When I was in high school I volunteered for a couple of years at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. They housed people with a variety of ‘issues’: dementia, low I.Q., anger issues, drug or alcohol addiction, even seizures. They also had a separate unit for dangerous individuals who were deemed unfit to stand trial. If you watch the Jack Nicholson movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it was filmed there in Salem.
One of the mistakes Reagan made was to empty out the state mental hospitals. Many of those patients encompass our homeless population.
Maybe it’s time to return to a similar arrangement where individuals who can’t take care of themselves need to be housed in dormitory-style places where they can be cared for unless or until they or their families can care for them.
I also worked in a state managed facility. At some point they deemed everyone fit for group homes. So instead of a central location for health, food, education, we drove all over King County to see clients. There was very little thought put into who should roommate with whom. I actually was frightened in several incidents . Mental issues along with criminal offenses just isn’t my idea of great patients. Call me a (whatever) I was scared, often!
Western State Hospital sits on valuable real estate that the Olympia politicians want for other purposes, so they are spreading the mentally ill to communities across the state. I agree with you, Sally-- Western State or similar facility needs to be restored and used for the mentally ill. Let's stop being enablers!
Umm... wait, this is way deeper and involved that blaming it on Reagan. The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 -- that pushed for federal funding to do this. Jimmy Carter was the President who signed the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 (MHSA) that provided grants to move people out of asylums and into the community. Coincide that with allowing health to be FOR PROFIT -- add to that the "patient's bill of rights" (that makes it very difficult to institutionalize anyone who is a danger to themselves or others, as the bar is very high), and the privatizing of jails (another profit center).
The Democrats were the engine behind the groundswell in the 60s and 70s to "de-institutionalize" mental health. The Pharma industry promoted "pills" to fix it all. (It was in 1973 that the Health Maintenence Organization Act -- made profiteering legal.
Regan just played along. It was a Democrat controlled House, and a Republican controlled Senate that worked together, and, of course a ton of lobbyists from the HMO groups. Health care spending totaled about $74.1billion in 1970, in 2023 the amount spent on health ballooned to more than $4.9 Trillion. (This is the total of how much each of us pay for health, per person from $353 to $14,570 per year.)
Nearly 20% of our GDP is devoted to health care -- this is greater than any other single industry, except making war tools.
The states REALLY wanted to stop being responsible for the crazy and dangerous individuals, and those unable to play nice in the community. The feds wanted to eliminate the costs. It was a government greed that pushed to get these people off the books. It was a HUGE move to save money, and spend it elsewhere (salaries for government employees???)
It's why the Omnibus Budget Recoonciliation aAct of 1981 was popular --- and signed by Regan -- but it was the House and Senate that had really created it. What was promoted was "state flexibility" to reduce funding for mental health services. It ended the federal funding and shifted it to a grant based system (as it is now). So all the states are competing for the same worm -- like little chirping birdies. The worms have been getting smaller -- and there is really lack of oversight, or a cohesive plan.
You must remember there was a LOT OF media (magazine articles, tv shows, lawsuits covered in newespapers) promoting the evils of asylums. Heck, the book/movie "One Flew Over the Coockoo's Nest" in 1975 was a great marketing tool. As a member of the public -- we bought into it.
This is not a path to stability. It's a luxurious permanent home to luxuriate in drugs and alcohol if you chose. And best of all, the higher your administrative budget, the more YOU must be paid to administer the funds. The real benefits are not to turn around people struggling or luxuriating in drugs and alchol abuse but rather the bureaucrat salaries. This is how the Democratic party has morphed over the years from genuinely seeking to help people in need to stuffing their own pockets. One bureacrat padding the pockets of the bureacrats downstream in the administrative stream.
And all you people who worked hard your whole life to achieve what little you have now watch the population who choose not to work reap the benefits of your labors from the taxes ripped from your wallets. But vote that (D) and expect it all to get better? Not hardly. Wake up it's getting worse every year not better and yes there is a very obvious clue...(D).
