They’re affectionately called “the burrito people.” Or sometimes “the burrito slingers.” They’re easily recognizable by their bright yellow bicycle jerseys, T-shirts and welcoming smiles. Every Thursday evening, you can find them in the basement of the Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in the Des Moines East Village neighborhood. They’re volunteers for the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry […]
homelessness
Posted inCommunity/News
Street-level aid groups do battle with bulldozers and broken systems as Des Moines’ anti-homeless ordinances encroach
On Sept. 16, the Des Moines City Council passed a pair of ordinances designed to prevent unsheltered citizens from sleeping or living on public property. The first ordinance will make sleeping in public places like sidewalks, streets, doorways, pedestrian and vehicular entrances punishable by a $15 fine, and bans camping under bridges, in parks, and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Shelter House seeks assistance helping people affected by fire in Iowa City
A fire on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 4, destroyed much of an encampment near the Iowa River as it approaches the 1400 block of Gilbert Street in Iowa City. The individuals living there lost much of their possessions, and Shelter House is working to replace what was lost in the fire. “These people need new tents, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I am my sister’s keeper’: Trans femmes in Central Iowa share home and resources through the Trans Housing Project
Zoie Taylor has owned two houses, across the street from one another in her Des Moines neighborhood, for a while now. They’re hers outright, mortgages paid off. And for a while, she rented them out in the typical fashion. Until she met Em Cariglino. When Cariglino moved into the three-bedroom house across the street from […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cooler temperatures and cold attitudes towards Des Moines’ houseless spur supply drive — ‘We keep us safe’
As temperatures drop, the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Collective, Supply Hive and Des Moines Mutual Aid have joined forces to make sure unhoused people have access to warm clothing and supplies. ‼️ DONATION DRIVE ‼️ Supplies are needed for our houseless neighbors! ICYMI: last week @desmoinesgov destroyed the tents and belongings of many of […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Thriftmart, Joppa’s nonprofit thrift store, to open in Des Moines on Thursday
There’s almost nothing more satisfying to a shopper than when money from your purchases goes towards supporting a cause — especially when that cause is hyper-local, benefitting folks that live right in your community. Luckily for Des Moines residents, a new thrift store is opening on Euclid Avenue that offers just such an opportunity. Thriftmart […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines City Council member crowdfunds fine for man ticketed while panhandling
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Councilmember Indira Sheumaker raised more than enough money this month to pay a local man’s $95 ticket based on an ordinance she says “criminalizes poverty,” and may violate his First Amendment rights. Driving home on Sept. 17, Sheumaker, representative for Ward 1 on the Des Moines City Council, witnessed an individual being issued a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Every summer, lease gaps leave Iowa City renters scrambling for housing and storage
Paul Holdefer faced a worrying prospect. The University of Iowa graduate research assistant’s lease was set to expire July 25, a week before his new one began. He tried to negotiate a longer stay in his original apartment, “just to not be unhoused with all my stuff and my partner,” he said, “even offering to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ACLU of Iowa warns Coralville its panhandling ordinance is unconstitutional, calls for its repeal
The ACLU of Iowa sent a letter to Coralville and three other cities on Tuesday, warning that their ordinances against panhandling are unconstitutional. As part of an ongoing review of such ordinances in Iowa, the state chapter of the ACLU determined Coralville, Dubuque, Davenport and Bettendorf have bans on panhandling that “violate free speech and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Homelessness was increasing in Iowa. Then COVID-19 and the derecho hit.
A total of 2,647 Iowans were homeless on a single night in January 2020, a 14.3 percent increase from January 2019. The number of people experiencing homelessness in Iowa was increasing even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came the August 2020 derecho that caused nearly $4 billion in damage, with at least $83 million of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City teen Kasey Dawson overcame homelessness and loss to graduate high school. A year later, she’s still fighting for a place to call her own.
In January 2019, Little Village received an email submission from a City High senior named Kasey Dawson titled “My Life Story.” “I never understood what it meant to be depressed,” it began. Over a nearly 2,000-word essay, the 17-year-old reflected on her life, including the events that helped shape her depression: Her father robbing and […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Fillmore Center in Cedar Rapids will be used as a cooling center for people experiencing homelessness
With temperatures rising and many buildings closed to the public due to COVID-19, people experiencing homelessness or individuals who don’t have access to air conditioning have limited options for where they can go to cool off. On Wednesday, the Linn County Board of Supervisors approved using the county-owned Fillmore Center, 520 11th St NW, as […]
