Meet Cameron Sheppard, a Murrow fellow who will be covering homelessness issues for TNT

I grew up in Tacoma, and it is an honor to write and report for my hometown newspaper. I graduated from Silas High School, back when it was called Wilson. This beautiful and imperfect community means a lot to me, and I feel privileged to live and work here.

Previously I worked for Sound Publishing covering local government, crime, healthcare, environmental issues as well as arts and culture. I also covered homelessness in King County, where I reported on regional responses to the issue as well as the policies and programs implemented by city governments across the region.

For the next two years I will be covering homelessness in Pierce County as part of a fellowship program through Washington State University. The issue is highly intersectional, so I will be reporting on how public policy, housing economy, health and community intertwine to create the conditions that cause people to become unhoused. I will also be reporting how those things interact as we look for solutions to the crisis our community is faces.

In the coming months I hope my coverage will challenge preconceived ideas and notions about homelessness and the people affected by it. I will work hard to hold policy makers and public agencies accountable for the public dollars they spend and the solutions they attempt to implement. I hope to take a data-driven approach to both celebrate successful efforts that reduce homelessness in Pierce County while also shedding light on the systems that are not working.

I look forward to meeting the folks that are doing the work to end homelessness in our community everyday, hearing the stories of those who have been impacted, and asking questions intended to improve understanding of this complex issue.