PS I am a 'used to be Democrat'. That the party is now a MEocrat party of self serving people who will say anything to 'win' and then line their pockets is no longer my party. I am an Independent.
Well said. It was Obama's lies that changed me from a lifelong Democrat into a staunch, Constitutional conservative in 2010. I now see the D's evil clearly. It amazes me how many are duped by the Democrat-controlled media. It's incredible! The sheeple believe they are getting the truth from the talking heads on network television and virtually every newspaper in the country, including our own Peninsula Daily N-doctrinator. The Democrats have taken corruption to an entirely new level in the past decade, and it's accelerating.
As Winston Churchill once said, if your in your twenties and not a liberal, you don't have a heart. If your in your forties and not a conservative, you don't have a brain.
Make environment unfriendly to large private businesses creating mass unemployment. Make taxes on small private businesses unsustainably high creating no new jobs and threatening existence of the businesses. Pay government employees more than private employees and swell the amount of government jobs to move majority of workers into government jobs. Flood environment with fentanyl to create homelessness, drug addiction, and crime to fuel the government industries of homeless interdiction, behavioral health, addiction services, and law enforcement. Build housing projects that people only qualify for as long as they never become independent and only rely on government. Does anyone else feel like this a concerted effort to transform a society away from private independent people to a people wholly dependent on the government? The number of truly independent people has got to be at an all time low.
This is NOT helping this is ENABLING. We need to make these individuals independent and self sufficient. These individuals will be wards of the state instead. Sad
Last year Brandi Kruse pointed out how Inslee was begging for Approx $126 million to provide housing for what amounted to about 100 homeless living next to the freeway, or 1.26 million per person! This is best described as lunacy! We all know that the majority of money that goes to these projects, is lost due to waste, fraud, and abuse.
And lining politicians' pockets. This should make it clear how politicians start broke and end up wealthy in a few short years. Here, Ozias greases the Tribe's palms and they grease his election campaigns. With this boondoggle project on PA, you can bet that the $$$ will mysteriously appear in the politicians' bank accounts, along with the high salaries for the people that run these "charities" and NGOs.
Do we know how many of these new expensive “units” they plan on providing? Just wondering. And their Screening process for potential tenants is… What? Are there NO requirements for the tenants that move in? If alcohol and drugs are permitted it will be disastrous. Enabling with a capital E. A criminal shame.
Hi Jan, 36 units for $12.75 million this time. People who are in and out of jail will be targeted because that "is not a recipe for long life or happiness or success." Tenants sign an agreement that alcohol and drug use are prohibited, but if they use those, they will not be evicted (like having a posted speed limit but knowing no one is writing tickets).
This is ridiculous. Does the Commission know that Utah solved this problem that saved them over 50% of the monies homeless people generate? Do you know what they did? They bought Foreclosed Homes. They put them in one room there, gave work support and emotional support. So there would be 3 people in a 3 bedroom home. They had to stay off of drugs and alcohol. When they found work, they had to give a portion back towards the "rent" of the house!!! These Commissioners should be told to contact Utah. I think it was Salt Lake City....but I am not sure of that.
Utah has the LDS church to promote programs for homelessness...that part of the model cannot be duplicated here because in Washington State churches have a "hands-off" policy (especially here in Clallam County). But, if you look at the Utah strategic plan for homelessness...it's really not much different than Washington's. While it was once lauded for fixing their homeless problem -- it was mostly PR...promoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, and the New Yorker. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/05/11/utah-was-once-lauded/
I don't know how to humanely deal with addiction, mental illness and homelessness...but I do know communism DOES NOT WORK...watching the Western World collapse into chaos and poverty is not how I hoped and wished to spend my last years but... say la vie!
