I respectfully request that DUers interested in homelessness (and those who are not!), please read

[bobbolink]

and familiarize yourself with the facts and figures that are in this document. It is long, but if we are ever to solve homelessness in the U.S., it is IMPERATIVE that we all understand these facts, and share them at every opportunity!
Our perspective is that the overwhelming omission of the systemic and broad structural causes of homelessness in public discussions and policy responses is nothing short of a collective deception that has only led to increased homelessness. Federal responses to homelessness have failed and will continue to fail unless and until they include a serious and sizable federal recommitment to funding affordable housing.

http://www.wraphome.org/wh_press_kit/Without_Housing_20061114.pdf
The basic premise of all these priorities and policy flavors – that homelessness is caused by the deficiencies of broken individuals – has distracted us from addressing its root cause: the drastic reduction and near elimination of federal funding for affordable housing.
Over the last 30 years, annual tax expenditures for homeowner subsidies have grown from less than $40 billion to over $120 billion per year.
Every year since 1981, tax benefits for homeownership have been greater than HUD's entire budget and have dwarfed direct expenditures for programs that benefit low-income renters.
Since 1996, HUD funding for new public housing has been $0, while over 100,000 public housing units have been lost to demolition, sale, or other removal in that same period.

Please read this important document, and learn the facts to share with others!

[rosesaylavee]

1. K & R

Hopefully these can START being addressed by this next administration. It's going to take years to put a viable program together.

[bobbolink]

3. It won't EVER be addressed unless and until WE ALL demand it!

That's why I'm requesting that EVERYONE know these facts, and be able to speak on them!

[rosesaylavee]

5. I am right there with you.

Affordable housing is the issue for our growing homeless populations. We only need more homeless shelters BECAUSE we don't have the safe and affordable housing for everyone. In rosesaylavee world, I would also like to see the new affordable housing units be green construction with lower associated utility costs.

[maryf]

8. I'll be memorizing it!!

And printing it out for work and elsewhere, thanks!

[bobbolink]

21. Great! I fully believe this is what we must do. Have our facts CLEARLY in our minds, and able to

speak to those around us. :yourock:

Those in the grocery checkout lanes, as you so rightly remind us.

EVERYWHERE.

People dont' understand the reality, and by arming ourselves with the facts, we can hopefully CHANGE the ignorance in this country.

Many thanks to Indigo Blue for posting info from this site! :applause:

[maryf]

23. Thanks! Knowledge is power

and the facts here are powerful ammo indeed!

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. K&R

[jwirr]

4. My own "homelessness" was caused because I chose to take care

of my severely disabled daughter in our rented home for 45 years. Now I am living with my other daughter because I have no other choice. If we would look at housing as a need that has various answers we would be far ahead. We are not going to have enough subsidized housing for the baby boomers as they retire so we need to be creative. I would like to build or restore some very small space @350 square feet to live in but there are no housing programs that even begin to allow this kind of diversity. I am a great fan of the tiny house movement.

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Yup, tax breaks on McMansions just don't make sense ....

except for the builders that build them and make money off them. That's really the crux of the problem, and it's no surprise that it all got started during the Reagan era. For-profit builders can't make much money building small and/or low cost, housing. NO SHIT! But that doesn't mean that there isn't a NEED for affordable housing! There's all this attention to "green building" techniques, but what's so green about a 3000 sf house for a family of four (or less!)? What I would like to see, among other things, is for cities and municipalities to take over infill lots whenever they become available, instead of letting them be snapped up during tax sales for pennies on the dollar by "developers" who put oversized homes on them. There also needs to be more use of the land trust model, where the city provides the land and the homes built on it are permanently affordable because they are sold back to the land trust rather than being sold on the open (and inflationary) market.

[Riktor]

10. A possible solution:

It is given that builders charge at least a 100% mark-up on materials alone. The government should contract builders and supply the materials itself. Materials bought in bulk would invariably be cheaper than those purchased on a project-to-project basis, and the contractors would not be subject to losses incurred from having to procure the materials themselves. With the housing market on the decline, construction companies will need to find steady, reliable sources of income, and there'd be no harm in accepting a juicy government contract.

I'm not a contractor, and I'm not going to pretend to know about the ins and outs of the business, but this seems like a reasonable course of action to me.

[TexasBushwhacker]

13. Yup, I'd rather have juicy government contracts

to build affordable homes, bridges, schools, etc. etc. than the endless feeding of the military industrial BEAST.

[DAMANgoldberg]

11. Here's your answer...

Katrina Cottages

The Thin plans were designed to be similar in ocst to a FEMA trailer, but are permanent, expandable, and fits in with the rest of the neighborhoods. I have seen one firsthand in Gulfport MS, this can work, especially in places where space is at a premium and developers can make money off it. Not as much as McMansion's, but smart builders will keep some of their crews working with this plan.

