Hi, Lydia Howell requested I reformat and send her post which she could not get on the forum due to the formating issue. Margaret Hastings-Mpls See her post below: Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 11:34:46 -0600 From: Lydia Howell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Much Homelessness CREATED by Public Policies
I lived in Minneapolis 15 years, have been covering housing/homelessness issues for over 4 years and persoanlly KNOW a number of people (most of them EMPLOYED) who've been homeless. If our elected "representatives"--like the Mayor--are supposed to "serve the public", why is it that so many of their positions and policies ONLY serve the most economic PRIVILEDGED members of the public? This is not just a legitamate question. but, in an alleged "democracy" a CRUCIAL one. What I've witnessed first hand is this: 1. Older truly AFFORDABLE housing stock has been SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYED since the mid-1980s as cost of housing RISES. 2.The vacant lots created are then given to big developers who build housing at $200.000 to as much as almost $1million(depending on developemnt). Homeless people sure can't besides much of the working class NOT afford this housing! Look at the signs in front of such developments and you see how many PUBLIC(tax payers' money) go into these developments, in effect SUBSIDIZING housing for those WITH MONEY--and leaving those WITHOUT money (often literally) in the cold. 3."Demonizing" poor and homeless people has worked very very well as DISTRACTION from the UPward/REVERSE"Robin Hood" of giveaways to the wealthy & corporations since Reagan years. It's classic scapegoating that ought to be seen through by now. 4.Here's a reality-check on homeless folks:40+% are EMPLOYED--they just can't FIND houding threy can afford.Reality-check:a ONE-room efficiency averages $450 a month--IF you can FIND it;a 1-bd rm is $625 a month. Imagaine being a $5.50-6.00 an hour worker trying to pay for such hosuing! Do the people who serve you at McDonald's, ring you up at Rainbow or Target, take care of your kids or elderly parent DESERVE A PLACE TO LIVE? In wartime, we're told to "support the troops": as many as HALF the homeless men are vets. What about the folks who are mentally itll? Reagan promised community-based programs when closig most stae mental hospitals--but, those alternatives never happened! Many of the women w/children who are homeless are escapoing deomstic violence--shelters for battered women have NEVER had enough beds to meet the need & they have ALL been CUT in Pawlenty's budget. HALF the runaway girls are escaping sexual abuse at hands of fathers, step-fathers, mother's boyfriend--but, for the 800 (that we know of) homeless youth in TC, there are LESS THAN 100 beds--that's "family values" for you! When we're UNwilling to deal w/these other issues(menatl health, domnestic violence, child abuse), that also creates homelessness. 5.WHY are middle-class folks OUTRAGED by putting supportive housing or shelters or public low-income housing in their neighborhoods--yet NOT outraged by the HUGE giveaways of their taxes to Target($60-100 million for their new corp hq/store downtown) or for by the river housing for the rich($300,300-900,00EACH condo!). Land, infrastructure, "loans" are given to Big Corporations who almost always do NOT KEEP THEIR END OF THE BARGAIUN(remember Northwest Airlines getting $350,000 million & the good-paying jobs they were going to create? They canceld airplane maintenance ctr--relocated to CHINA--& instead creating less than 10000$8 or $9 an hour reservation jobs!)Never paid back "loan" either. WHY aren't folks FURIOUS at the continued "stadium debate"? How can it be justified to spend PUBLIC money for this when Carl Pohlad has more $$$than he could spend in many lifetimes--meanwhile, schools are cut, healthcare cut, parks cut, arts cut--anything for the MAJORITY is cut, while the wealthy keep picking the pockets of the rest of us! and instead of demanding more "common good" policies, too many folks turn their anger on the poor and homeless. The work that Margaret Hastings continues to do is not only morally RIGHT, it's the BEST of what REAL democracy looks like. The most basic decency (in even middle class folks) OUGHT to mean supporting the solutions that exist to end homelessness. As Hastings observes:even in "the boom times", Sayles-Belton RTEFUSED toaddress the issue & in fact, did the policies I've already pointed out that CREATED MORE HOMELESSNESS. Lydia Howell, Seward REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