I cannot help but agree with this piece. Government has become an insatiable self propagating beast. Charity is not the business of Government. We have multiple organizations, including church organizations as well as a few philanthropists that address charity. Government is for public safety and the building and maintenance infrastructure like transportation, sanitation, water, power, etc.. I do not prescribe to Government's give me your money and I'll handle it. I prescribe to I'll keep my money and I'll handle it. I'm not absent compassion, but the premise of rewarding homelessness is a separate matter.
If they want to live in camps tents give them a shovel and have them work in parks, on national forest trails. The Conservation Corp Camps were good enough for my father who built the national parks, forest trails. No booze. Fresh air. Hard work. Income.
How can we take back our government short of an armed revolution? Even if you elected all new government, the system is still there for newcomers to follow.
Wow! Your detail is stunning Jeff. Clearly the woke mind virus has infected our Commissioners and they clearly our going to perpetuate the problem on a minor scale of what has Happened in SF and Seattle etc. A lot of homelessness is by choice. Some people don't want to follow the rules. Our "leaders" are ignoring the fact that the majority of these people are suffering from serious substance abuse or untreated mental illness. Throwing a bunch of money at housing or shelter resources makes the politically connected agencies being paid to provide these services a lot of money and gives the politicians something to point to when asked what the are doing about the situation. Human nature is human nature. Being soft on crime, public drug use or whatever just perpetuates the problem. I would like to see more volunteers at a company spending more than half the money on themselves. Next there needs to be random drug testing and work requirments.....slowly added.....initially helping with the facility itself for a hour a day after 2 weeks of being sober and getting daily counseling. Slowly working up to getting community jobs....perhaps starting out as volunteers.
I really doubt anyone is homeless by choice (well, maybe a few -- but it is a very few). More likely people become homeless because our education system failed them, as did our foster care system (that is a big chunk). There are 18 years olds jettisoned out of the foster care system with ZERO job skills.
We have so many families headed by impoverished single women -- and if she loses her job -- whoops, there are children raised homeless! (Homelessness is "normal" for some kids.)
Then our medical (non-existent) system will bankrupt you (even with insurance) faster than anything else. One bad accident, and there goes your house.
Nearly everyone working today in our community is a couple of paychecks away from homeless. Lose your job... whoops. Suddenly, you're living in your car.
The more the state/county/city raise taxes and utility costs the more people will just fall off the thin line they are walking. You can only couch surf for so long -- especially if you are on social security. No one wants old people hanging around.
Then, even something like a death in the family can cause someone to go into a spiral -- depression, PTSD, whatever --- and be unable to work. There is no safety net, and trying to get into any programs takes focus, and the ability to actually follow all the convoluted steps. There are so many barriers to scramble over, and what employer wants to hire anyone who has BEEN out-of-work, without an address, will have a huge problem being hired. It's a touch mountain.
Putting up a fancy apartment is only window dressing -- catering to those who have fallen into the drug abyss aren't the people who NEED help. And, throwing money at a problem..is never the fix.
How about a daily dole program? Show up at Clallam County, get a broom -- sweep for $5 an hour, $40 a day, $1200 a month of supplemental income. Come by for a day-job assignment -- filing, cleaning, whatever.
There are so many things that could happen -- but that isn't what government is about.
It's about how they can make government bigger -- tax more, more government employees --- it's a cat chasing its tail.
$350k per unit isn't the answer. Allowing drug and alcohol use while living there is simply foolish. It makes it not safe as "Users" have "Dealers" and while both are breaking the law one is engaged in a for profit Criminal Enterprise and is most likely carrying the tools (weapon) to safeguard his business. Read Michael Shellenberger's book San Fransicko. It explains the how this this small but very vocal segment of the population believes in a"victim mentality". Its an ideology of victim and oppressor. That everyone has the right to do whatever they want. That drug use and addiction is a personal right. Shellenberger breaks down the segments of the homeless into the categories and percentages. Its eye opening. I agree with Shellenberger that as a society we could correct about 70% of this with make sense policies.
Its a relatively quick and easy read that is informative and offers solutions.
