Dallas voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, November 8, to decide on several constitutional and local matters. Among these important issues is a proposal--Proposition 14--that would provide bond funding to build our city's first genuine Homeless Assistance Center (HAC).
The bond issue would provide $23.8 million to construct the center. Of that amount, approximately $5 million is earmarked for the construction of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) apartments in the city.
The opposition appears to be a tight knit, but small group of downtown business owners and developers who are convinced providing dramatically increased services and attention to the homeless and the challenges of homelessness will somehow make our problem worse.
Go figure!
The very vocal opposition group has spent almost fives times as much as HAC supporters. Slick mailers, electronic phone calls and yard signs are being used to dissuade voters from supporting the HAC.
The opposition's main beef has to do with the proposed location of the new center. They feel certain that placing the center somewhere outside of downtown will remove the homeless from their upscale doorsteps.
Ironically, if the HAC proposal is defeated, it is very likely nothing will be done downtown for many more years. Proposition 14 does not identify the site for the new center, so theoretically it could be built somewhere other than downtown.
But that would be a mistake.
Again, if the opposition group gets its way and the HAC is located outside the downtown loop, the center's impact on the very problems this group fears so much will only grow.
The HAC can be a model tool for a city that desperately needs to respond to the problem of homelessness.
We have nothing like the proposed HAC in the city today.
Imagine for a moment a center that functions as a "tool kit" for constructing new alternatives, new options for new lives--a sort of one-stop shop on the way to a more stable life.
Imagine a place where case management can take place, but with a real difference. A place where people with complex needs can come to be known and heard as friends, rather than clients.
Imagine a place where a person or a family can stop temporarily on the way to permanent housing and employment.
Imagine a place that invites the Dallas arts and humanities community into the mix.
Imagine a place where jobs and education and hope co-exist together for the benefit of people who tonight will be sleeping on our streets.
Imagine a place where mental health services engage the people who need them most.
Imagine a place where addiction treatment referrals can take place and where follow-up will be standard operating procedure.
Imagine a place where the poorest among us can come to network with new friends and partners who can provide new chances for better lives.
The HAC will not be just another shelter. As a matter of fact, there will be few beds in the center. The ones that will be there are to be designated for special needs and programs.
No, the HAC will not be a shelter primarily. It will be a way station, a resting place for regrouping before moving on, up and out.
Presently, our city offers no such resource for our weakest, poorest, most vulnerable citizens.
Next Tuesday we have a chance to change that.
6 comments:
I completely agree. And so does The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board.
Here is their recent article:
"City Proposition 14: Bond money for homeless center. Yes vote recommended
04:40 AM CDT on Thursday, October 20, 2005
"Ask homeless people why they're homeless; you'll get many different answers. Ask Dallas taxpayers how to help the homeless; you'll get many different answers.
"It's not a simple problem with a simple solution. No single building, no matter how large, well equipped or strategically located, is going to completely fix this heartbreaking situation.
"But the editorial board, which has listened to smart people on all sides of this issue, believes that without a new center where homeless people can take showers, do laundry and get connected to a full range of social services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the problem will only get worse.
"That means worse for the people who are homeless and worse for the downtown residents and developers who must contend with the disruption they cause. We also believe that the people who crafted Proposition 14, which would provide $23.8 million in bond money to build the homeless assistance center, understand that it is just one piece of the puzzle. We believe they – meaning the City Council, members of the homeless task force and other interested citizens – are committed to addressing the other pieces. In fact, between $2 million and $5 million of the bond money would be used as incentives for developers to build permanent housing for the homeless.
"In order to win voters' confidence, we urge the proposal's backers to resolve certain key questions, such as whether the center itself will include single-room-occupancy quarters and how the city will induce volunteer groups to perform their feeding operations within its confines. Uncertainty on those points weakens their cause. They also should provide a detailed cost breakdown to reassure voters that this money will be enough to build the center.
"The thing that drives the organized opposition – the proposed location within the freeway loop – is not specified in the bond proposition. Even if it were, though, it stands to reason that as long as private agencies such as the Stewpot and the Union Gospel Mission are downtown, many homeless will be there, too. Putting the new city facility outside the loop might only discourage people from using it – which helps no one.
"For all these reasons, we recommend a "yes" vote on Proposition 14."
Larry,
What are the downsides to the HAC, and what are the arguments against its construction.
Thanks for posting, Baron.
A small group of very vocal downtown business owners are against the HAC. They say that they are very concerned about the homeless, but they think that "Dallas can do better." They fear that the HAC will only increase the number of homeless on the sidewalks downtown.
The fact is, without the HAC the problem will only increase. The HAC will be our first effort as a city at developing the tools we need to address the problem. Mr. Dunning's report and this bond package both contain plans for single room occupancy (SRO) housing development.
The other unknown fact is that the leaders of the opposition are really wanting to maintain the status quo.
The HAC is going to be a great asset to us all, including those who oppose it. If you haven't voted, vote "Yes" on Prop 14.
There is no Prop 14 in Indiana.
However, I do have a few questions about it.
Do you think a big center designed to make homeless life easier to tolerate would increase or decrease the incentive to find a home?
Would a big center designed to make homeless life easier attract homeless people from other urban areas?
In your post you mention a lot of social services to go along with the big homeless center. Are these services part of the funding package, or would they need additional funding?
Thanks for the reply.
Baron, thanks for the follow-up. I'll try to respond to your questions:
Question: "Do you think a big center designed to make homeless life easier to tolerate would increase or decrease the incentive to find a home?"
Answer: Baron, given the deplorable condition of homeless persons and the current slipshod approach taken to actually assisting them in moving on to something better, I am convinced this center--which is not going to be a huge shelter, but a well-staff and organized resource center for case management and life-planning will be a big plus to cutting into the number of homeless in Dallas.
Question: "Would a big center designed to make homeless life easier attract homeless people from other urban areas?"
Answer: We are a long way from this being a problem in Dallas! I understand your question, but things are so bad and so far behind here that homeless migration to Dallas because we have our act so well together, etc. is just not on the horizon!
Question: "In your post you mention a lot of social services to go along with the big homeless center. Are these services part of the funding package, or would they need additional funding?"
Answer: The bond proposal, which did pass 59% to 41%!, includes money for construction of the center and SRO apartments. Operations funding will be in addition to this and provided by the city and private philanthropy.
Hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
It does help, and I appreciate your reply.
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