{"id":8498,"date":"2026-06-09T03:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7670174\/some-host-cities-are-aiming-to-house-not-arrest-homeless-people-ahead-of-the-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T14:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:16:07","slug":"some-host-cities-are-aiming-to-house-not-arrest-homeless-people-ahead-of-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8498\/some-host-cities-are-aiming-to-house-not-arrest-homeless-people-ahead-of-the-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Some host cities are aiming to house, not arrest, homeless people ahead of the World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Just a mile from Atlanta’s stadium, which will welcome tens of thousands of fans to World Cup games<\/a> this month, dozens of people were camped out on a downtown sidewalk waiting for a homeless shelter to open.<\/p>\n

Some slept in sleeping bags, face masks over their eyes to block out the afternoon sun. Others sat on the sidewalk eating from cereal boxes. Shoes lay scattered alongside empty mini-liquor bottles. A boom box blasted a Jay-Z song: \u201cThis can\u2019t be right, there\u2019s gotta be more.\u201d <\/p>\n

Atlanta announced an ambitious plan last summer to end encampments and other street sleeping downtown ahead of the 39-day soccer spectacular that begins Thursday. Called Downtown Rising, the program said it has housed nearly 500 people. But the scene on a recent afternoon outside this shelter on Pryor Street was a visceral reminder that Atlanta has not reached everyone.<\/p>\n

Atlanta is one of several of the cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico using the attention that comes with hosting the world’s premier soccer tournament<\/a> to address homelessness. Seattle announced a housing push and said it was using the World Cup to gauge its progress. Dallas said it was expanding a successful effort to house homeless people living downtown.<\/p>\n

A survey by The Associated Press<\/a> found, however, that most of the 16 venues, including New York<\/a>, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are relying on existing programs \u2014 most without any new funding tied to the World Cup \u2014 to address homelessness. <\/p>\n

Growing tent encampments have bedeviled urban leaders for years. Federal data showed a double-digit percentage increase<\/a> in homelessness nationwide from 2023 to 2024, when 770,000 people were counted as homeless \u2014 a number acknowledged as an undercount. That was followed by a slight decrease last year to 745,652.<\/p>\n

In the past, many cities have treated the homeless as an eyesore to be removed ahead of big sporting and political events. <\/p>\n

During last year’s Super Bowl, New Orleans<\/a> spent millions of dollars clearing away tent encampments near the Superdome and moving the homeless into a temporary warehouse. Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics<\/a>, migrants were bused out of the city until the Games ended. Chicago removed one of its biggest encampments ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events provide a choice for communities,\u201d said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. \u201cThey can do the easy thing and sweep people out of encampments and into jails or other neighborhoods, or they can do the harder work that will benefit everyone in the community \u2014 housed or unhoused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atlanta seeks to house downtown homeless<\/p>\n

As host of the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta removed some 9,000 homeless people<\/a> to a newly built detention center. It gave others one-way bus tickets out of town and launched \u201cOperation Olympus,\u201d detaining hundreds of people to reduce crime.<\/p>\n

But this time around, the city was determined to do things differently. <\/p>\n

It has raised $185 million in state and city funding, as well as corporate grants and other donations, toward a goal of $235 million, with the aim of housing 3,900 people citywide by next year. The latest city count last year showed there were some 2,900 homeless people citywide, about a third living in encampments or on the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will always be homeless people on our streets, more than likely, unfortunately,\u201d said Cathryn Vassell, the CEO of Partners for HOME, the organization tasked with creating and executing Atlanta\u2019s homelessness strategy. The goal is \u201cto be able to identify them and quickly exit them into shelter, resources, services, and then ultimately housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Downtown Rising has helped Michael Sutton turn his life around. In foster care since he was an infant, he bounced from family to family. For most of the past decade, the 31-year-old slept in train stations, parks, abandoned buildings and homeless shelters.<\/p>\n

Since September, Sutton has had a one-bedroom apartment in an Atlanta suburb and a case worker. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has rough days, and being able to go home or vent to yourself about it, relaxing in your own home \u2026 is priceless,\u201d Sutton said. <\/p>\n

But not everyone can be helped.<\/p>\n

Some homeless people recoil at shelter rules, lack the documents to quickly move into permanent housing or have complicated drug and mental health challenges, or nomadic lifestyles that make them difficult to reach.<\/p>\n

