Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently issued an order allowing the use
of residential hotel rooms, typically reserved for low-income, disabled,
and elderly residents, as temporary shelters for the homeless.
This move, part of the Inside Safe initiative, aims
to address the city’s homelessness crisis by providing immediate
shelter, despite potentially conflicting with a 2008 city law designed
to protect these residential units.
Secure the border, bring back
manufacturing jobs, fund mental health facilities, and keep Portland’s
problems out of Southwest Washington are among Joe Kent’s priorities.
Before setting up for a promo
video, Joe Kent and Jim Walsh surveyed the area. Tin foil on the ground,
evidence of drug use. Orange caps from needles, more evidence. And a
bottle that appeared to be full of urine. All right next to a tent set
up just off the sidewalk on West 12th Street in Vancouver, across the
street from homes. “It’s incumbent that we take mental health very
seriously, and we actually have compassion,” said Kent, a Republican who
is again running for Congress in Washington’s third district. “We
actually work toward getting them off the streets and making sure
they’re getting the mental health services they need.”
The United States
has been combating homelessness for many years. Billions have been
invested to help the unhoused find reliable shelter, but the catastrophe
has only gotten worse. Indeed, in the last few years, miles of squatter
camps of unhoused individuals huddling in tents, crashing in subway
stations, or living in sometimes illegally parked vehicles have
proliferated in once world-class cities like San Francisco, Portland,
Los Angeles, and Seattle. Americans have now witnessed once unthinkable
scenarios of city streets befouled with human waste, discarded drug
needles littering parks where children play, increased crime, open drug
sales, people on the streets delirious from substance abuse, and
businesses abandoning once-bustling downtowns because customers no
longer believe shopping districts are safe.
People are entering homelessness faster than Clark
County agencies can house them.
Despite efforts and new strategies by housing
officials, 2022 data recently pulled from the Homeless Crisis Response
System showed that homelessness is rising in Clark County, with 9,032
people from 5,352 households identified in 2022. Two-thirds of them were
newly homeless.
The data, compiled based on the number of individuals
who called for assistance last year, showed that people of color are
still disproportionately impacted by housing instability. It also showed
that youth and veterans’ homelessness hasn’t budged despite strategies.
The increase represents a 43.7 percent increase from
2021 levels, when the council reported 6,285 people experiencing
homelessness.
“Homelessness does not exist in a vacuum of bad
individual choices and circumstances,” said Laura Ellsworth, strategic
partnerships and advocacy manager for Council for the Homeless. “The
pressures that are squeezing people and communities causing homelessness
are only increasing as rents have gone up, housing stock remains at
critical short supply and impacts of a global pandemic continue to be
felt.”
Homelessness in Los Angeles skyrocketed over the last
year, increasing by 10% in L.A. County and 9% in the city, leaving more
than 75,000 people living on the streets of the county in an epic
setback for local leaders.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday:
Homelessness continued to rise dramatically,
increasing by 9% in Los Angeles County and 10% in the city of Los
Angeles last year, in a stark illustration of the challenges faced by
officials trying to reduce the number of people living on the streets …
The count, conducted by thousands of volunteers
during a three-day period in January, projected that 75,518 people were
living in interim housing or a tent, car, van, RV, tent or makeshift
shelter in Los Angeles County, compared with 69,144 the previous year …
Almost all
the growth came from the Westside and Harbor areas of Los Angeles, with
each seeing increases of just over 2,000 people, or about 45%.
“There’s
no question that marijuana and other drugs – in combination with mental
illness or other disabling conditions – are essential contributors to
chronic homelessness.” Senator John Hickenlooper made that statement
when he was governor of Colorado in 2017. “This is one of the results of
the legalization of marijuana in Denver, and we’re going to have to deal
with it.” Mayor Michael Hancock was talking about a violent incident on
16th Street Mall. He described the “urban travelers” who came to Denver
following legalization. That was seven years ago, and a new mayor will
have to deal with the problem, a problem that now extends to more cities.
Vancouver city officials announced Wednesday
that they will be seeking public input on the city’s proposed fourth
Safe Stay site at 4611 Main St., in the Lincoln neighborhood. The
suggested property — which sits just north of the Kiggins Bowl and near
Discovery Middle School — is owned by the Washington State Department of
Transportation, which will lease a portion of the 18,750-square-foot lot
to the city. Similar to the other three Safe Stay communities, the
location will include 20 modular pallet shelters that can house up to 40
people.
