Hate Crimes against the Homeless: America’s Growing Tide of Violence, a report released by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), states that at least 43 homeless individuals were killed in the past year. These violent attacks appear to have been motivated by hatred or bias specifically aimed at homeless persons, most often middle-aged men. Most of these crimes occurred in Florida and California, but attacks were recorded in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. More than 1,000 of these attacks have occurred since 1999.
Within the report, different incidents of violence are described in more detail and legislation that has come out around the issue is presented and discussed. NCH’s recommendations include that homeless status be made a part of the federal hate crimes statute and that awareness training be conducted for those working in law enforcement agencies. The New York Times article on the report is available here.
