New York City is the city that never sleeps, Portland is where you start to nod off.
How did this happen?
Regardless of political stance, decked out in red or blue, it is safe to say that every Portlander can agree that the homeless problem has gotten out of hand, and that something needs to change.
What are the numbers?
Portland Oregon has a homeless population of 11,000 individuals, a steady increase of 65% since 2015. 25% of them are experiencing chronic homelessness, which is the state of being without housing for more than a year. The group itself is made up of women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and individuals facing mental health and substance abuse issues. 37.5% of people facing homelessness admit to the abuse of substances, ones with recognizable names like Fentanyl and Methamphetamine.
What are the plans?
Kamala Harris, the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, and the current vice president of the United States proposed a solution for the homeless crisis, which she plans to sweep across the nation. Focusing primarily on the ability to secure affordable housing, Harris announced new funding of $5.5 Billion, in order to boost this, while simultaneously building wealth and investing in economic growth and development. The budget is planned to be granted to 1,200 communities throughout the country, with the quintessential message that homeownership is critical in building a future for the individual, obtaining a sense of financial security, and creating jobs.
The total sum will be split according to need, among grantees all throughout the country. A handful of them include, $1.3 Billion to support the building of more affordable housing, split among 663 grantees, $214 Million to each individual state in order to increase the supply of affordable housing, $455 million to find housing and support for those with HIV/AIDS, and $290 million to address homelessness.
In Portland Oregon alone, the suspected cost of an adequate dent in the homeless problem is $3 billion dollars.
Since the 1980’s, the United States has implemented the ‘housing first’ approach, which is one that focuses on the roofs over the heads of individuals, before trying to help the addicted, unemployed, and mentally ill.
Donald Trump, the presidential candidate for the Republican Party in the 2024 Presidential election has a different approach. Instead, Trump has plans to reverse the roles, and adopt a ‘treatment-first’ method, with the argument that “Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares, surrendered to the homeless, the drug-addicted, and the violent and dangerously deranged”. His plan to do this involves large segments of affordable land, transformed into “tent-cities”, and packed with doctors, social workers, drug rehab specialists, and physiatrists. The end goal would be a steady integration back into society once the homeless are well enough to manage.
While Project 2025 was debunked as a part of Trump’s message in this present election, similar strategies can be found there, with the overarching idea, stated by Ben Carson, the former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to “end Housing First policies so that the department prioritizes mental health and substance abuse issues before jumping to permanent interventions in homelessness.” Trumps idea involves the criminalization of homelessness, specifically urban camping, and limit options to either arrest, or treatment and rehabilitation.
The 2024 Presidential election has sparked the conversation around numerous policies, both offering opposing solutions designed by political opinion. Whether or not you plan to vote red or blue this coming week, or even vote at all; the future of the homeless population will be dependent on who is elected into office. Kamala Harris offers an old solution, proposed with new numbers, while Donald Trump adopts a new approach that has gone untried thus far. Both presidential parties offer different solutions, with a similar end goal. One is a mock-up of plans of the past, while one is new and unconventional. The Democratic and Republican parties both recognize the desperate need for a change, but how we do it is up to us.
https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/07/10/trump-biden-atlanta-homeless-policy-debate/
https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2024/07/10/trump-biden-atlanta-homeless-policy-debate/
