Talking trash, Fred Markus and Robert Schmid make some supportive housing look good, and most if properly placed probably is. I wonder if Schmid was part of the group that "fought" to have the PPL project, Collaborative Village, built in Central Neighborhood? Or was he on the other side when Central twice defeated it? I also wonder if either of them support the City being forced to affirmatively open all of Minneapolis' neighborhoods to such supportive housing?
Others might want to take a look around Park and Franklin, Chicago and Franklin, or talk to the Third Precinct about such. The placement of a supportive housing project may have no harmful, or even noticeable, effect; and may even be a benefit for a community. The problem is when you have twenty of such in a small area. Especially when some are three and four times the legal limit in number of beds. From being a nurturing environment that allows a person to integrate into a "Community", they become an "Institution Without Walls". Imagine if you will a family with one dysfunctional family member. No big deal for a loving, supportive family. That person is supported to have a quality life in a quality, nurturing environment. Now imagine a family with several dysfunctional members. Now you have a dysfunctional family that cannot support or nurture anyone. A community is very much like a large extended family. If there are several people within that community with special needs for support, then it does not have a negative impact, and in fact may be positive with community members sharing to create a nurturing environment. The City of Minneapolis recognized this fact, and wanting to maintain better environments for those needing such support, Minneapolis passed an ordinance to allow only ONE supportive housing project of no more than 32 beds within 1/4 mile of another such project. Of course for the City this noble theory in practice has become the highest of HYPOCRISY. The City only applies the ordinance to keep supportive housing out of Wealthy - White Neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods with powerful leadership are able to have the City Council and MCDA stop projects from being built in their neighborhoods. Prodigal House is a good example. Some neighborhoods around 43rd and 46th Street South were powerful enough to stop Prodigal House. So were a couple of other "Fortress" neighborhoods on the Far - Southside of Minneapolis. Now Prodigal House has been forced to attempt to come to the Phillips Neighborhood, within a quarter mile of over 500 other such supportive housing beds. The reason for such an attempt is plain. The City will break its own "Ordinances" and Federal Fair Housing laws to concentrate these units in Phillips and Ventura Village, but not allow even one in powerful, wealthy, "Fortress" Neighborhoods with powerful leadership. Perhaps we could get David Brauer to explain how exactly he and his neighborhood were successful at their endeavor to stop Prodigal House. Sharing these methods and secrets might avert the Federal Lawsuits the City now finds itself in. In so doing we might also start a dialogue that can help all of the City's neighborhoods to share the nurturing of their and our needy and STOP placing the needy in just a few dysfunctional community "families". Such over-concentrated placement is Terrible for the recovering person, and Destroys and makes dysfunctional the community. Jim Graham, Ventura Village _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