Tommy Elam said he’s been on numerous housing lists, but nothing has happened \u2014 though he’s hard to find. His phone was stolen countless times and he doesn\u2019t currently have one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t know where I\u2019m at,\u201d said Elam, who’s been homeless since early 2020 and spent the last three months sleeping on the sidewalk near the Pryor Street homeless shelter, his latest spot since a crackdown on the encampment where he lived near the Georgia State Capitol building.<\/p>\n

Standing outside the downtown supportive housing center where he now lives, Willie Jackson, who spent years on the streets, said he knows people who\u2019ve been helped by the Downtown Rising initiative. But he’s skeptical it will lead to lasting change after the World Cup \u2014 or that it\u2019s made a significant impact on downtown\u2019s homelessness problem. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust look around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

No more tents in Dallas<\/p>\n

Two years ago, it was hard to miss the hundreds of tents around Dallas City Hall.<\/p>\n

But ahead of the World Cup, there were no tent encampments downtown, where FIFA\u2019s broadcast center is set up, or at the nearby fan zone. The matches will be played at Dallas’ stadium in suburban Arlington.<\/p>\n

Sarah Kahn, president and CEO of Housing Forward, which leads the homelessness response for Dallas and nearby Collin counties, said a $30 million campaign since 2024 reduced the number of people sleeping on downtown streets by 87% and placed some 2,000 into permanent housing.<\/p>\n

In March, an additional $28 million was allocated to expand countywide, with a goal of providing 1,100 people housing, the agency said. Outreach workers deploy daily within a quarter-mile of transit hubs, the fan zone and the FIFA broadcast center to find anyone sleeping outside and offer services, it said. <\/p>\n

Elisabeth Jordan, founder of The Human Impact, which helps the chronically homeless, praised the initiative as \u201cthe single greatest change … in homeless response in Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she criticized Dallas police tactics that included zip-tying and removing people who remained after their encampments were cleared. Dozens of people from one encampment were housed in May, but about 20 who remained were detained, she said. In a statement, the Dallas police department called such detentions \u201cstandard practice\u201d for people \u201cviolating the prohibited camping law\u201d and who refuse housing. <\/p>\n

Kacey Coker, who spent years on the streets or in jail, described a dramatic improvement in how the homeless are treated. Authorities used to \u201ccome through with a bulldozer and take our stuff and throw it away,\u201d said the 51-year-old, who lost her birth certificate and social security card in those sweeps.<\/p>\n

In May, she was offered a subsidized one-bedroom apartment for a few hundred dollars a month. For the first time, Coker feels safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can actually build something,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Tiny homes emerge in Seattle<\/p>\n

At a vacant lot several miles from Seattle’s stadium, workers were putting the final touches last week on 75 tiny homes.<\/p>\n

The 70-square-foot units with a bed, space heater and air conditioner are part of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s ambitious plan to open 500 units of new shelter by the start of the World Cup.<\/p>\n

It’s a goal she acknowledges she has missed \u2014 by 425 units. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Cup …. provided just kind of a good goal post,\u201d Wilson told the AP in an interview, saying the city will open an additional 228 beds by the end of the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you put a number out there, that has the advantage of galvanizing people,\u201d but it can also be framed as a failure if you miss it, Wilson said. \u201cSo, I really hope that the message … is look, we are making progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homelessness advocates said they weren’t surprised Wilson didn’t meet such a lofty goal within six months of election. The World Cup isn’t what’s important; getting people housed is, they added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy that anything has happened so far,\u201d said Bruce Drager of Ballard Community Task Force on Homeless and Hunger near where the tiny homes were built.<\/p>\n

Camped out with his wife between a sidewalk and train tracks just blocks from the stadium, Chris Moore said he hasn’t heard about the city’s housing plans. <\/p>\n

A large encampment nearby has been cleared twice in the five months since he’s been there, said Moore, who’s been homeless for eight years. But dozens of tents were back again a week before the first game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess because the World Cup\u2019s coming, you don\u2019t want homeless people around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Inglewood spruces up the stadium area<\/p>\n

In Inglewood, California, site of the Los Angeles area stadium, roads were squeaky clean and paved with fresh asphalt. Bright flowers filled planters downtown and near the stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no homeless in Inglewood,\u201d Mayor James Butts told the AP when asked about the city’s plans for housing people living on the streets ahead of the World Cup. \u201cJust look at the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Inglewood’s’ homeless count last year was small \u2014 just under 400, about a third of whom were living on the street in the city of 100,000 people \u2014 compared to LA, where 43,695 homeless were counted in the city of 3.8 million-plus.<\/p>\n

