The Washington DC based National Coalition for the Homeless says 61 percent of local and state homeless organizations have registered an increase in homeless people since 2007. The problem is being attributed to home repossessions, the credit crunch and rising unemployment.
The picture shows just such a tent city in Reno, Nevada. Reno suffers from one of the highest home repossession rates in the United States and this tent city sprung up to a population of 150 people very quickly. Sylvia Finn, 51, tells of how she lost her job in Northern California, couldn't keep up with rent payments and has little choice but to settle here. Soup kitchens in the area report serving hundreds of more people a day than usual.