[TexasBushwhacker]

12. Yeah, I love these

As a single person, I would love to have one of these rather than an apartment or a condo. One of the big hang ups are deed restrictions against homes that are "less" than a certain size. Excuse me, but if it's my lot, I should be able to build as tiny a house as I want. It's not like I'm raising pigs or building a meth lab.

There are also plenty of places that have deed restrictions against solar panels, solar water heaters, etc. I think there needs to be a revolution against deed restrictions. They used to be about keeping a neighborhood "nice". Now I think they're just about everyone keeping up with the imaginary Joneses, and keeping out anyone who looks like the might be "low income". Heaven forbid you should have poor family living next door. If they take care of their home, who gives a shit?

[FirstLight]

14. Those are awesome!

But can they fit a family with 3 kids?

I'd love to get one and throw it on some land somewherre! off the grid is also a direction we could start to go too...

[TexasBushwhacker]

16. The have floorplans up to 1800 sf

Here's the original architects website:

http://www.cusatocottages.com/

[jwirr]

15. These are beautiful and there should be some way that these small

homes would be included in future HUD programs and that communities would allow them.

[bobbolink]

18. I respectfully request that you understand and acknowledge the limitations

and why those "houses" aren't for everyone.

It shouldn't have to be explained.... it should be obvious why that is NOT a solution.

AND, there are plenty of ways that ALL 'Murkins can be housed.

We just have to have the will.

Giving up without trying doesn't make sense.

[jwirr]

22. Actually I did not say it was the answer for everyone. I did say that

we need a program that is much more flexible than the ones we have today. That house or even a smaller one would be the answer for me but they do not fit under HUD guidelines - not enough bedrooms for resale value. I also see that house as a way that I can live simply as in simple living.

[maryf]

24. Hud guidelines

need to be updated! Maybe they need to get out of the realty "market" and back to being the housing provider.

[TexasBushwhacker]

30. Not enough bedrooms

"not enough bedrooms for resale value"

Who the heck decides that? Why is one bedroom fine for a condo or a loft, but suddenly it's not okay for a SFH? On one hand I understand that they don't want to loan you more money than the property will be worth once it's finished or remodeled, but it just seems that in these days of trying to be more energy efficient and have less of an impact on the environment, they could accomodate those of us that believe that "less is more".

[barbtries]

6. i saved the report on my desktop

hopefully next january we'll have an administration and a congress who care enough to do something to help end homelessness in this fabulously wealthy country of ours.

[bobbolink]

25. Sadly, we can't afford to wait until "next January" and just hope that a new administration

will take this seriously, and DO something.

I must remind everyone this really is up to US!

[FirstLight]

9. KIck! & Rec

Bobbo- you are such a wonderful wealth of information. Thanks for this.
I am currently on the HUD housing section 8 program, and though cuts are coming, I may be able to stay in good graces because of the Family Self Suficiency program.
So far, though...much of the assistance to get on my feet as far as recources available and job search classes are not helpful. So the help needs to be geared towards the individual needs of the people in need.
Budget cuts and lack of properly trained people in the offices of these govt agancies are a big reason. I wish more help was available. In my town we don't even HAVE a shelter! No real organized way to get people on their way towards independence.

I hope Obama can channel his community organizing into this arena, nd get those kids on "ducational service" contracts to do some real work in this field. I would love to get something started up here for that...when I have my "million" and can start my own philanthropic organization! lol

[bobbolink]

19. Thank you for taking advantage of this information! AND, I can't claim originality with this.

This was posted by Indigo Blue, and I was THRILLED to find all the info
in one place! I've been reading a lot of books, and have had help locating information, but this is ALL gathered together.

If we would ALL take this as a serious commitment to fully understand the points in this document, and spread the info with others (including, as maryf points out, just talking with people in grocery checkout lines, etc), we would be doing a LOT of good work.

Most people, and that includes DUers, don't understand the basic premise of this document.

If we can just get it through heads that it isn't individual problems... it's a SYSTEMIC problem and that the answers are obvious and doable, we can make the needed changes happen.

Combating ignorance is our task now!

:hug:

[bobbolink]

26. "much of the assistance .......are not helpful" "help needs to be geared towards the individual "

Exactly right!!

We are treated as one, monolithic group of people; all flawed, and needing supervision, rather than as separate individuals who have been shafted by this system.

This is my PET PEEVE.... we are not heard, we are not treated as real people. Rather than listening to us, "experts" are brought in to decide the big decisions for us. Then, we get blamed when it doesn't work!