But less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the stadium and just outside Inglewood city limits, the nonprofit St. Margaret\u2019s Center was handing out dozens of sack lunches for the homeless on a recent morning. <\/p>\n

Carter Hewgley, who oversees strategic partnerships at LA County\u2019s Homeless Services and Housing Department, said it has secured three motel sites ahead of the World Cup \u2014 \u201cnot because there’s games, but because there’s homeless.\u201d The sites, including in Inglewood, range from 54 to 104 rooms. The agency also maintains tens of thousands of shelter beds, he said.<\/p>\n

In Toronto and Vancouver, business as usual<\/p>\n

In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver said they were relying on their already extensive services to provide thousands of shelter beds and temporary housing rooms, as well as outreach to those living on the streets. Vancouver has also set up centers where matches will be shown. Both said there were no plans to relocate homeless people ahead of the games.<\/p>\n

Still, there were sporadic reports by advocates of crackdowns targeting homeless people.<\/p>\n

In Toronto, where Canada’s largest shelter system supports more than 8,500 people each night, advocates held a rally last month denouncing what they said were transit police tactics aggressively targeting the homeless at the city\u2019s main train station. <\/p>\n

Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union said its survey of dozens of homeless people found some forcibly removed from lavatories and elsewhere, and subjected to verbal abuse by transit police. In a statement to the AP, the city did not directly address the complaints but said it doesn’t \u201ctolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment.\u201d <\/p>\n

In Vancouver, hundreds of activists held a protest in April over increased security ahead of the World Cup. A 2025 count showed 2,715 homeless people, some in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side area near the stadium.<\/p>\n

Last month, at a downtown park where homeless people are allowed to stay overnight, Harley Ransom was resting in his tent and said he’s seen aggressive tactics.<\/p>\n

Nearby, Francesca Crane, who said the van she lived in with her pet rabbits had been towed away, accused the city of \u201csweeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA to make it look like a clean city, no homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are catering to people from other countries but stepping on the people of their own city and province,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat they\u2019re doing is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Manuel Valdes in Seattle; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia; Robert Gillies in Toronto; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Tommy Elam sits on a sidewalk with his belongings in downtown Atlanta on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/R.J. Rico)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Michael G Sutton poses for a photo, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Decatur, Ga. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Chris Moore airs out blankets that got wet during the previous day’s rain at his makeshift tent near Seattle Stadium, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer matches Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo\/Lindsey Wasson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A worker inspects the top of a Pallet Shelter unit being installed in Seattle on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The single-bed units, made of composite panels, are part of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s plan to expand shelter for the city’s homeless. (AP Photo\/Manuel Valdes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Just a mile from Atlanta’s stadium, which will welcome tens of thousands of fans to World Cup games this month, dozens of people were camped out on a downtown sidewalk waiting for a homeless shelter to open. Some slept in sleeping bags, face masks over their eyes to block out the afternoon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":8499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"4760da82-aa10-4dd1-aa8e-a95ce83b37c7","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Michael Casey, R.j. Rico And Charlotte Kramon","published":"2026-06-09 03:06:06","updated":"2026-06-09 14:14:54","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1867,1737,1868,1869,1738,1870],"tags":[],"region":[1686,1687,1688,1696,1692,1835],"class_list":["post-8498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa","category-international","category-soccer","category-sports","category-world","category-world-cup","region-british-columbia","region-canada","region-ontario","region-toronto","region-vancouver","region-world"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8498\/some-host-cities-are-aiming-to-house-not-arrest-homeless-people-ahead-of-the-world-cup\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Some host cities are aiming to house, not arrest, homeless people ahead of the World Cup","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8498\/some-host-cities-are-aiming-to-house-not-arrest-homeless-people-ahead-of-the-world-cup\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8498\/some-host-cities-are-aiming-to-house-not-arrest-homeless-people-ahead-of-the-world-cup\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-c09dd20c990ddad245ea9ec5f60a6738e68d37528ef16c64ba21d1aaa03bd6ab.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-c09dd20c990ddad245ea9ec5f60a6738e68d37528ef16c64ba21d1aaa03bd6ab.jpg"},"articleSection":"FIFA","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNhome","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-06-09T10:06:06Z","datePublished":"2026-06-09T10:06:06Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T21:16:07Z"},"rendered":"