John Mellencamp - The Eyes of Portland
(Official Lyric Video), 5/12/2023
Homeless public school students increased in the 2021-2022 school year
as the city of New York sees a decline in enrollment, according to data
from Advocates for Children of New York. The number of homeless students
in the last year increased 3.3% to more than 104,000 students, according
to data released Wednesday by Advocates for Children of New York. The
report comes as enrollment in schools operated by the New York City
Department of Education (NYDOE) dropped 83,656 students after the
2019-2020 school year. “If these 100,000 children made up their own
school district, it would be a district larger than 99.5% of all other
districts nationwide,” Advocates for Children of New York Executive
Director Kim Sweet said in a press release. “While the city works to
address the underlying issue of homelessness, we also must ensure that
students who are homeless get to class every day and receive the
targeted supports they need to succeed in school.”
Worsening inflation (stemming from endless fiat
currency money printing) is causing food, energy and housing to become
unaffordable for millions of Americans, putting them on a trajectory of
homelessness and destitution. Right now, homeless encampments are
expanding in cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Oakland.
The situation is bound to get far worse as inflation accelerates and
people find themselves jobless due to plummeting economic activity while
manufacturers downsize operations.
In spring of 2021, after a few months sleeping in their car, Sharon
and Jerry moved into a homeless encampment in east Vancouver’s North
Image neighborhood. Sharon, 59, is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army
Reserve for 10 years. She and Jerry, 58, are both disabled, struggling
with back and hip problems. The married couple have been homeless for
about two years. For much of that time, they didn’t know where to turn.
They lived in the encampment for about 8 months. They felt unsafe in
their tent, due to both crime and extreme weather conditions.
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Open House Ministries
has always tried to be "full-service" when it comes to getting people
out of homelessness. Now they're going to add long-term affordable
housing, and they found a place to do it right across the street from
their existing Vancouver campus. The location is a parking lot now, but
it had an old house on it when a generous donor gave the property to Open
House Ministries. In about 18 months, a new four-story building will
stand at the corner of 12th and Jefferson — built for people, including
many families, who are ready to move on from the non-profit's long-term
shelter. “We've always joked about having a 'God block' and we just keep
expanding. We're trying to meet the needs of our community, and this
seems to be a huge need,” said Open House Ministries Executive Director
Renee Stevens.
Tucker Carlson: Homelessness is a manufactured crisis Jan 19, 2022 Tucker examines the cause and
solutions to the homeless crisis in America. Highlights include: “No
matter what they tell you, homelessness is not an act of God. It’s not
the result of economic collapse in this country, America did not run out
of housing.” “Instead, a determined group of well-funded ideologues
decided to make it easier to live on the streets in this country while
doing drugs.” “Therefore, many more people now live on the streets while
doing drugs.” “Luxury apartments are just the beginning. Seattle’s most
recent municipal budget allocates more than $150 million to other
so-called homelessness programs, just this year. Now, keep in mind
Seattle has fewer than 750,000 people living there, so that’s an awful
lot of money per bum. It’s certainly a lot more than anyone else is
getting in Seattle. At the same time it was giving overpriced condos to
drug addicts. Seattle allocated just $10 million total for its small
business stabilization fund, designed to keep family businesses from
going bankrupt during the covid lockdowns.”
Homelessness is one of the most vexing public
policy problems we face. If you live in a big city, especially on the
West Coast, you literally face it every day. And every day, it seems to
get worse. Why? And what can we do about it? Christopher Rufo, Senior
Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has answers.
Vancouver homeless encampment fire sparks concerns KATU, May 31, 2021 VANCOUVER, Wash. — Massive flames lit up the
midnight sky in Vancouver after a fire broke out at a populated homeless
camp in east Vancouver. The fire started just after 12 a.m. Monday, near
Northeast 112th and 51st Street. Vancouver fire crews were just minutes
away and say when they arrived, flames were 40 to 50 feet tall,
engulfing a wooded area that was populated with dozens of homeless
campsites. Luckily, everyone made it out safe but fire crews tell KATU
it was an obstacle getting to the actual fire.
