I have a lot of ideas and still think about homelessness everyday. I feel horrible that things have not gotten any better and people are still dying on the streets of Cleveland. The shelters are overwhelmed, opioids are still out of control and there are fewer people and agencies out there to help. I fear that we will spend the next generation trying to rebuild government and societal norms to the point that we will never get back to turning our weapons of conflict into plowshares. I am sad to say that poverty and homelessness will be a permanent part of the American landscape for decades to come. I feel bad that I am not helping anymore, but not too bad. I really think that I would have had an ulcer or heart failure worrying about the 100,000 desperate people in Cleveland or the milliions in the United States.
I worked with people who are not beaten down who think we can end homelessness in America, but after 40 years of continued growth it just seems like torture to keep hoping. There are not many idealists left, but there are a couple of overly optimistic people working in the trenches. I know social service providers in many cities who are waiting for the federal government to swoop in and save the day. We have to face the reality that the federal government will never ever be able to rebuild housing while serving the emergency needs of a segment of the population. There has to be a division of labor with every group drafted into the struggle and clear lines of responsibility.
I need to put down the information I learned. I need to put in writing all that I have learned from talking to thousands of homeless people over the years. I have written more about homelessness than any other person in Cleveland. I have asked more local people living in poverty their ideas for change than anyone else. I learned so much from people experiencing trauma that I better put it down in writing. Here are my thoughts on solving homelessness in America. Maybe in 40 years, we will be ready to end homelessness, and these steps can be a road map.
First Step:
The federal government is not the answer and will never come to rescue in the local community to solve homelessness. There are 450 jurisdictions receiving federal funding to address homelessness, and those dollars keep hundreds of thousands alive every year. A redirection or reduction in these fund will result in the loss of lives. There is no one solution that can serve a suburban, rural, urban and ex-urban community. No matter how much we talk about Permanent Supportive Housing or the Housing First model it is just a way to show some progress for the billions dumped on this problem in America. The federal government is key to creating thousands of units of housing, but they have to be free from focusing on the emergency and instead focusing on long term housing. For that to work, the states and local communities need to step up and take care of the emergency needs of their population. The federal government needs to be in charge of a massive infrastructure rebuilding of housing for all Americans.1. The President of the United States needs to declare that no one will sleep anywhere that is not fit for human habitation within two years. We are the richest country to ever exist and no one born in the United States should sleep outside or in a garage or on the beach or in a barn without heat or shelter from the storm.
2. Every city, county or parish in the United States must have a plan to meet the emergency needs of those living in that jurisdiction. They must have a plan to accommodate everyone who comes to the door for help, and there must be outreach to find people who are living rough. This will not include federal dollars, but they must welcome everyone to their doors. This does not involve law enforcement or arresting people for being poor, but does involve convincing people to come inside.
3. The facilities that accept people with a housing emergency must be warm, safe places that would be able to serve your grandmother. The measurement of the quality of an emergency housing facility is would the funders/staff/elected officials be willing to have their grandmother sleep at the facility.
4. Cities can charge suburban communities or rural counties for the cost of housing their residents if they migrate to another jurisdiction after losing their housing. Religious communities can assist with the housing and providing the emergency needs of the population as long as they are providing a minimum level of service using the "Grandmother standard." Every community has two years to get this level of service in place and functional. Those that cannot convince people to come inside are doing things wrong and will be punished for ignoring their citizens.
5. No one gets turned away in any community in America. If a person comes to the door asking for help, they will be provided a place inside. Those who need help should be able to get emergency housing by telephone or by visiting any of the help centers. If there is a crowding problem then the facility should provide free transportation to a safe that they would be willing to house their own grandmother.
6. There must be oversight of the system with independent review of the conditions to verify that no one is turned away. This should include people who visit the emergency housing facilities as "mystery shoppers" to assure local compliance with the grandmother test. Just opening the door is not good enough. The facilities must welcome those individuals in not like a jail welcomes people, but like they were providing hospitality to their grandmother.
7. These emergency housing facilities must have specialized care for mentally ill people, pregnant moms, addicted individuals and young people. These fragile populations should be diverted into more long term housing as quickly as possible.
8. After two years if a County or Parish is not in compliance with the Presidential Directive to not turn anyone away in the way that they would want their grandmother served then they lose all their HUD/HHS funding. These are not the direct to individual assistance such as Medicaid or Housing vouchers, but would be competitive grants that are withheld and those funds given to the local/state jurisdictions. Funds such as Continuum of Care, SAMSA grants, new projects and CDBG funds would be diverted from those jurisdictions to create more housing vouchers or more food assistance to the individuals living in those areas. The non-compliant jurisdictions would be punished while the lower income residents would actually receive more federal assistance.
9. The federal government will no longer fund emergency services and health related emergencies. The local and state government will need to figure out the best strategy to care for its citizens. Each community will need to come up with an emergency plan to move people out of these short term housing facilities into housing as soon as possible. People are valuable resources with amazing talents that are being ignored or wasted because of the scourge of homelessness.
10. No more tough love. It does not work and it is not what our citizens deserve. Everyone makes mistakes and should not be punished for life. Addiction is not a weakness that should be punished. It takes a lot to ask for help, and to turn a person away to live on the streets is inhumane. We need to end tough love and replace it with real love. If a person asks for help with their housing, they need to be respected by providing help.
11. There needs to be more science and less religion involved in the distribution of social services. For too many years, we have expected religious officials to carry the weight of protecting our most vulnerable. They have successfully kept people alive with food, but are woefully unable to quench the thirst for justice. They provide the superficial, but never get around to providing equality, fairness, and happiness.
12. The federal government will need to flood the market with housing including apartments, assisted living, dormitories, and single room occupancy housing in every market from rural communities to suburban areas of the United States. They need to make housing into infrastructure projects that create massive jobs in both rural and urban communities. Building 60 units of affordable housing a year in a community like Cleveland is pathetic. We need 5,000 units of housing and in large cities 80,000 units a year to serve the population.
13. The federal government will also need to demand a change in local zoning to eliminate the restrictions that prevent multifamily development or innovation in housing (tiny homes). They also need to require the community to build affordable housing as part of every development project. If you are building a new sewer, road, high end housing with any tax dollars, you must build housing for the lowest income residents or the disabled or the elderly. If we are going to turn this around, we need every level of government on board, and anyone benefiting from government assistance such as builders, contractors, architects, bankers to give something back to the community.
Cleveland has a leg up on the rest of the country, because County officials will say that they do have a policy of not turning people away. More to come on that myth in the future, but the United States can eliminate homelessness. We have the experience, skills, knowledge and I believe we have the will. With universal access to housing so many other problems are easier to handle including hunger, universal access to health care, improving education, job training, and out of control incarceration. Next step: funding this pipe dream...
Brian Davis
No comments:
Post a Comment