Putting an end to homelessness can be done.
Not shelter it, feed it or clothe it. End it.
An intractable social problem — created by the economy, drug addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, the justice system, lack of health care — can be solved, [Bill Block] says.
King County has an estimated 8,000 homeless people, and Block is charged with finding a home for all of them.
Homelessness will end, the plan says, when we build a roof over every bed.
“It can be done,” Block said. “We see it all over the country.”
At its worst, the Ten-Year Plan is a naive campaign that gives false hope to society’s most downtrodden and will inevitably end in failure. At its best, it is wildly idealistic and maybe crazy enough to work.
To accomplish its goal, the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, an alliance of government, business and nonprofits, must create 9,500 units of housing. Its members — who include King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels — have given themselves a deadline of 2015.
I agree with Bill Block about the possibility to end homelessness, not only in Seattle, but I also believe we can end homelessness everywhere. The 8,000 homeless in King County only represent a fraction of the approximately 1 billion homeless people throughout the world. Nonetheless, our soceity can end hunger if the people of the world organize and actively fight hunger like Bill Block and the Committee to End Homelessness in King County. What do you think?
what if all the people who had space in their homes took in 1 person to help that person get on his/her feet? that would cut down on costs of building. then resources could be spent on trying to get that person to help him/herself. or if that person was not able to make it, to give the supporting family the necessary assistance with their new family member. just a wild and crazy thought. lots of houses where i live that are plenty big.
I spent 11 years on the street, and I never met a hungry homeless person. Also, after nearly 30 years of reading articles on the subject, I do not recall one that did not mention mental illness or substance abuse. Apparently, those two things are considered to be a legitamate excuse for what has been done to all those people.
It’s all quite monstrous, and the people who did this to our country really ought to be jailed. Never mind the rest of the world, we need to take care of our own first.
For starters, lets stop confusing the poor with the homeless. They are not related in any way, and for far too long, the poor have been collecting the benefits intended for the homeless.
Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, a lot of poor neighborhoods were torn down because they were considered to be eyesores. Where were all those people supposed to go? Nobody cared, they just wanted to make money. Unfortunately, the money is all gone, but the poor are still there.
Good luck on your ten-year plan.