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Home My WebLink About09-07-23 Public Comment - R. Ogle - What the Homeless Owe Us •, THEE TIMES jUNE 28-ULY 4,2£I23 Mat the By Wesley J.Smith ." e often Dear ab€sutwhat we"—Le,society-owe the homeless.But we rarer"discuss what the ; unhoused owe us.It's time for that to change. This is a matter of great urgency.Some of our(once)most prosperous and beau- " tiful cities—San Francisco,Los Angeles, Seattle,etc.—are imploding under', pressure of squalid homeless squatter camps,populated largely by openly drug-addled or mentally ill people who befoul the sidewalks with human waste, litter the streets with needles used to shoot up drugs,and generally create such a threatening atmosphere that once thriving downtown centersare becoming"no go zones," Ihe homelessness crisis has many individual causes.untreated rental ill- ness,drug addiction,domestic violence, and economic hard times.But bad pub- lic policies,particularly a misguided apt proach to Helping the homeless known as"Housing First,"must take a large share of the blame, - Housing First has a mice-sounding naive.After all,what do homeless self loathing for a person to defecate on people need foremost?A roof over public sidewalks,shoot up with poison- Sel their heads.But that isn't all they need, ous drugs,engage in rampant crimi- Alas,Housing First should be renamed nality,or otherwise live irresponsibly � Housing Only,as it was designed in a because of mental illness or dissipation t4� way that almost guarantees to make the that leaves these poor people literally IMI crisis worse instead of better, dying,on the streets.Providing lousing Of Here's the heart of the problem, vouchers alone is clearly inadequate for Housing First approaches homeless- the gargantuan task at hand. ( tress as exclusively an issue of provid- Thankfully,there's a new bill in the ho ing shelter.Throw enough money into House of Representatives sponsored f taxpayer-subsidized Dousing vouchers, by Andy Barr(R-Ky)—called"Housing the theory goes,and people will quickly IPI HS'�—that would promote personal in grab the offered help and get back on responsibility among homeless people th their feet.Never mind that the crisis is as they're being helped to get cuff the � largely caused by antisocial and dy - streets.In contrast to Housing First, functional personal behaviors,The f ix is Housing PLUS would allow programs muczionai personal behaviors.The fix is Housing PLUS would allow programs merely a matter of giving people a free receiving government funds to coed - place to live. Lion their assistance on recipients work- Furthering the crisis,Housing First ing to help themselves as they're being requires nothing in return from:the helped.Indeed,the bill would prohibit people who are bei belped.worse, the Department of Housing and Urban thanks fo federal rule changes by then Develi;iment_(HUD)from refusing President Barack Obama in 2013,any federal grants to housing providers homelessness assistance program that that require recipients to participate in receives federal money can only apply programs to overcome the behavioral the Housing First formula that forbids causes of their own homelessness,such requiring any conditions in return for as addiction treatment,mental health housing assistance.Recipients of such care,and job counseling.Nor could aid,for example,can't be required to at- the government forbid programs from tend drug rehabilitation programs,look requiring sobriety among participants. for work,or even take their mental health Perhaps just as importantly,Housing medicines as directed by a doctor. PLUS would eliminate the current dis 1 Supporters of Housing First promised crminatorypolicy that forbids provid- that the program would solve the home- ing homelessness program grants to lessness crisis by 2023—in other words, faith-based organizations.This would right now.Alas,not only has homeless- man that service programs with a ness not been alleviated,but the crisis proven track record of success in help- has grown much worse. ing the homeless turn their own lives The time has come finally for those around—.such as The Salvation Army— who truly care about the homeless to will be able to qualify for federal grants, admit that Housing First is not only there-by allowing greater mobilization an abject failure but also an astonish- of those committed to helping ease ingly expensive one.How expensive? the crisis among the unhoused-and A story in the Los Angeles Times last greater competition among providers year revealed that each unit of homeless based on results. housing in the city funded by a passed The bill also puts its money where its i bond issue cost up to$837,000 per small directives are by requiring the HUD single-apartment unit.To say the least, secretary to allocate no less than 30 this isn't"affordable housing,"at least percent of funding to recipients that not for the taxpayers. provide or facilitate access to such If we genuinely care about those living wraparound services.In other words, i on the streets,we'll pursue a different unhoused people would still receive policy that doesn't only help home- housing assistance,but,perhaps equal- i less people find proper shelter but also ly importantly,they would also be able 1 places a concomitant duty on them to more easily obtain help transforming to participate in programs aimed at their own lives in ways in which they improving their own lives,which can can take pride,, be the key to regaining self-respect.And It's crucial far the country that make no mistake,self-respect is what's Housing PLUS replace Housing First I required to core the underlying causes not only because it'll materially help of homelessness.It takes excruciating those who are currently unhoused " E i X�NWETSCMJOETTYWArEB — 14 Rep. � � Andy Barr I (R•KY)par- in ' = a hearintiriWashiron x. on May 17, ; 2823. y 'VMS T AD sw- in addled - � 5 Aw � Y- M ii d , . .. a k Alm AN �$w �M-N - 11' ' s mi Md 6tiatt ��