WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT HOMELESSNESS response & questions by (me!) ~topps #NOTonNOBLE
C3%A9-
average citizen response -considerations for problem solving
lets see.. before i directly respond to the article, i will reiterate personal observations:
Covid was the big reveal! that is to say, that no one really quite knew how many people were living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck, until Covid. And this revealed that it wasn't necessarily just young single people with bad money management skills that were living paycheck to paycheck.. but couples, families.. and many entrepreneurs who appeared to have 'successful' businesses.. many well educated people.. in a variety of financial brackets.. on and on.
entire cities were operating -appeared to be functional, operational, thriving, growing..
but behind the scenes, so many were struggling to make ends meet.. drowning.. dog paddling.. so many suddenly unable to keep going, to stay open, to pay rent, to keep food on the table.. when the world shut temporarily down.
what happened between the 1970's, when home ownership, + savings, retirement were standard cultural practices for the high school educated
i dont pretend to know, but unless we look deeper, closer and analyze all contributing factors..
and make the necessary corrections, then we are destined to live long term in the crisis state we are in when it should be temporary
in our direct neighborhood, there was 1 -ONE- homeless woman everybody seem to know by name and who received help from who knows how many people.. this was approx 20 years ago
now, we cannot even count the amount of homeless we see, homeless encampments, when we drive from one side of the city to the other.
it is absolutely beyond crisis levels.
what is the answer to these question: WHO is responsible for the homeless crisis? WHAT is the cause for the dramatic, overwhelming and ongoing increase?
i will for the time being place the drug addicted, mentally ill, and released inmate population on hold, while i exclusively address this section of the article
Over the past decade, the average San Jose rent has increased by 74%
pause, repeat: 74%! increase in rent
while home prices have jumped 124%.
pause, repeat 124%! increase in home prices.
High housing prices are directly correlated to high rates of homelessness; a study out of Los Angeles found that even a 5% increase in rent can push 2,000 additional people into homelessness.
As such, on any given night in San Jose, over 6,000 people sleep on the streets. This figure has likely grown considerably, as the last official count was taken before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. This humanitarian crisis is caused, fundamentally, by a lack of housing. [did no one else just read about the unexplainable, unjustifiable, unbelievable rent increases!? home prices skyrocketing]
pause. read again..
This humanitarian crisis is CAUSED, fundamentally, by a LACK OF HOUSING?!?!
is this to suggest, that every time rent increases, housing prices increase, and people are unable to pay their rent or mortgage that the City of San Jose, the tax payers are RESPONSIBLE to build a new home for them that they can afford? each and every one of them? every time? and even though our water resources are taxed to their limits.. we will build! more, and more, and more homes..
it is my opinion/observation
THAT LACK OF HOUSING IS ABSOLUTELY NOT CAUSING THE CRISIS!
MORE HOUSING IS NOT THE ANSWER!
my God, everywhere i look new apartments, townhomes, condos
one look near the great mall! a giant small example
we are lacking water resources and flooded with high rises!
i am wildly curious, if we employ our imaginations based on the study out of Los Angeles mentioned above, and a 5% increase in rent here in San Jose, suddenly leaves 2000 people without a home.. sleeping on the streets
how much are we spending, in not just money, but time, and energy, and resources in general, to address that problem? and WHO is responsible when a person is unable to pay their rent?
and, i am wildly curious.. what crisis/problem, effecting how many people, if say.. their rent was never increased?
what happens.. what crisis/problems, how many people are impacted, if say.. you implemented rent control..? how on earth can rent even increase by 74% !?!?
doesnt it make more sense to try and keep people, children, families, in the apartments/houses they are struggling to stay in, vs.. forcing them out, and then scrambling to find, im sorry, i mean BUILD a new place
it is my opinion and experience, that in order to solve a problem, you must first identify the actual problem. LACK of housing IS NOT the problem. LACK of rent control restrictions is indeed CAUSING a much larger problem.. as well as this 124% increase in housing prices.
We need to use all the resources, money, time, energy we have toward keeping people in their current room, studio, apartment or house.
This will prevent the population of healthy, working, contributing citizens from being financially forced into homelessness. -without a 5% increase, 2000 wont require a tiny home?
This does not address the drug addicted, mentally ill, and released inmate population
But it is those populations I see increasing to the detriment of every citizen, and San Jose on the whole.
Again, in order to solve, you must first properly identify the problem.
We should not be forced to 'just live with' drug addicts, mentally ill and released inmates.
I say we cut our losses on the Tiny Homes.. work to keep healthy, working people in their homes via rent restrictions and reinvest all of our time, effort, resources on cleaning up our streets, neighborhoods, parks, schools and shopping centers and getting these dangerous and/or criminals in the hospitals or jails, where they belong.
***
worth pointing out:
article says: high housing prices are directly correlated to high rates of homelessness
and, says, -humanitarian crisis is caused, fundamentally, by a lack of housing
and closes with, the solution to homelessness is intuitive: more homes.
the solution to homelessness is far from 'intuitive'
it is very complicated, and the homeless population, again, includes -poverty; drug addicted, mentally ill, released inmates
i don't hear enough about infrastructure and resources..
if we use a micro example, and imagine a high school, campus, buildings, etc.
that high school, no matter how compassionate the staff, teachers, administration; that high school can hold only so many students -it has to do with chairs, indoor space, bathrooms, water, cafeteria, outside land -there is absolute valid reason for 'capacity' limits.
those capacity limits do leave a little wiggle room for emergencies
in an emergency.. use your imagination to let more students in..
how many students before the resources are taxed beyond their limits? and instead of helping a small group out in an emergency, you create a larger, much more significant problem that spreads to all?
we need a better understanding of tipping points.
posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 9:34 PM
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