'Over the past eleven years, advocates and homeless shelter workers from around the country have received news reports of men, women and even children being harassed, kicked, set on fire, beaten to death, and even decapitated. Since 1999, the National Coalition for the Homeless has issued an annual report on hate crimes against the homeless.

During this time, our network of advocates has tracked and 1,074 acts of violence committed by housed individuals, resulting in 291 deaths of homeless people and 783 victims of non-lethal violence in 47 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC.'

Read more: 'Kicked, Set on fire, Beaten to Death': Rise of Violence Against America's Homeless