Homeless Action

I’m rarely speechless. I’m often disgusted that elected leaders disregard housing as a basic need to keep us healthy during a pandemic.

@KayaJones I had some hope for this but he didn’t make it happen

@Ashley197906357 @sberg0 There's never permission to use the land they have. There's never money to pay people, volunteers should do it Liability concerns are valued more than people. 😕

@ActionHomeless @sberg0 The barriers that are up to prevent people from being housed should be broken down and exposed! Federal, state and city land should have a public registry that is easy to access. Tired of listening to politicians talk and talk with no actions or results to show for their banter.

Met with members of the transition landing team for HUD today to talk about homelessness. We have a chance of making serious progress, maybe?

@Ashley197906357 @sberg0 It's more than money. There is active discrimination and criminalization preventing progress too.

@sberg0 What hasn’t anyone made progress? What is stopping people being properly cared for. If we had an outline we could all work to address this. Please advise.

@marcformarc Mealtime Affective Disorder (MAD)

Do we have a name yet for the particular kind of depression that only breakfast for dinner can fix?

This is all classic criminalization of homelessness, and we should be prepared for much more of this as the economic crisis gets worse. Sad thing is that #HousingNotHandcuffs is not only better at ending homelessness, it’s also more cost effective. See nlchp.org//wp-content/up…

@sberg0 How about? There is enough work for everybody. Everyone can access basic hygiene. Nobody is denied shelter. Providers are incentivized to work together. Victims of camp sweeps are provided disaster relief.

What are some other goals/aspirations/things we have to get done that are like that?

A goal like “nobody has to be homeless” is good for a number of reasons. It’s clear and easy to understand. It speaks to the humanity of people whose humanity is often ignored. There are many reasons people find for agreeing with it. There are many ways to move toward it

This comes from, and reinforces, the misguided belief that homelessness represents individual fault that needs to be rehabilitated, not a systemic failure that has dismantled our social safety net as wages have not kept pace with rents for the past 40 years. 6/

"Racism is a cause of #homelessness and you cannot understand the modern homelessness problem without understanding the racist housing and criminal justice policies that have contributed to it." - Senior Attorney, Tristia Bauaman

There is a huge addiction crisis and mental health crisis, but using addiction and mental health as a wedge to stop support for more affordable housing is extremely dangerous. More people are entering into homelessness than ever before because of evictions, not addiction.