Ruth White’s Post

If there’s one thing we know about Tulsans, it’s that we show up for each other. Homelessness is a community-wide issue and will require community-based solutions to solve it. The work that A Way Home for Tulsa partner agencies are doing is working to get Tulsans housed, but more of that work is needed, requiring more resources and community commitment to address this critical issue. Learn more about the impact of A Way Home for Tulsa’s work at https://lnkd.in/gBWXVmdY.

When viewed side-by-side, investing in evidence-based homeless services is far more effective than criminalization. A new analysis from National Alliance to End Homelessness compares the two approaches. https://lnkd.in/g6w-SmkB #JohnsonVGrantsPass.

Understanding the Challenges Faced by Homeless Individuals By Marc Rowley In addressing the profound issue of homelessness, it is essential to approach the subject with both a deep sense of empathy and a commitment to factual understanding. The following document, "Understanding the Challenges Faced by Homeless Individuals," serves as a crucial resource in shedding light on the complexities and realities of homelessness. As someone who is dedicated to helping homeless individuals, I have witnessed firsthand the multifaceted challenges faced by those living without a permanent residence. https://buff.ly/3Scxew8

How do we make the experience of homelessness short? Until we can tackle the root causes of homelessness, we will continue our vital work to make the experience brief. By supporting people to access housing quickly, we prevent prolonged rough sleeping and its harmful effects. Find out more about this key area of our work which support individuals into stable and safe housing: https://ow.ly/2xPz50SrSzl

https://lnkd.in/gDkxNy_F I am grateful and beyond privileged to announce I have been selected to receive an all-expense paid trip to San Francisco next March to attend the National Alliance to End Homelessness Innovations and Solutions Conference. All travel arrangements, lodging, registration, food expenses, and transportation provided! I wrote an essay about homelessness. It basically explained that Arizona(after the 2008 foreclosure crisis) failed to build single-family homes to match population growth. Then we promoted a tax-break system to attract revenue through corporate interest development. Population doubled in ten years. That created a society too expensive to live in, while economists’ voices were drowned out by petty politics and political powergrabs focused on the velocity of money. We caused homelessness by being short-sighted yet drive around and look down upon it as a behavior problem. Meanwhile, grandma is on the sidewalk with her walker because she got priced out of her apartment(for the first time in her life). We task police to target homeless people when we should be solving homelessness. Add in a pandemic and a $30B fentanyl industry at the southern border and we have in Maricopa County 12,000 homeless people, rampant overdoses, 765 heat-related deaths every year, a 25% annual increase in the unsheltered population & 290,000 single-family homes short of what we need while we run out of water! THE POLICY DOESN’T MATCH THE PROBLEM! Maricopa County houses 1200 people a year with HUD subsidies while 700+ die in the sweltering heat. It’s a legislative problem causing a “stick” without a “carrot” situation and suppressing peoples’ intrinsic motivations…😞 Top it off with a billion-dollar AHCCCS FBI fraud investigation, and you have the fastest growing homeless crisis in the United States alongside the worst massive billing-fraud in Arizona history. #disposablepeople #housingfirst #SUDtreatment #Structuralviolence Director Townsend in Washington D.C. sends a letter saying, “Congratulations- you’re going to San Francisco!”… 😳

🏠 Addressing homelessness is a moral imperative -- This week, I had the privilege of attending a legislative briefing at the RI state house, where the urgency of addressing homelessness was underscored by passionate advocates and representatives. A key takeaway was the undeniable strain felt across our state due to the rising number of unhoused individuals, regardless of income bracket. The ripple effects touch every aspect of our community, from increased pressure on essential services to the heartbreaking reality of families, including children, sleeping on the streets due to insufficient shelter beds. The message was clear: housing is a basic right, and it's imperative that we invest in solutions now. Every budget cut has a human impact, hindering the progress we've worked so hard to achieve. Let's not falter in our efforts. Together, we can make a difference and ensure that every member of our community has a place to call home. #EndHomelessness #CommunitySupport #InvestInHousing 🏡✨ View the briefing here: https://lnkd.in/eH9YEK6X

Criminalizing homelessness fails to address its root causes, such as the lack of affordable housing and access to services. Instead, it penalizes individuals who have no alternative but to sleep on the streets. Fining people who can't afford housing only exacerbates their situation, leading to incarceration and further instability. In Grants Pass, with over 600 homeless individuals and only 130 shelter beds, the problem persists. Shelters, like the Gospel Misson in Grants Pass, can pose risks to mental health, promoting religious conversion and unpaid labor. Often there is an adversarial relationship between staff and the clients leaving many with no safe place for shelter. Shelters can pose physical health risks like requiring complete sobriety despite the dangers of a sudden detox for long term substance users. Working at a shelter during the pandemic I saw first hand how quickly illness spreads in such a close environment. Shelters are often unable to accommodate families with more than a few kids making it even more difficult to find resources for a family struggling together. As a dog owner having to say good bye to a pet I love so dearly just isn’t an option. Yet we expect those experiencing homelessness to just give up their pets for a temporary shelter bed that may not be available the next night. Forget the emotional and mental support that pet might bring to them. This law, and others like it, seeks to criminalize an individual experiencing homelessness for their existence. It further ostracizes them from society. This law is cruel. It is an unusual punishment applied exclusively to those experiencing homelessness. Rather than criminalizing individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, communities should prioritize creating effective programs and policies. The "Housing First" model remains the most effective approach. Expecting someone to improve their mental health, overcome addiction, or address financial struggles while sleeping outside is unrealistic. Stable shelter is a fundamental human necessity. Growing up in poverty I saw first hand how a discriminatory legal system can cause harm; a reality that was reinforced working as a social worker. I hope to continue to advocate for an individuals legal rights regardless of their socioeconomic status. It should not be a crime to sleep in public while homeless. Especially when communities have consistently failed to provide other safe and affordable alternatives.

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We are thrilled to share our new report, “A Crisis Compounded: The Dual Crises of Domestic Violence and Homelessness,” which exposes the barriers that domestic violence survivors face when trying to secure affordable housing after escaping from abusive relationships and the long-term impact of abuse on survivors and their families.    Drawing from city and state data, the report shows that domestic violence continues to be a leading cause of homelessness for families, surpassing evictions, and that survivors are more likely to move from shelter to shelter rather than permanent housing. It also highlights the steps New York City and State can take to increase access to housing resources and help move survivors quickly from shelters to permanent homes.   Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/epbBGmuy  

New Destiny Housing Corporation are experts on the intersection of domestic violence and housing – and their new report is a thoughtful exploration of the nuanced challenges survivors face when seeking safe housing in NYC. Her Justice is proud to have contributed information about our clients' own experiences to this report. “Domestic violence and homelessness are inherently linked. In the United States, 80% of women with children struggling with homelessness have also experienced domestic violence, and 57% of all women experiencing homelessness report domestic violence as the immediate cause of their homelessness […] Access to safe and affordable housing is one of survivors’ biggest, most urgent concerns and it often determines whether they leave their abuser and stay alive.” Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/epbBGmuy