In a public records request to Washington State Department of Commerce, was a reply that Washington State had 6,100 something homeless grants. The amount of money spent on the homeless issue is staggering. My research showed 90 percent of the money was spent on a questionnaire and brochure bureaucracy. You had and still most likely have, a 4 clipboard federal county, state, city, non-profit questionnaire brochure collection and distribution system. Why are you homeless, here is information on where to go. That's a job the tax payer pays in some places 4 times to do. In King County they for sure have all four clipboards. Clallam has probably 2 or 3 clipboards. They could have purchased and built actual housing in every community. We are talking in the billions in my adult lifetime.
Hey John I guess some people think that if you " Put lipstick on a pig, it ceases to be a pig". Repeating the mistakes of the past does not make things better. It appears that this PBH organization has succeeded in at least one thing, providing jobs for 180 people, using mostly government money and donations from others who write it off. I also would like to join the rank of CRACKPOT if you'll have me.
Went to meeting today with Mike French & Wendy Sisk about the homeless permanent housing in Port Angeles to the tune of 12.75 MILLION DOLLARS.
Thought I would share the take aways with what we learned.
Mike French said he had not known about the actual specifics in regards to the oversized windows, extra large air conditioners $15,000 per unit, upgraded wood planking, appliances, heavy sound insulation throughout, extra items driving up the cost to build units for providing permanent housing for the PBH population. It was as expected PBH are going to do what they want with our tax money as long as the Commissioners keep approving the money for their upgraded facilities. It is frustrating to not be able to rein in needless frivolous spending of other peoples money. Thought you may be interested, fyi.
its possible some of this money to build is with Private $$. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is a federal program that encourages private investment in affordable rental housing by providing dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal income tax liability in exchange for investing in qualifying new construction and rehabilitation projects.
So, basically for RICH PEOPLE, and sold on an open market -- not for anyone local. They are, usually, fifteen year programs, with credits taken for about 10-11 years.
(The projects need some specific attributes: near public transportation, in neighborhoods, using environmentally friendly materials, blah blah blah) The higher the dollar amount the bigger the "ca-ching". But, "gap funding" is always needed, or matching funds.
Tax credits expire -- eventually. The building is converted to permanent debt either through outright sale of the property, or sale of the investor's interest in the partnership -- and they're cashed out. Depending on how the whole thing is structured -- the building could just be sold, to private owners and would just be fixed up and not be low-income/homeless any longer.
Since we don't know the actual details...who knows? I'm sure someone is going to benefit, and it won't be the community.
This is rewarding addiction, plain and simple, and will solve NOTHING. As a child, I was taught the evils of drug addiction, that the end effect was to lose everything. It was a sufficient deterrent for me to not risk going down that road. Yet, we seem to be ENCOURAGING people to become addicts and get all sorts of free stuff thrown at them. For lazy people who choose not to work, this is a real gravy train. Get high, be given free food, medical care, shelter, nicer housing than many working people can afford, and time/money to get high again. Over and over. Where is the "rock bottom", lying with their faces in the gutter, to get them to turn their lives around? It's not there because of self-serving politicians and organizations. It is NOT kindness, help-- it is ENABLING AND PERPETUATING ADDICTION. I see it, you see it, and those involved likely see it, but they make a living from it, perpetuating the problem is in their best interest! The best thing we could do is to do absolutely NOTHING. Only then can they hit rock bottom and reverse their lives. Preventing rock bottom prevents recovery.
Thank you for exposing this, Jeff, and hopefully each of us will expose the Addiction and Homelessness Complex.
When I was in high school I volunteered for a couple of years at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. They housed people with a variety of ‘issues’: dementia, low I.Q., anger issues, drug or alcohol addiction, even seizures. They also had a separate unit for dangerous individuals who were deemed unfit to stand trial. If you watch the Jack Nicholson movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it was filmed there in Salem.
One of the mistakes Reagan made was to empty out the state mental hospitals. Many of those patients encompass our homeless population.
