Tent cities like Erie's can be found all over the country. "It is distressingly common,'' said Steve Berg, vice president for programs and policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The alliance doesn't keep statistics on the number of tent cities, but he said, "It has gotten worse since the start of the recession.'' [...]

Life changed for Peter Ruiz in the summer of 2011. Just a couple of days shy of his high school graduation, Ruiz, who is now 20 years old, was kicked out of his home. He had decided that he wanted to major in theater in college, and his adoptive mother objected – she was concerned, [...]

Darlene Greene, 50, had heard, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again," countless times from her husband, but the abuse didn't stop. "I wanted to believe it because it was easier than starting over," she said. "I was tired, scared and frustrated." It came to the point where her 15-year-old son was sleeping outside the [...]