The number of people sleeping on the streets climbed to an estimated 226 000 in 2020, a rise of more than 50 000 in five years, states the US Department for Housing and Urban Development. In response, some cities are setting up legally authorised, ‘sanctioned’ encampments, with supporters saying they are safer than the streets, and critics saying they are part of a broader push to criminalise homelessness.
As Covid-19 swept across the United States, 63-year-old Elisheyah Denise McKinley lost her home in Phoenix, Arizona – and was told her only option was to put up a tent in a parking lot. The camp allowed people to pitch
