The truth is that government aid to the unsheltered doesn’t enable homelessness, instead it provides the homeless and those at risk of homelessness with the resources to become more autonomous.
Housing first is no doubt a good policy in theory but what do you do when the city's construction of this housing moves at a glacial pace? There has to be an intermediate place for homeless individuals to go or else Portland will be a tent city for the next ten years.
It's crazy to me that homeless people in Oregon have to wait for YEARS on a waiting list just to access government-provided housing. Until they get that housing, they have no choice but to live on the streets. The homeless crisis is exacerbated by lawmakers' stinginess with funding, and until cities receive more funding to create more housing units, tent cities will continue to sprout up and waiting lists will continue to lengthen. Funding, funding, funding is the solution.
Holding your compassionate, wasteful, and incompetent government responsible is the first step. Portland, in my 30 years here, has delegated this once great city via mismanagement, to a dystopian shit-hole. Not a single person from the lowliest pauper to the ruling political elite have suffered yet a setback in years. Taxed to death and no services to show for it. Start there.
Maybe funding was the problem, but after the $258M from the PDX 2016 bond, $652M from the 2018 Metro edition, an (overestimated) $2.5B over 10 years from the 2020 Metro services measure, and a redirection of the marijuana revenue towards addiction services, I'm kind of having a hard time seeing how the money isn't there.
I'm sorry, but, I'm Not going to feel sorry for most Homeless people! Most of them put themselves there and then blame someone else! Most of them are: Runaways (their choice) Convicted Felons (their choice) Drug Addicts (their choice)!! Most of them made their own choices and that's why they can't Rent, Work, and some of them like being out there. Let's just say If I was high on Drugs and got in a fight at My Apartments and was convicted of a Felony, and then I get kicked out of My Apartment, and can't rent anywhere else,, Would You Feel Sorry For Me??
Tend to agree. Want a place to live? Don't break the law. Don't do drugs. Drug decriminalization IS attracting people to Oregon and making things worse. The idea this isn't a drug and mental illness problem is a joke. Ask a homeless person the percent, they'll say 90+%.
As well, it's not government's fault homeless "don't like shelters." They're providing a temporary solution and quite literally, beggars can't be choosers. It's like starting for food and saying, walking into a seafood buffet and saying oh but sorry I don't eat fish.
Also, Jared, you have to understand why it takes a long time to build in this area: the liberal policies and politicians our constituents elect. It starts with onerous regulation and code and permitting processes that make it expensive and nearly impossible to build without massive wealth. Second, we all know bringing cost down is relstigr to supply available. We now have policies forcing builders to limit the units they build. Portland passed a law mandating any apartment building with more than 20 units offer section 8 housing. We'll wouldn't ya know, NO ONE is now building apartment buildings with more than 19 rooms. It completely undercuts the need for more rooms.
Pro tip: if you add a link, make it unbiased. "Coalition for the Homeless" isn't. You never cited the academic study you mentioned, their do they in the link provided. One problem with homelessness is the incentive to not fix the problem. CFTH has every incentive to keep govt grants rolling in if the problem isn't solved. In LA, 20 or more people in Homeless Services make more than $100,000, some up to $250k. If the problem disappears, so does their income.
Housing first is no doubt a good policy in theory but what do you do when the city's construction of this housing moves at a glacial pace? There has to be an intermediate place for homeless individuals to go or else Portland will be a tent city for the next ten years.
It's crazy to me that homeless people in Oregon have to wait for YEARS on a waiting list just to access government-provided housing. Until they get that housing, they have no choice but to live on the streets. The homeless crisis is exacerbated by lawmakers' stinginess with funding, and until cities receive more funding to create more housing units, tent cities will continue to sprout up and waiting lists will continue to lengthen. Funding, funding, funding is the solution.
Holding your compassionate, wasteful, and incompetent government responsible is the first step. Portland, in my 30 years here, has delegated this once great city via mismanagement, to a dystopian shit-hole. Not a single person from the lowliest pauper to the ruling political elite have suffered yet a setback in years. Taxed to death and no services to show for it. Start there.
Maybe funding was the problem, but after the $258M from the PDX 2016 bond, $652M from the 2018 Metro edition, an (overestimated) $2.5B over 10 years from the 2020 Metro services measure, and a redirection of the marijuana revenue towards addiction services, I'm kind of having a hard time seeing how the money isn't there.
I'm sorry, but, I'm Not going to feel sorry for most Homeless people! Most of them put themselves there and then blame someone else! Most of them are: Runaways (their choice) Convicted Felons (their choice) Drug Addicts (their choice)!! Most of them made their own choices and that's why they can't Rent, Work, and some of them like being out there. Let's just say If I was high on Drugs and got in a fight at My Apartments and was convicted of a Felony, and then I get kicked out of My Apartment, and can't rent anywhere else,, Would You Feel Sorry For Me??
Tend to agree. Want a place to live? Don't break the law. Don't do drugs. Drug decriminalization IS attracting people to Oregon and making things worse. The idea this isn't a drug and mental illness problem is a joke. Ask a homeless person the percent, they'll say 90+%.
As well, it's not government's fault homeless "don't like shelters." They're providing a temporary solution and quite literally, beggars can't be choosers. It's like starting for food and saying, walking into a seafood buffet and saying oh but sorry I don't eat fish.
Also, Jared, you have to understand why it takes a long time to build in this area: the liberal policies and politicians our constituents elect. It starts with onerous regulation and code and permitting processes that make it expensive and nearly impossible to build without massive wealth. Second, we all know bringing cost down is relstigr to supply available. We now have policies forcing builders to limit the units they build. Portland passed a law mandating any apartment building with more than 20 units offer section 8 housing. We'll wouldn't ya know, NO ONE is now building apartment buildings with more than 19 rooms. It completely undercuts the need for more rooms.
Pro tip: if you add a link, make it unbiased. "Coalition for the Homeless" isn't. You never cited the academic study you mentioned, their do they in the link provided. One problem with homelessness is the incentive to not fix the problem. CFTH has every incentive to keep govt grants rolling in if the problem isn't solved. In LA, 20 or more people in Homeless Services make more than $100,000, some up to $250k. If the problem disappears, so does their income.
bringing cost down is *relative* to supply available.