Maybe it’s time to return to a similar arrangement where individuals who can’t take care of themselves need to be housed in dormitory-style places where they can be cared for unless or until they or their families can care for them.
I also worked in a state managed facility. At some point they deemed everyone fit for group homes. So instead of a central location for health, food, education, we drove all over King County to see clients. There was very little thought put into who should roommate with whom. I actually was frightened in several incidents . Mental issues along with criminal offenses just isn’t my idea of great patients. Call me a (whatever) I was scared, often!
Western State Hospital sits on valuable real estate that the Olympia politicians want for other purposes, so they are spreading the mentally ill to communities across the state. I agree with you, Sally-- Western State or similar facility needs to be restored and used for the mentally ill. Let's stop being enablers!
In my mind it’s not a maybe. It’s a definite yes! The public is in constant danger by people needing mental health care.
Umm... wait, this is way deeper and involved that blaming it on Reagan. The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 -- that pushed for federal funding to do this. Jimmy Carter was the President who signed the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 (MHSA) that provided grants to move people out of asylums and into the community. Coincide that with allowing health to be FOR PROFIT -- add to that the "patient's bill of rights" (that makes it very difficult to institutionalize anyone who is a danger to themselves or others, as the bar is very high), and the privatizing of jails (another profit center).
The Democrats were the engine behind the groundswell in the 60s and 70s to "de-institutionalize" mental health. The Pharma industry promoted "pills" to fix it all. (It was in 1973 that the Health Maintenence Organization Act -- made profiteering legal.
Regan just played along. It was a Democrat controlled House, and a Republican controlled Senate that worked together, and, of course a ton of lobbyists from the HMO groups. Health care spending totaled about $74.1billion in 1970, in 2023 the amount spent on health ballooned to more than $4.9 Trillion. (This is the total of how much each of us pay for health, per person from $353 to $14,570 per year.)
Nearly 20% of our GDP is devoted to health care -- this is greater than any other single industry, except making war tools.
The states REALLY wanted to stop being responsible for the crazy and dangerous individuals, and those unable to play nice in the community. The feds wanted to eliminate the costs. It was a government greed that pushed to get these people off the books. It was a HUGE move to save money, and spend it elsewhere (salaries for government employees???)
It's why the Omnibus Budget Recoonciliation aAct of 1981 was popular --- and signed by Regan -- but it was the House and Senate that had really created it. What was promoted was "state flexibility" to reduce funding for mental health services. It ended the federal funding and shifted it to a grant based system (as it is now). So all the states are competing for the same worm -- like little chirping birdies. The worms have been getting smaller -- and there is really lack of oversight, or a cohesive plan.
You must remember there was a LOT OF media (magazine articles, tv shows, lawsuits covered in newespapers) promoting the evils of asylums. Heck, the book/movie "One Flew Over the Coockoo's Nest" in 1975 was a great marketing tool. As a member of the public -- we bought into it.
This is not a path to stability. It's a luxurious permanent home to luxuriate in drugs and alcohol if you chose. And best of all, the higher your administrative budget, the more YOU must be paid to administer the funds. The real benefits are not to turn around people struggling or luxuriating in drugs and alchol abuse but rather the bureaucrat salaries. This is how the Democratic party has morphed over the years from genuinely seeking to help people in need to stuffing their own pockets. One bureacrat padding the pockets of the bureacrats downstream in the administrative stream.
And all you people who worked hard your whole life to achieve what little you have now watch the population who choose not to work reap the benefits of your labors from the taxes ripped from your wallets. But vote that (D) and expect it all to get better? Not hardly. Wake up it's getting worse every year not better and yes there is a very obvious clue...(D).
PS I am a 'used to be Democrat'. That the party is now a MEocrat party of self serving people who will say anything to 'win' and then line their pockets is no longer my party. I am an Independent.
