As Economic Woes Mount, Homeless Plan to Vote

Single mother Mary White worked as a sales clerk until the bank foreclosed on the home she rented.

Tossed out on the street with her six boys, she lost her deposit and her job. Now she is revved up to vote in November. "My situation is going to make me want to vote even more," she said.

"I want to say that this should not be happening to people in America, and I am very angry and upset about it."

White, 42, is among many homeless people eager to cast a vote in an election year dominated by the shaky U.S. economy and a deepening housing crisis.

The U.S. government estimates that more than 400,000 people around the country sleep in homeless shelters each night, with many more on the streets, under bridges and in parked cars. Advocacy groups say that some 3.5 million Americans will find themselves homeless at some point in a year.

As home foreclosures passed the 2 million mark last year, organizations offering emergency accommodation say they are fielding more calls from families facing homelessness as they struggle to keep up with mortgages, rent and bills.

Specific figures are not available, but advocacy groups say many people who have lost their homes are particularly motivated to cast their votes this time around, because they feel they have more at stake.

"Low income and homeless people are more energized than I have ever seen before," said Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition of the Homeless.