cities, where encampments have grown and become more common. The resulting homelessness crisis has reshaped life not just in Phoenix but also other U.S. Rising rates of poverty, mental illness and drug addiction also play roles. builds too little affordable housing, experts say. How did this become such a big problem? The U.S. It’s Joe and Debbie’s shop, where just existing within that restaurant has become incredibly difficult, but it’s also every other business in that neighborhood.” “But it’s also true that the rising homeless population has had dramatic impacts across cities. “The people suffering the most in these situations are those who are now living unsheltered in the streets,” Eli told me. But the Faillaces can’t find anyone to buy their restaurant, even as they’ve steadily reduced the price. Now, Debbie wants out of the neighborhood. The remains of a 20- to 24-week-old fetus were burned and left by a dumpster in November. Hundreds of crimes were reported, including four homicides. The police were called an average of eight times a day within a half-mile of the restaurant last year. People argue, fight and deal and use drugs, much of it out in the open. The turmoil surrounds them, Eli reported in a story published this weekend about the Faillaces’ plight. People from the encampment will often come into the restaurant, telling fantastical stories and asking for money. My colleague Eli Saslow spent dozens of hours with the Faillaces, their workers and customers at Old Station, which has become a front-row seat to chaos. But one of the country’s largest homeless encampments, with 1,100 people, has appeared within blocks of the shop. The Faillaces are not homeless themselves. Instead, America’s homelessness crisis disrupted their dreams. They planned to build up the business and eventually sell it for enough money to retire. Joe and Debbie Faillace opened a sandwich shop in Phoenix called Old Station Subs 37 years ago.
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