KCUR
Aerial view of the Woody Park encampment for the homeless in a small park northwest of downtown Lawrence, Kansas.
The situation has become worrisome enough that organizations are trying new ideas and in some cases teaming up to address a long-running need.
It may not have been perfect, but Leslie Vaughn’s delicate financial balance had always worked for her until this year.
Most of the time she had two jobs – “I’m not afraid of hard work,” she says – and her partner got contract work cleaning for businesses. The couple needed to replace the car, but a tax refund was supposed to take care of that.