Jason wrote:
My parents live in southern Wisconsin and told me that
they heard on the news that Minneapolis homeless
shelters are having lotteries to see who gets to stay
for the night and over 1,000 people are being turned
out on the streets most nights.
What's the deal?
they heard on the news that Minneapolis homeless
shelters are having lotteries to see who gets to stay
for the night and over 1,000 people are being turned
out on the streets most nights.
What's the deal?
Don adds:
There is no question we have seen an increase in
homeless folks in Minnesota, especially in Minneapolis,
and that we haven't done enough about it. First it
was because of the housing shortage and the sharp
increase in the cost of housing, subsequently made
much worse by the recession.
When people say that times are tough and therefore
"government has to tighten its belt too" I wish folks
would remember that a lot of what government has
to do is "countercyclical" -- in other words, we have
a recession, people are losing their jobs and maybe
their homes, so "cutting the budget" means we can't
do enough about those problems.
I see this as both a city issue and a state issue.
There are probably more homeless folks in Minneapolis
than anywhere else, but Minneapolis can't solve this
problem by itself.
Yes, of course, folks in government should be open
to creative solutions to solve problems.... but the
fact remains that with the shelters turning away all
these people every night, we need to put more money
into helping the homeless. That includes prevention
money (they help people who are about to lose their
homes) as well as money for the shelters.
Senator Ellen Anderson will be introducing legislation
at the state level on this issue and I hope people will
support it.
Don Jorovsky
(aide to Senator Anderson)
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