%3Cp%3EFrom%20New%20Internationalist%20--According%20to%20this%20page%2C%20there%20are%20over%201%2C600%20million%20people%20worldwide%20who%20live%20with%20%27life-threatening%27%20and%20%27health-threatening%27%20illnesses%20and%20conditions.%20This%20involves%20overcrowded%20spaces%20and%20a%20lack%20of%20fundamental%20materials%20and%20services.%20-%20That%20figure%20is%20about%20one%20third%20of%20the%20world%27s%20population.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%3Cblockquote%3E%26%23147%3B%26nbsp%3BBad%20housing%2C%20poor%20diet%20and%20an%20unhealthy%20physical%20environment%20cause%20tuberculosis%20to%20flourish%3B%20poor%20sanitation%20and%20water%20supplies%20foster%20diarrhoeal%20diseases.%20This%20chart%20shows%20how%20many%20%27life%20days%27%204%20are%20lost%20on%20average%20per%20person%20in%20each%20region%20of%20the%20world%20from%20these%20two%20causes%20alone.%26nbsp%3B%26%23148%3B%3C%2Fblockquote%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EFrom%20Yahoo%20News%20--%20%20According%20to%20a%20new%20report%20that%20says%20most%20states%20have%20inadequate%20plans%20to%20address%20the%20worsening%20and%20often-overlooked%20problem%2C%20one%20of%20every%20fifty%20American%20children%20experiences%20homelessness%20at%20some%20point%20in%20their%20lives.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%3Cblockquote%3E%26ldquo%3B%26nbsp%3B%22We%20need%20to%20make%20it%20safe%20for%20kids%20to%20ask%20for%20help%2C%22%20said%20Becca%20Orchard%20of%20StandUp%20for%20Kids%20in%20Atlanta.%20%22The%20focus%20is%20on%20the%20homeless%20adults%20because%20we%20can%20see%20them%2C%20and%20they%27re%20a%20nuisance.%20We%20can%27t%20see%20the%20kids%2C%20so%20we%20don%27t%20think%20they%27re%20there.%22%26nbsp%3B%20New%20York%20was%20ranked%2038th%2C%20worst%20of%20any%20northeastern%20state.%20According%20to%20New%20York%20City%27s%20Coalition%20for%20the%20Homeless%2C%20the%20number%20of%20families%20in%20municipal%20shelters%20reached%20a%20record%20high%20at%20the%20end%20of%20November%20-%209%2C720%20families%2C%20the%20most%20since%20the%20city%20began%20reporting%20such%20data%2025%20years%20ago.%26nbsp%3B%26rdquo%3B%3C%2Fblockquote%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EFrom%20ABC%20News%20--%26nbsp%3BCarissa%20Phelps%20ran%20away%20from%20home%20at%20age%2012%20and%20spent%20years%20as%20a%20homeless%20youth.%20%20Her%20life%26nbsp%3B%20is%20the%20subject%20of%20a%20documentary%20called%20%22Clarissa.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22By%20age%2013%2C%20she%20was%20fully%20immersed%20in%20a%20world%20of%20prostitution%2C%20violence%2C%20rape%20and%20homelessness.%26nbsp%3B%20Amazingly%20though%2C%20Phelps%20fought%20back%20and%20went%20on%20to%20graduate%20from%20UCLA%27s%20law%20school%20and%20business%20school%20with%20an%20MBA%20degree.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EFrom%20The%20New%20York%20Times%20--%20%20The%20Veterans%20Affairs%20Department%20and%20aid%20groups%20say%20they%20are%20bracing%20for%20a%20new%20surge%20in%20homeless%20veterans%20in%20the%20years%20ahead.%20%20More%20than%20400%20veterans%20of%20the%20Iraq%20and%20Afghanistan%20wars%20have%20turned%20up%20homeless%20in%20the%20recent%20past.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22We%27re%20beginning%20to%20see%2C%20across%20the%20country%2C%20the%20first%20trickle%20of%20this%20generation%20of%20warriors%20in%20homeless%20shelters%2C%26rdquo%3B%20said%20Phil%20Landis%2C%20chairman%20of%20Veterans%20Village%20of%20San%20Diego%2C%20a%20residence%20and%20counseling%20center.%20%26ldquo%3BBut%20we%20anticipate%20that%20it%26rsquo%3Bs%20going%20to%20be%20a%20tsunami.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A