News & Public Affairs

St. Pete's homeless protest Mayor Baker's farewell party listen

11/09/09 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: Homelessness, protests, Mayor Baker, Rick Baker, Food Not Bombs, St. Pete for Peace

Saturday night, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker was given a farewell celebration at Demens Park, courtesy of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The event was protested by homeless activists who believe that Mayor Baker’s record deserves scrutiny for his mistreatment of the homeless population.

A small bridge and a waterway separated the attendees of Mayor Baker’s farewell party from the homeless protesters outside. Tickets for the farewell celebration ranged from $125 up to $10,000. ...

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Hillsborough County Commission Considers Homeless Shelter at Abandoned Mall listen

10/21/09 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Hillsborough County Democratic Party, Hillsborough County, Homelessness, Homeless Hillsborough County

This morning the Hillsborough County Commission voted unanimously to explore the possibility converting the site of the now-defunct Floriland Mall into a homeless shelter.

Commissioner Kevin White cited the county’s desperate need for such a facility as a major reason for placing the item on the morning’s agenda.

The site is located at Florida Avenue and Busch Boulevard. County offices once occupied part of the building, but much of that space is now vacant due to cutbacks. Proponents ...

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The Fight Against Poverty and Homelessness

09/15/09 Robert Lorei
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Tags: poverty, Homelessness, St. Peterburg, g-20

Welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up today we'll speak with Rev. Bruce Wright who is a minister in St. Petersburg. He's active on homeless issues and this weekend he's planning to travel to the G-20 Summit meeting in Pittsburgh. Wright says among the people traveling with him will be several members of the local homeless community.

FMI 727-278-1547; http://www.economichumanrights.org; http://www.bailoutthepeople.org;

bgcwright@aol.com

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Homeless veterans and others receive services and health care in Hyde Park listen

08/14/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Homelessness

Today, members of the homeless community in Tampa received services, toiletries, clothing, and basic health care at the Hyde Park United Methodist Church.

The fair is co-sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County.

Patrick Conway currently resides in the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans, or DCHV, in Tampa. He says it’s a great alternative to living on the streets.

The DCHV where Conway resides ha...

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Ranks of homeless in Pinellas swell listen

05/08/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Homelessness, Pinellas County

A report says that homelessness in Pinellas County has risen by 20 percent since 2007.

The Pinellas Coalition for the Homeless announced that a total of 6,235 are homeless, after conducting a count in the last week of January. And the report show a 100 percent increase in homeless children.

Sarah Synder is the executive director of the Pinellas County Coalition of the Homeless. She says the bad economy is the #1 factor in the increase.

Meanwhile, there will be a benefit for a Pinell...

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Washington's battle against America's veterans

02/18/09 Robert Lorei
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Tags: veterans, PTSD, Iraq Invasion, Afghanistan War, homelessness

Good afternoon, welcome to WMNF’s Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up: we’ll look at the way returning veterans from Iraq are being treated by our government.

But first several listener comments about yesterday’s debate over the Employee Free Choice Act between a spokesperson for the Florida AFL-CIO and the President of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Our guest today is Aaron Glantz, he is the author of the new book *The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veter...

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Hillsborough Homeless Coalition doing more with less listen

01/29/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Hillsborough County, homelessness, homeless count, Tampa

The head of the Coalition for the Homeless in Hillsborough County says his organization is trying to do more with less this year.

Rayme Nuckles told the Tampa City Council that when the Coalition does its annual count of the homeless next month, he expects to have a higher count than a year ago. And, he says the organization will be doing the count with fewer dollars.

Nuckles said he has great hopes for the economic stimulus package that passed the House of Representatives Wednesday nig...

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Hillsborough to count homeless population next month listen

01/21/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Hillsborough County, homelessness, homeless count

Next month, the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County will be conducting its annual count of the homeless.

From 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Feb. 26, the Coalition will be going through the county. According to Lesa Weikel, community relations manager for the Coalition, they’re going to need lots of volunteers.

Additionally, at least 10,000 pairs of new socks and ponchos are needed to be handed out to the homeless during the count.

Last week, the Homelessness Research Institute of the N...

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Discussion on criminalization of the mentally ill

01/15/09 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Risdon Slate, mental illness, homelessness, schizophrenia, veterans, bipolar

Good afternoon,

Welcome to WMNF’s Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Thanks to Mitch Perry for filling in for me while I was away. Our guest today is Florida Southern College Professor Risdon Slate who has co-written a new book with Wesley Johnson called The Criminalization of Mental Illness in Florida.

According to our guest: "In 1955, there were over 559,000 residents in state (mental) hospitals in the United States. Today there are less than 60,000 residents…… Where has some of this shi...

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Violence against the homeless on the rise in Pinellas listen

12/29/08 Andrea Lypka
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Tags: Homelessness, violence, Pinellas County

The number of homeless people in Pinellas County is increasing and violence against these people is also on the rise. Florida ranks the first in the country for violence against homeless persons, according to the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless.

A 60-year old Vietnam War veteran known as Pops sleeps by St. Petersburg City Hall with his son, Daniel. He has been living in the streets for four and a half years and prior to that he was an engineer. “I am a decorated veteran. I spent...

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