Vancouver city councilors
voiced their approval for a plan that would create several formal,
supported campsites around the city for people experiencing
homelessness. The idea is to create temporary and safe spaces for
unhoused people where they can find some stability, Jamie Spinelli,
Vancouver’s homeless resources coordinator, told the city councilors
during their meeting Monday afternoon. In addition to helping residents
access health, employment and housing services, the supported campsites
would also help mitigate some of the community impacts of homelessness
such as trash, sanitation and crime, she said ...
5/24/2021 Workshop - Vancouver
Homelessness Plan, Attachments: MemoPresentation
Mental illness and substance abuse are leading causes of
homelessness in America.
Homeless policy must be two-pronged. One, we need local law
enforcement regimes that discourage rather than encourage
homelessness. Two, we need social welfare policies that get to the
core of the problem.
The rocky history of the
Navigation Center – the city of Vancouver’s effort to serve unhoused
people – offers numerous lessons. Providing services for a needy
population and balancing that with the concerns of neighborhood
residents is a difficult task, and the attempt should guide future
policy.
Vancouver will
move forward with the sale of its day shelter for the homeless, the city
council decided Monday, and begin negotiations with Fort Vancouver
Regional Libraries staff looking to purchase the facility and transform
it into its new headquarters.
KOMO Anchor Eric Johnson
takes an in-depth look at the impact the drug and homelessness problem
is having on our city and possible solutions in "Seattle is Dying," a
news documentary that aired on KOMO-TV in March, 2019.
Metro-area churches, elected officials will launch
'Season of Service' The Columbian Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Vancouver city officials will join with
representatives of the metropolitan area's
church community today to announce a
collaboration of civic, business and religious
entities to bring a "Season of Service" and a
world-class music festival to the
Vancouver-Portland area.
The event is sponsored
by the Luis Palau Association, a Christian
evangelical organization with offices in
Beaverton, Ore.
The launch of the
project will be at 12:30 p.m. today at Cedar
Mill Bible Church, 12208 N.W. Cornell Road in
Portland, said Craig Chastain, director of
public relations and media for the Palau
association.
Vancouver's
Neighborhood Coordinator Judi Bailey will join
more than 600 pastors and church leaders, Camas
Mayor Paul Dennis, Portland City Commissioners
Erik Sten and Sam Adams, Gresham, Ore., Mayor
Shane Bemis and Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake to
hear an outline of the program designed by Palau
and other partners, Chastain said in a press
release.
Council to
study fund to help homeless families
by Alice Perry
Linker
The Reflector staff reporter
Sept 5, 2007
A Woodland agency
that works with low-income families and people
who need help finding homes has asked for a
portion of city document recording fees.
The Community Services Center, 736 Davidson,
Woodland, has asked the city council to sign an
agreement that would allow the non-profit
organization to tap into fees designed to help
those who are homeless.
A state law requires counties and cities to set
aside a total of $18 from each document
recording fee to fund programs that help
low-income and homeless people, said Melissa
Taylor of the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of
Governments (CWCOG).
Sixty percent of the designated funds is awarded
to cities. Most of the money must be used for
housing, although one fund allows money for
services to help homeless people, she said.
In the days before
Christmas of 2000, a group of homeless
people in Portland succeeded in establishing
a shanty town
which garnered a great deal of both
opposition and support, and quickly evolved
from a group of self-described "outsiders"
who practiced civil disobedience,
to a self-regulating, city-recognized "campground"
as defined by Portland city code.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 7, 2007; Page B04
The Senate approved a
bill yesterday that would make Maryland the
second state to add homeless people to the
groups protected under hate crimes laws.
The legislation was
approved 38 to 9 after a brief but pointed
debate over whether ample evidence existed
that homeless people are being targeted for
crimes. Some critics also said the measure
watered down the original hate crimes law by
adding another group.
Under current law,
violators are subject to additional
penalties if their crime is motivated by
another person's race, color, religious
beliefs, sexual orientation or national
origin.
Sen. Alex X. Mooney
(R-Frederick) said he thought homeless
people should be included under the law,
based on numerous attacks reported across
the country. Maine passed a similar measure
last year.
The bill goes to
the House of Delegates for approval.
"Maryland has made
it clear they are going to have the policy
of hate crimes [laws]. Going right along
with that, it's only fair to include
vulnerable groups in our society," Mooney
said.
Nationally, attacks
on homeless people have been on the rise.
The National Coalition for the Homeless
recorded 142 incidents last year, up from 86
in 2005 and the most since the survey began
in 1999. The group has recorded two attacks
in Maryland in the past three years; one
resulted in a death.
