homeless hate crimes law goes into effect Friday listen

09/30/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: hate crimes, homelessness, homeless

On Friday, prejudice-motivated assaults against people without homes become hate crimes in Florida. Earlier this week we brought you the first half of our interview with Neil Donovan, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Their report, “Hate Crimes Against The Homeless: America’s Growing Tide of Violence,” finds tha...

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Hate crimes against homeless on rise, especially in Florida listen

09/27/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: hate crimes, homelessness, homeless

A study from the National Coalition for the Homeless says that hate crimes against homeless people is on the rise. Their 11th annual report, Hate Crimes Against The Homeless: America’s Growing Tide of Violence, ranks Florida among the worst states for these hate crimes. Neil Donovan is their executive director.

Tune in tomorrow to [hear their specific findings about Florida](...

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St. Pete passes panhandling ban listen

06/04/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: panhandling, homeless, St. Petersburg, St pete city council, Wengay Newton

Residents flooded city hall in St. Pete last night to weigh in on a contentious ordinance that bans exchanging money curbside on major thoroughfares. The move, which the city council passed, was meant to curb roadside panhandling, but many were outraged about the new law’s collateral damage.

You see them on many of St. Pete’s I-275 on-ramps. They vary by age and background. Some have dogs; others come in a pair. But they a...

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Federal judge rules for St. Pete in homeless complaint listen

03/12/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: homeless, St. Petersburg, Bruce Wright

This week a federal judge ruled in favor of the City of St. Petersburg by dropping several counts of a lawsuit filed by members of the homeless community.

For reaction, WMNF spoke with homeless activist Reverend Bruce Wright, pastor and director of Refuge Ministries.

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Homeless vigil in downtown Tampa listen

12/21/09 Concetta DeLuco
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Tags: homeless

WMNF's Concetta DeLuco reports live from a homeless persons memorial going on in downtown Tampa.

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Osceola High School students go christmas caroling for the homeless. listen

12/08/09 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: homeless, Christmas, music, St. Petersburg

Dozens of St. Petersburg Community activists and students from Osceola High School get together each year to sing Christmas carols for the city's homeless. Sunday night the caroling stroll called “Still No Room at the Inn,” walked through downtown St. Petersburg to share songs, books, and food with the homeless.

John Stewart is an English teacher at Osceola High Sc who has worked with ASAP homeless service for over two decades. He organizes the carolin...

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Metropolitan Ministries Sees Significant Drop in Donations listen

11/25/09 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Metropolitan Ministries, Homelessness, volunteer, Thanksgiving, Christmas, poverty, nonprofit, Tampa nonprofit, homeless, Homeless Hillsborough County

Each Thanksgiving, Metropolitan Ministries distributes Thanksgiving food packages to thousands of Tampa Bay residents in need. This year, amid the throes of the worst financial crisis in recent history, they’re seeing more dire need than ever exacerbated by a major drop in donations.

As volunteers sort through boxes of spaghetti, stuffing and Jell-O, the line outside the Metropolitan Ministries food distribution center on Florida Avenue is strikingly long. People wait for what the nonprofi...

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