City councils that want to continue to push residents out through gentrification (= skyrocketing costs) are found throughout the US. This is a common problem now. Housing costs are simply too high a proportion of income for many working people. It only takes a missed paycheck and without any rental assistance, homelessness becomes inevitable. Women and others who are usually in low paying jobs are most likely to end up homeless along with other at risk populations. The average age of a homeless person is 9. Homelessness became a media focus during the Reagan years. I became involved in volunteering at that time. I graduated from college in 1982 and the recession was already underway. Whenever city councils have a vested interest in real estate development and/or little experience in amateur dabbling in real estate, there seems to be a conflict of interest which is guaranteed to cause survival issues for the lesst wealthy and the most vulnerable. With luxury development and taxes deferred, costs rise for everyone else as the developers cash in. Average rents increase. Utility costs increase for everyone. Taxes are adjusted for the developer and everyone else pays increasing costs. This has been the pattern of decreased availability for inexpensive rentals and the resulting homelessness. Add in the usual cuts to necessary social services along with increased demand for those services plus the usual political games and we have an issue that needs a resolution. Recent numbers I saw show that at least 42 people died from exposure and other causes related to homelessness. Veterans are part of that population, too. Working people in service jobs may be forced to live at a shelter. Without medical coverage, any event can render anyone homeless quickly. I have worked in real estate management, nonprofit sectors and in a local housing program. We need better answers to problems we allow to develop due to uninformed voting and a host of other solvable issues. campaign.r20.constantcontact/render?ca=ddd0cf8d-3f5c-4a49-849e-1e0726b9cc2e&c=e6e9a1f0-328f-11e3-9db4-d4ae529ce120&ch=e81af600-328f-11e3-9ef2-d4ae529ce120
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:19:17 +0000