Ben Trachten’s Post

I’d like to know what you all think about this article. Are tiny homes a viable solution to communities permanent housing needs? Or, more of stopgap/intermediary until permanent housing solutions can be developed?

The U.S. Supreme Court has just issued a decision on the homelessness crisis. Here’s why this ruling is a ticking time bomb for Portland: ⚠️ Oregon is the only western state with a codified right to camping if too few shelters are available. ⚠️ If surrounding states and cities aggressively enforce new camping laws, Portland may become the city of last resort. ⚠️ We do not have enough emergency shelter beds. Our failed city leadership refuses to build enough for our current needs and has not prepared for the implications of the Grants Pass decision. It’s time to stop blaming the federal, state, and county governments for failing to act. We must clear our city of hazardous encampments, derelict cars, and unregistered, unsafe RVs, but we must do it cost-effectively and with the compassion that has always defined our community. As mayor, I’ll end unsheltered homelessness in Portland within 12 months of assuming office. Nighttime emergency shelter will provide safety, security, shelter, and sleep. Day shelters will serve as a ‘warm handoff’ designed to assess individual needs, connect individuals with resources, and permanently help our neighbors off the streets. It’s a proven blueprint developed by my nonprofit, Shelter Portland. We’ve seen the success of this strategy in other cities. If you want to bring this winning blueprint to Portland, a contribution to my campaign could make all the difference. #portland #pdx #homelessness #grantspassdecision #scotus #keithwilsonformayor

🌟 From Shelter Beds to Affordable Housing 🌟 The journey to secure stable housing is vital for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Each element of the ABC's for housing are interconnected, necessary, and offer a clear pathway to address this need: A = Any Bed: Immediate shelter is the first step. Providing safe and accessible emergency shelter beds ensures no one is left without a roof over their head. B = Better Bed: Transitional housing comes next. These "better beds" offer a more stable environment where individuals can access supportive services, work towards personal goals, and start rebuilding their lives. C = Continuous Home: The ultimate goal is permanent, affordable housing. A continuous home provides long-term stability, allowing people to thrive in a secure and supportive community. By ensuring a continuum from emergency shelter to affordable housing, we can create a system that supports individuals every step of the way, fostering stability, dignity, and hope for a brighter future. #HousingForAll #AffordableHousing #EndHomelessness

Tips, Info, Homless Camp Cleanups ! Homeless camp cleanups are not about picking up trash left behind by desperate people. Rather, they are about taking a hard look at a complex issue. Governments focusing on cleaning up homeless camps cleanups have to balance several key factors to create a healthier situation for everyone. Safety: • Public health – Removal and disposal of biohazards, sanitation issues, and hazardous materials, a.k .a. the clean up. • Community safety – Crime and criminal activity associated with homeless camps. • Personal safety – Ensuring the safety of cleanup workers and residents of the homeless camp. Humanity: • Compassionate treatment – Are the residents' dignity and privacy being respected? • Offer of assistance – What services do residents need to transition out of homelessness? Are they available and easy to use? Sustainability: • Addressing root causes: Implementing solutions to prevent the re-establishment of homeless camps • Community involvement: Engaging the community to develop and implement long-term solutions • Data-driven approach: Using data to measure progress and inform future decisions See It Gone Junk Removal offers local and state governments the means to clean up the remains of a homeless camp safely and with environmentally sound practices. We clean up the bio-waste, junk, and trash and remove dangerous structures from homeless encampments. With the homeless camp cleanup delegated, governmental officials can focus on finding solutions to the underlying causes of homelessness. See It Gone Junk Removal proudly serves • Yuba City • Marysville • Natomas • Rocklin • Roseville • Sacramento We are licensed and insured even commercially. We also on the vendor list so we service Property Managers , Real Estate Agents , Real Estate investment Groups , as well as The General public ☎️(530) 845-1270 ✅ Free Quotes ✅ Curbside Pick-ups ✅ same day or next day service ✅Approved /Verified Vendor ✅licensed & Insured. ✅ FIVE STAR REVIEWS⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ https://lnkd.in/dw9cP2jU #junkjournal #junkremovalservice #junkremoval #junkremovalbusiness #junkhauling #junkremovalservices #greatcustomerservice #junkremovalnearme #trashremoval

Findings from a thematic analysis of focus groups with 44 people experiencing homelessness: "Almost all of the focus group participants had sought access to the shelter on one or more occasions. All focus group participants stated they would use the shelters if they were accessible, safe, and clean. Most participants asserted that the shelter lacked enough beds, did not provide needed services, and was unsafe and unsanitary. Negative experiences at the shelter also influenced their decisions, especially disrespectful or abusive treatment by shelter staff or the perception that the shelter's policies were unreasonable. They proposed better choices, such as camping sites or tiny houses." Time and time again, we see that people don't reject shelter simply because they prefer to be unhoused. That's why encampment bans are so ineffective and inhumane; access to safe and dignified accommodations largely doesn't exist in the first place.