A few decades ago, it was understood that the way to solve problems was to LISTEN to the people involved, and base solutions on that. What a concept, eh?

Can you imagine diplomats NOT listening to the people on both sides of an issue?? NEVER. Yet, that is what is done to us. Solutions are prescribed, without our input.

In his book, Faith Works, Jim Wallis has a whole chapter titled "Listen To Those Closest To The Problem". He keeps repeating that we and ONLY WE know what we need, and how to go about it.

What is so hard to understand???

[FirstLight]

27. While part of the problem is that there is a blanket policy applied

The second half of my point is that there's less than enough poeple/mentors/programs available.

What also has to be taken into accountis the devastating afect of homelesnes, poverty, abuse, etc can have on someone's confidence level, abilitiy to complete a task, make good decisions.

I brought this up at a meeting with other HUD folks, administrators and those on this program I am on...I have WASTED 2 years of a 5 year program, making goals from a place of panic and fear, just grasping at anything to get on my feet.
(Thank god I actually lost my stupid secretary job and had a daughter who had to have nedical procedures every 3 months - or I never would have thought I could have my own business and be a freelancer....I would have never found my way back to journalism.) But I am still not making enough to start banking equity. Theoreticaly, I should have enough "saved" through this program so that I could buy a home or something at the end of 5 years.

But the point is that I was making decisions from a place of desperation, without knowing all the posibilities or options avbailable or what doors were completely closed to me and a waste of time.

Now, there are several solutions to this problem alone.

Counseling services, self esteem and other types of workshops should count for something on these programs. If I need to complete 4 workshops per year on my program - then going to a workshop on women's empowerment or stress reduction through meditation, etc SHOULD be acceptable. I think counseling has gotten a bad rap too, it doesn't imply mental illness, it can also imply that one is determined to become a healthier and hapier individual. Dealing with the stress of day to day when you are broke and worried all the time is CRUCIAL to moving BEYOND it.

Do I really need a "dress for success" workshop? or "How to cook" no, but I could use some help on my brochure/resume, or one on one interview preparation as far as getting clear on my message, small business accounting and taxes, etc.
Everyone needs different things to find their path to success. Having the individual determine what that is and then helping them find it -seems like a no brainer.
BUT - this can't come from only the state - where is our local small busineses, chamber of commerce, community college...etc? As important as it is for people to get individuated assistance in some cases, it is JUST as important for society as a whole to embrace and assist others to become productive members...that altruism begets more sltruism...such as "pay it forward" mentality.

I think the stigma of poverty has been around long enough.
it is time for us to have more we and less I in our communities, our commerce, etc..
.and I guess I am out of luck because I am such a utopian

[bobbolink]

28. "seems like a no brainer. " You are so very right! ANY body who is actually

thinking of US would understand all this.

Have you considered being a Secretary of Housing???? I'm only partly joking... what you are saying IS the answer.

"where is our local small busineses, chamber of commerce, community college...etc?"

Out to lunch???

You really have this nailed.

THIS is exactly why WE need to be heard, and not a damned bunch of "experts"!!!

:pals:

[FirstLight]

29. ...so where do we take it from here?

I know that the HUD office in my little backwater county is actually being pretty flexible and ingenious

-kind of a necessity is the mother of invention thing - since budget cuts happened, they have had to shuffle around and it has worked to my benefit. For now I have someone in the office to work exclusively with, on specific goal setting, and take it step by step...again.
( Only because they closed another office and he is at our local office full time, but hey - I am not complaining)


.It's quite another thing to get people to shift their fundamental beliefs about poverty and such...but it begins with mall steps, and individual acts of understanding and compassion. And unfortunately, that can't be legislated.

It needs to come from a paradigm shift... hopefully more intelligent folks like you and I (and others I have heard from in various states of frustration or disenfranchisement ) can make our voices heard. And wouldn't it be great if we could get ahead enough to actually turn around and offer a hand to those also trying to make the climb?

[bobbolink]

32. We have to get organized and go in MANY directions.

"It needs to come from a paradigm shift"

EXACTLY, and that is why I posted this thread. There is So much information there, if only DUers would take it seriously, and learn the facts, and speak Speak SPEAK!

We need to make PowerPoint programs, and show them everywhere we can... neighbors, family, politcal meetings, churches, civic organizations (who are always looking for speakers!), etc etc et.

Once I tried to start a thread to get a discussion going about ideas on how to make the changes, but it got zippo responses. GAK!

I really don't know how to build fires under DUers!!

:hug:

[I Have A Dream]

17. K & R. Thanks bobbolink! nt

[bobbolink]

20. You're welcome. There will be a quiz.

:hi:

[flashl]

31. ...