Well said. It was Obama's lies that changed me from a lifelong Democrat into a staunch, Constitutional conservative in 2010. I now see the D's evil clearly. It amazes me how many are duped by the Democrat-controlled media. It's incredible! The sheeple believe they are getting the truth from the talking heads on network television and virtually every newspaper in the country, including our own Peninsula Daily N-doctrinator. The Democrats have taken corruption to an entirely new level in the past decade, and it's accelerating.
As Winston Churchill once said, if your in your twenties and not a liberal, you don't have a heart. If your in your forties and not a conservative, you don't have a brain.
Make environment unfriendly to large private businesses creating mass unemployment. Make taxes on small private businesses unsustainably high creating no new jobs and threatening existence of the businesses. Pay government employees more than private employees and swell the amount of government jobs to move majority of workers into government jobs. Flood environment with fentanyl to create homelessness, drug addiction, and crime to fuel the government industries of homeless interdiction, behavioral health, addiction services, and law enforcement. Build housing projects that people only qualify for as long as they never become independent and only rely on government. Does anyone else feel like this a concerted effort to transform a society away from private independent people to a people wholly dependent on the government? The number of truly independent people has got to be at an all time low.
Marxism 101.
🤔hhhmmmmmm souls like you will own nothing and be happy…
🤬🤬🤬 sorry but that is all that comes to mind...infuriating!
This is NOT helping this is ENABLING. We need to make these individuals independent and self sufficient. These individuals will be wards of the state instead. Sad
It’s not rehab when booze is flowing. Ridiculous.
Last year Brandi Kruse pointed out how Inslee was begging for Approx $126 million to provide housing for what amounted to about 100 homeless living next to the freeway, or 1.26 million per person! This is best described as lunacy! We all know that the majority of money that goes to these projects, is lost due to waste, fraud, and abuse.
That's right, I remember that Mike.
And lining politicians' pockets. This should make it clear how politicians start broke and end up wealthy in a few short years. Here, Ozias greases the Tribe's palms and they grease his election campaigns. With this boondoggle project on PA, you can bet that the $$$ will mysteriously appear in the politicians' bank accounts, along with the high salaries for the people that run these "charities" and NGOs.
Do we know how many of these new expensive “units” they plan on providing? Just wondering. And their Screening process for potential tenants is… What? Are there NO requirements for the tenants that move in? If alcohol and drugs are permitted it will be disastrous. Enabling with a capital E. A criminal shame.
Hi Jan, 36 units for $12.75 million this time. People who are in and out of jail will be targeted because that "is not a recipe for long life or happiness or success." Tenants sign an agreement that alcohol and drug use are prohibited, but if they use those, they will not be evicted (like having a posted speed limit but knowing no one is writing tickets).
This is ridiculous. Does the Commission know that Utah solved this problem that saved them over 50% of the monies homeless people generate? Do you know what they did? They bought Foreclosed Homes. They put them in one room there, gave work support and emotional support. So there would be 3 people in a 3 bedroom home. They had to stay off of drugs and alcohol. When they found work, they had to give a portion back towards the "rent" of the house!!! These Commissioners should be told to contact Utah. I think it was Salt Lake City....but I am not sure of that.
Utah has the LDS church to promote programs for homelessness...that part of the model cannot be duplicated here because in Washington State churches have a "hands-off" policy (especially here in Clallam County). But, if you look at the Utah strategic plan for homelessness...it's really not much different than Washington's. While it was once lauded for fixing their homeless problem -- it was mostly PR...promoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, and the New Yorker. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/05/11/utah-was-once-lauded/
I don't know how to humanely deal with addiction, mental illness and homelessness...but I do know communism DOES NOT WORK...watching the Western World collapse into chaos and poverty is not how I hoped and wished to spend my last years but... say la vie!
Just posted on X.
"Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution" Clay Skirky
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1831948572717412517
This is why the “homeless” (more accurately referred to as “drug zombies”) problem only gets worse with increased funding. Elon Musk.
Great quote, I updated the article and included it.