An effective emergency shelter is: ✅ safe ✅ welcoming ✅ low-barrier ✅ housing-focused This week's webinar will discuss tips for ensuring that emergency shelter - a critical component of an effective homeless response system - meets these criteria: https://lnkd.in/eNmBtKbA

As cities begin to clear encampments following Governor Newsom’s recent decision, it is important to recognize that this is not a comprehensive solution to Los Angeles' homelessness crisis. Homelessness in LA is a complex, multifaceted issue that demands an approach sensitive to the unique circumstances of each individual and family in need of immediate support. We created Better Angels to solve LA’s homelessness epidemic through a holistic approach that includes: Prevention, Sanitation, Services, Shelter and Housing. https://lnkd.in/gPuvhwFa

Reflecting on the latest report by Dan Fumano, the decrease in tent count at Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park rises both immediate and long-term concern. The tents may be gone, but the crisis remains. Forcibly removing tents and sleeping bags ahead of a cold snap is inhumane, and a deplorable reminder of our flawed approach to homelessness. Decampments demand careful planning, connection to shelter and resources, and above all, compassion. #OppenheimerPark #VancouverHomelessness #CompassionateResponse https://lnkd.in/eeCJBeu4

Housing and shelter are essential pillars of society, and having a safe place to sleep is a fundamental human need. We’re sorely disappointed that the Court today failed to recognize that locking someone up for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is cruel and unusual punishment. The majority’s inability to see this as a violation of the Eighth Amendment misreads how inescapable homelessness has become for a record setting number of American families. Here’s what we know: homelessness is a direct result of a lack of affordable housing. And until we create and preserve more affordable homes, arrests and other phony fixes will only drive more people deeper into homelessness and despair.   Here’s the good news: We know what works. Placing individuals rapidly into a permanent home with supportive services is the most effective way of keeping them off the streets. As the nation’s largest affordable housing organization, Enterprise calls on our leaders to commit to real solutions. We won’t rest until we deploy smart, proven solutions to end homelessness in America as we know it. https://lnkd.in/eUPeG7v4

Muizenberg is a seaside, windy little town south of Cape Town and a place I call home. It's got lots of open spaces, a beach, a mountain and lots of shops and restaurants in a compact area. Like most suburbs in Cape Town, there are housed people and unhoused people that form part of the community. News landed today from our City of Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis: "...Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced the City’s approval of funding for another new Safe Space [homeless] shelter. The facility will serve the broader Muizenberg area..." https://lnkd.in/driycHKv Back in 2022 I was part of the Muizenberg Improvement District (MID) team that advocated to get the City of Cape Town to open up a Safe Space in Muizenberg. We negotiated for two potential city-owned sites to be considered for a 40 - 60 person safe space. A safe space is where an unhoused person can sleep a night inside a secure area, with food, water and access to ablution facilities. The MID had access to some funding and worked with both Mould Empower Serve and U-turn Homeless Ministries to establish how we'd get this thing off the ground followed by a operations plan to keep it sustainable and well managed. We finally got an offer for one of those sites and we begun the process of getting the residents of Muizenberg (both the housed and unhoused) informed so that they could have their say on how we should proceed. It was super early days in the whole process. Before we started the official public participation process we thought we'd start by having a public meeting to get a sense of what people were feeling as news had already begun to spread. These two articles sum it up: "Upset at site visits" https://lnkd.in/dTSAj4N3 and "Residents reject proposed site for homeless safe space" https://lnkd.in/dbmnR6jD. There was so much heat already and we hadn't really even begun. It had taken us almost two years just for the City of Cape Town to give us the green light on a piece of land and there were now lawsuits being prepared, threats I received on email and whatsapp and about 100 official email complaints sent to the ward counselor and this wasn't even in the public participation phase yet. The brakes were pulled, we lost momentum, the legal threats and personal threats put a significant halt on my enthusiasm and eventually the offer seemed to be withdrawn. We were back to square one! So this news that's come out today is a pleasant surprise that things are picking up again. I am no longer part of the MID and it seems that uTurn have managed to work directly with the City this time around which ultimately is a good thing. Lets hope the unhoused community finally get their safe space.