Read more about our organizing model. Families Tent cities have been a project of survival used by homeless families since the Great Depression. The Kensington Welfare Rights Union has set up over 50 tent cities in the past ten years because of the lack of affordable housing in Philadelphia. For three summers the city closed the shelter system, turning homeless families away when they applied for shelter. During these times our tent cities swelled to over fifty families.
Tent cities are encampments.
The people who live there find wood, nails and tarps and build homes for their families to live in. They pool their money and food stamps and accept donations of water, ice and food to make it through each day. Families are forced into these conditions by the lack of affordable housing. Study after study has documented the crisis of affordable housing for working class families in cities across the country. Tent cities provide them a place to stay and a community of people for support.