I cannot help but agree with this piece. Government has become an insatiable self propagating beast. Charity is not the business of Government. We have multiple organizations, including church organizations as well as a few philanthropists that address charity. Government is for public safety and the building and maintenance infrastructure like transportation, sanitation, water, power, etc.. I do not prescribe to Government's give me your money and I'll handle it. I prescribe to I'll keep my money and I'll handle it. I'm not absent compassion, but the premise of rewarding homelessness is a separate matter.
If they want to live in camps tents give them a shovel and have them work in parks, on national forest trails. The Conservation Corp Camps were good enough for my father who built the national parks, forest trails. No booze. Fresh air. Hard work. Income.
How can we take back our government short of an armed revolution? Even if you elected all new government, the system is still there for newcomers to follow.
Wow! Your detail is stunning Jeff. Clearly the woke mind virus has infected our Commissioners and they clearly our going to perpetuate the problem on a minor scale of what has Happened in SF and Seattle etc. A lot of homelessness is by choice. Some people don't want to follow the rules. Our "leaders" are ignoring the fact that the majority of these people are suffering from serious substance abuse or untreated mental illness. Throwing a bunch of money at housing or shelter resources makes the politically connected agencies being paid to provide these services a lot of money and gives the politicians something to point to when asked what the are doing about the situation. Human nature is human nature. Being soft on crime, public drug use or whatever just perpetuates the problem. I would like to see more volunteers at a company spending more than half the money on themselves. Next there needs to be random drug testing and work requirments.....slowly added.....initially helping with the facility itself for a hour a day after 2 weeks of being sober and getting daily counseling. Slowly working up to getting community jobs....perhaps starting out as volunteers.
I'm so glad you're reading, CW.
I really doubt anyone is homeless by choice (well, maybe a few -- but it is a very few). More likely people become homeless because our education system failed them, as did our foster care system (that is a big chunk). There are 18 years olds jettisoned out of the foster care system with ZERO job skills.
We have so many families headed by impoverished single women -- and if she loses her job -- whoops, there are children raised homeless! (Homelessness is "normal" for some kids.)
Then our medical (non-existent) system will bankrupt you (even with insurance) faster than anything else. One bad accident, and there goes your house.
Nearly everyone working today in our community is a couple of paychecks away from homeless. Lose your job... whoops. Suddenly, you're living in your car.
The more the state/county/city raise taxes and utility costs the more people will just fall off the thin line they are walking. You can only couch surf for so long -- especially if you are on social security. No one wants old people hanging around.
Then, even something like a death in the family can cause someone to go into a spiral -- depression, PTSD, whatever --- and be unable to work. There is no safety net, and trying to get into any programs takes focus, and the ability to actually follow all the convoluted steps. There are so many barriers to scramble over, and what employer wants to hire anyone who has BEEN out-of-work, without an address, will have a huge problem being hired. It's a touch mountain.
Putting up a fancy apartment is only window dressing -- catering to those who have fallen into the drug abyss aren't the people who NEED help. And, throwing money at a problem..is never the fix.
How about a daily dole program? Show up at Clallam County, get a broom -- sweep for $5 an hour, $40 a day, $1200 a month of supplemental income. Come by for a day-job assignment -- filing, cleaning, whatever.
There are so many things that could happen -- but that isn't what government is about.
It's about how they can make government bigger -- tax more, more government employees --- it's a cat chasing its tail.
$350k per unit isn't the answer. Allowing drug and alcohol use while living there is simply foolish. It makes it not safe as "Users" have "Dealers" and while both are breaking the law one is engaged in a for profit Criminal Enterprise and is most likely carrying the tools (weapon) to safeguard his business. Read Michael Shellenberger's book San Fransicko. It explains the how this this small but very vocal segment of the population believes in a"victim mentality". Its an ideology of victim and oppressor. That everyone has the right to do whatever they want. That drug use and addiction is a personal right. Shellenberger breaks down the segments of the homeless into the categories and percentages. Its eye opening. I agree with Shellenberger that as a society we could correct about 70% of this with make sense policies.
