Wow, thatâs pretty good! I usually recommend to local homeless people to make their way to the other coast (LA, SF, Portland, etc) because the services they get are MUCH better there. But maybe now I can instead recommend making their way to Atlanta which is much closer.
Did you read the link? Atlanta was not the only city mentioned.
Do you make your move to the west coast advice to people like this woman quoted in the article?
âIâm just so grateful,â said Cynthia Diamond, a 61-year-old former line cook who uses a wheelchair and used to be chronically homeless. âI have my own door key. I ainât got to worry about nobody knocking on my door, telling me when to eat, sleep or do anything. Iâm going to stay here as long as the Lord allows me to stay here.â
Yes. But Atlanta is the closest to Florida! Also Denver isnât particularly hospitable to homeless because it gets real cold in the winter. If youâre already going to make your way from the east coast, you may as well skip Denver and go to LA where the weather is much better overall.
I like the Oregon approach. Here is one example, in Eugene OR.
I think, it ends up being cheaper to build and the individuals contribute sweat equity to their eventual tiny home.
That could work for those who are unhoused because of economics and who want to have a place to live.
What about the hardcore unhoused, who are mentally ill or drug addicted, who donât want to live anywhere else but the streets? My gut tells me these folks are a significant portion of those without a place to live.
âPeter
@ptheland - I hear what you are saying. There is obviously various types of folks within the homeless community. And obviously, the example of the community in Oregon will not work for each homeless person. But, it is a start, and could work for some. If one takes care of a certain percentage of the homeless community under, say $40,000 per housing unit, that will likely bring the overall average down.
There is a San Jose tiny homes project for the homeless that I recently learned about. There is a major city developer who has backed that project. Will be interesting to see how that one progresses.
There was an article in the NY Times a few days ago on a Los Angeles âtiny homeâ camp for the homeless. One gripe was that operators would assign two strangers to one of these 64-sq-ft âgarden shedsâ. One man found the arrangement problematic since you donât know how crazy or violent your roommate may be in that tiny enclosed space.
We have 3 or 4 similar camps in Vancouver, but they allow residents to occupy a shed as a single, if thatâs their preference, as well as âtwo to a shedâ for friends or romantic partners who want to double up. So far, it seems to be working and Iâm seeing fewer people in tents by the side of the road. But Iâm still seeing a roving fleet of derilect RVs that stay parked on the street for a day or two until the police threatens to tow them. And every night thereâs a few people sleeping in their cars before they leave in the morning (often in a fast food uniform) for a job that doesnât provide enough income to rent an apartment. âLow income housingâ requires an income of 80% of the county median (about $85,000/yr, county median income is $106,000) to rent an apartment. I donât know where they expect people with an income below that to live.
Vancouver considers 2 new âSafe Stayâ sites for homeless people after initial successes - OPB
intercst