Shelby Huffaker, MPH’s Post

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

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.

Sharing this Illinois Housing Development Authority #capital opportunity for the acquisition and development of #non-congregate shelter, #fixed site, #permanent shelter facilities in Illinois. Key dates: *Webinar: Wednesday, August 14 at 10:30am: https://lnkd.in/gEQMaB_g *Preliminary Project Assessment Due: Monday, October 7, 2024 *Final application Due: Thursday, February 20, 2025 Thrilled that Illinois Housing Development Authority continues to support emergency and transitional housing #facilities. Now, more than ever, shelter facilities are crucial spaces for our unhoused neighbors and so that housing operators and #nonprofits that serve them have access to permanent, fixed site assets for financial and operational sustainability. According to the Home Illinois Prevent and End Homelessness, emergency shelter is a key resource in the landscape of housing insecurity crisis interventions, and rightsizing emergency shelters is critical infrastructure in a homeless crisis response system continuum. Access to transitional housing is often the key to securing a permanent housing solution. IFF (CDFI) has been providing real estate solutions to emergency housing operators, community organizations and government partners, including #technical #assistance, #real estate #project management, one-on-one coaching, peer learning on topics like zoning, site control, community engagement, operations and occupancy expenses for fixed site shelter. By managing a #pipeline of projects, we also support the alignment of capital for projects, serving diverse populations, including new arrivals, justice-involved individuals and families for #nonprofit program and policy alignment for system wide change. Get in touch if you have a shelter project you are considering in Illinois!

In October, Florida will become the latest state to ban homeless camping. Starting in January, any city that does not enforce the ban can be sued, by the State Attorney General or by a local business or resident. "We're gonna have clean sidewalks. We're gonna have clean parks. We're gonna have safe streets," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, when he signed the new law in March. If there are not enough beds available in homeless shelters, the law will also let cities designate their own temporary shelter sites, something former President Trump supports and has called "relocation camps." Florida is among a handful of states that has passed tougher laws on homelessness in recent years — including Kentucky and Texas — and lawmakers in about a dozen states have debated such legislation. Most all of them are taking guidance from the lobbying arm of a conservative Texas-based think tank, which aims to upend homelessness policies that have had bipartisan support for two decades. Read Full Article: https://lnkd.in/ecMdyBBw

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

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

What if you were homeless? Would you feel safer going it alone or finding a group of people that can have your back? Well, that's what I see when I see the homeless encampments. I see people who have bonded over a commonality of homelessness and have created a community that watches out for each other. Just like you might have in your neighborhood today. So, when we step into their encampment, seeking to save them from where they feel safe with the community they have created, I think we need to approach helping them in a different way. I think they'd prefer to be relocated together, with as much of their belongings as possible, to a clean place they can call home even if it's a safe tent parking lot, camp ground or other spot designated by the City as authorized for outdoor camping. When we go in and throw away their life possessions that's not being compassionate or environmentally-conscious. When we break up their social connections and bring them back into a sense of isolation and deprivation, we are creating more trauma and problems for them. As San Diego City and County staff act on the CA state order to remove encampments, ensure you have a plan to relocate these individuals as a group so they can maintain their sense of community unless they are known to commit crimes or need serious medical attention. Those experiencing homelessness are human beings that have adapted to their circumstances and have found a way to survive. Help them find better housing and assistance but don't destroy their community. It's all most of them have left.

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

If like me you feel saddened, angry and frustrated seeing our people suffer and die through the current homelessness disaster unfolding across Australia then we need to come together and unite in solidarity through visible activism & advocacy on mass and as a collective together to show we want change from our governments. My vision and purpose has always been to activate empty and under-utilised spaces and provide shelter first principles that look to change and save the lives of the homeless - I have never deviated from this and I am still committed to that even though I am no longer associated with Beddown (FYI - there are still many people that think I am still with Beddown, just for the record, I am not). Having empty spaces and places like Pinkenba, Wellcamp and others as examples that could have an immediate impact to the lives of many yet homelessness still grows, people in tents, in cars, on the street, sofa surfing etc. and not to mention the loss of life. We need change and funding for the sector to enable them to activate and operate spaces as we can do in times of natural disasters and to give people the basic human rights whilst an adequate housing stock is created. We need to do better, we need to do more for our people. Who feels the same way as I do and who wants change? #activism #advocacy #homelessness #disaster #crisis #peopledying #shelterfirst #nooneleftoutside Image credit: Reddit / Paul Slater

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?