Its a relatively quick and easy read that is informative and offers solutions.
You're the second person to mention that title (today). It's on the shelf at the PA library and I just put a hold on it. Thanks!
In a public records request to Washington State Department of Commerce, was a reply that Washington State had 6,100 something homeless grants. The amount of money spent on the homeless issue is staggering. My research showed 90 percent of the money was spent on a questionnaire and brochure bureaucracy. You had and still most likely have, a 4 clipboard federal county, state, city, non-profit questionnaire brochure collection and distribution system. Why are you homeless, here is information on where to go. That's a job the tax payer pays in some places 4 times to do. In King County they for sure have all four clipboards. Clallam has probably 2 or 3 clipboards. They could have purchased and built actual housing in every community. We are talking in the billions in my adult lifetime.
Hey John I guess some people think that if you " Put lipstick on a pig, it ceases to be a pig". Repeating the mistakes of the past does not make things better. It appears that this PBH organization has succeeded in at least one thing, providing jobs for 180 people, using mostly government money and donations from others who write it off. I also would like to join the rank of CRACKPOT if you'll have me.
You are welcome. Whether you get the triple digit paid snob sending the down his
nose email about me I got remains to be seen.
Incredible! And why our taxes keep going up ABOVE inflation rates.
Went to meeting today with Mike French & Wendy Sisk about the homeless permanent housing in Port Angeles to the tune of 12.75 MILLION DOLLARS.
Thought I would share the take aways with what we learned.
Mike French said he had not known about the actual specifics in regards to the oversized windows, extra large air conditioners $15,000 per unit, upgraded wood planking, appliances, heavy sound insulation throughout, extra items driving up the cost to build units for providing permanent housing for the PBH population. It was as expected PBH are going to do what they want with our tax money as long as the Commissioners keep approving the money for their upgraded facilities. It is frustrating to not be able to rein in needless frivolous spending of other peoples money. Thought you may be interested, fyi.
its possible some of this money to build is with Private $$. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is a federal program that encourages private investment in affordable rental housing by providing dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal income tax liability in exchange for investing in qualifying new construction and rehabilitation projects.
So, basically for RICH PEOPLE, and sold on an open market -- not for anyone local. They are, usually, fifteen year programs, with credits taken for about 10-11 years.
(The projects need some specific attributes: near public transportation, in neighborhoods, using environmentally friendly materials, blah blah blah) The higher the dollar amount the bigger the "ca-ching". But, "gap funding" is always needed, or matching funds.
Tax credits expire -- eventually. The building is converted to permanent debt either through outright sale of the property, or sale of the investor's interest in the partnership -- and they're cashed out. Depending on how the whole thing is structured -- the building could just be sold, to private owners and would just be fixed up and not be low-income/homeless any longer.
Since we don't know the actual details...who knows? I'm sure someone is going to benefit, and it won't be the community.
This is rewarding addiction, plain and simple, and will solve NOTHING. As a child, I was taught the evils of drug addiction, that the end effect was to lose everything. It was a sufficient deterrent for me to not risk going down that road. Yet, we seem to be ENCOURAGING people to become addicts and get all sorts of free stuff thrown at them. For lazy people who choose not to work, this is a real gravy train. Get high, be given free food, medical care, shelter, nicer housing than many working people can afford, and time/money to get high again. Over and over. Where is the "rock bottom", lying with their faces in the gutter, to get them to turn their lives around? It's not there because of self-serving politicians and organizations. It is NOT kindness, help-- it is ENABLING AND PERPETUATING ADDICTION. I see it, you see it, and those involved likely see it, but they make a living from it, perpetuating the problem is in their best interest! The best thing we could do is to do absolutely NOTHING. Only then can they hit rock bottom and reverse their lives. Preventing rock bottom prevents recovery.
Thank you for exposing this, Jeff, and hopefully each of us will expose the Addiction and Homelessness Complex.
You're always welcome, NOI. I always appreciate you reading and commenting.