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How Bakersfield, California, and Burlington, Vermont, are addressing homelessness

Structures in a shelter pod community used for emergency housing in Burlington, Vermont. (Lisa Rathke/AP)
Structures in a shelter pod community used for emergency housing in Burlington, Vermont. (Lisa Rathke/AP)

The number of people experiencing homelessness reached a record high in 2023, up 12% from the previous year.

We check in on Burlington, Vermont, to see how the city is addressing homelessness by trying to provide shelter and affordable housing. Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks to Sarah Russell, special assistant to end homelessness in Burlington.

California has spent a lot of money trying to tackle homelessness.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with Christian Clegg, city manager of Bakersfield, California, about how the city made major progress to end chronic homelessness in 2020 and what’s caused the number of people experiencing homelessness to grow since then.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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