Why US libraries are on the frontlines of the homelessness crisis

‘Many libraries have added social workers to their staff,’ said Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, the American Library Association president. Photograph: Dan Pelle/AP

Libraries across the US are increasingly on the frontlines of America’s homelessness crisis, especially during a winter marked by cold snaps and in the wake of the tailing off of the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen many public institutions reopen.

This month two Denver-area libraries closed due to methamphetamine contamination, with library officials from Englewood, Colorado, reporting increased drug use this winter and citing an uptick in homeless people using the library since its pandemic reopening.