Shanty towns built by the unemployed and destitute could be seen everywhere in the United States in the 1930s during the Great Depression. In 2008, a new financial crisis led to a modern version of shanty towns. Tent cities began popping up across America, sheltering the unemployed, destitute and the working poor in tents, garden sheds and little houses as homeless shelters filled beyond capacity, the National Coalition for the Homeless reported, citing a study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Others who faced the loss of their homes took refuge in their vehicles, or with family and friends, often couch surfing from night to night. Homelessness can be seen everywhere in Kansas, including rural communities in Southeast Kansas.
Homeless shelters in smaller cities such as Chanute and Pittsburg were consistently filled to capacity while open. Faith House executive director Murray Satterfield expressed in August 2016 the desire to expand the Chanute shelter’s capacity because the 12-bed facility had a waiting list and was getting calls every day from people needing somewhere to go. Faith House closed in July 2017 because the deadline for a grant covering half the annual budget was missed. With the shelter gone, Chanute Police Chief Raymond Hale answered the community’s questions in mid-October 2018 regarding a tent city that appeared on the north side of town, where 18 to 35 people were camping out.
“With the lack of very inexpensive housing, this is the greatest amount of homelessness I’ve ever seen. We have homeless people throughout the community because they have nowhere to go,” Hale said. “We have to address the poverty and the life choices.”
(Read more: Parsons Sun)