Mayor Charlie Hales didn’t become mayor with the hopes of having to solve homelessness, especially in a growing city like Portland. But the crisis of thousands of people sleeping outside, as it relates to mental health, public safety, neighborhood livability and the lack of housing is exactly what Hales has inherited.
Hales isn’t alone. The same debate about what to do about homelessness and the housing shortage is happening all across the United States.
We commend the mayor for making homelessness a budget priority in the upcoming 2014-15 budget. It’s not an easy task.
The complexities of the homelessness and housing crisis in our city and around the nation are many. The federal governments lack of support for local communities on the issue has been an ongoing crisis. In 1978, the federal government budgeted $83 billion through the Bureau of Housing and Urban Development toward housing for low-income Americans. In 2012, that number was closer to $41 billion. Currently, Congress is looking at cutting $9 billion in food stamp assistance over the next 10 years. That’s not to mention the lack of vision on supporting people without employment.
In many ways, Portland has a mayor and four city commissioners who are not only sympathetic to the cause, but also understand its many complexities. You can’t solve homelessness with one central theme or strategy, and you can’t simply make the problem go away.
How a city responds to its own residents, and people struggling without a home, is a direct representation of the values of that community. In Portland, it’s clear we need ongoing support to help individuals and families have the opportunity to be successful. It starts with giving people a safe place to call home.
It’s not an easy task for government to solve the issue. Everyone has an opinion on how to spend what little we have to solve the massive problem of homelessness. It takes more than good intentions and idealism to manage the problem. It’s one thing to care about the issue, it’s another all together to dig in and work towards solving it.
Creating a more coordinated effort with the community and mental health outreach workers, housing women and children experiencing homelessness, and finding a permanent location for Right 2 Dream Too are all in the best interest of the city. And that makes us all stakeholders. And fortunately, many hands make light work.
