It Isn't easy

Frank’s Essay – Homelessness

Given our recent experience with Camp Hope, I almost understand why homelessness and what to do about it dominates the campaign rhetoric in the race for Spokane Mayor. The incumbent, Nadine Woodward, proposes banning homeless settlements in the downtown area, while the challenger, Lisa Brown, wants to designate parking lots for them to camp in. Based on history in other cities, neither approach will make much of an impact. Homelessness is not limited to Spokane, or even America. It is a global problem.

In my travels, I have seen homeless camps in Russia, Japan, South America, and Europe. The only places I did not see them was in Rome and in Central America. I asked friendly bar tenders in Rome and was told, “the Gypsies run them off.” Parts of Central America are so impoverished; it is hard to distinguish between those who are homeless and those who are just poor. Google ranks the number of residents without permanent shelter by country. A quick glance reveals that the problem is literally world-wide. Surprisingly, northern Europe appears to have the highest concentrations.

The only city that I could find that claims to have solved their homeless problem was Houston. When l checked the data, I found that they actually cut the number living on the street by 50%. Their program is called “Housing First” and provides free homes for as long as the individuals want to live there. I’m not sure taxpayers of Eastern Washington would be willing to pay for this pricey program. Even then, almost 4000 people choose not to participate and remain on the streets of Houston.

Reading the information available online made me wonder if there was a correlation between homelessness and level of social welfare. It makes sense that a certain number live on the streets because they want to, and our welfare system not only enables but encourages them. To my surprise, I found no correlation in the data. Nations with little or no welfare programs experienced homelessness at about the same rate as those with liberal support for all residents.

While wading through government produced reports, I found an interesting study that said that any solution treating the homeless population as a homogenous group was destined to fail. The study identified three loose groups. There are some who are temporarily on the streets because of unfortunate circumstances. They have lost their jobs and are broke but willing to work. This group is the example of most success stories. They are the ones that can be lifted up and return to being productive members of society. Then there are those who choose to be homeless because they like the lifestyle. I don’t think this is a large percentage, but they are there. Community generosity simply allows this group to do what they want to do. As long as they have enough money for cigarettes and cell phones, they will never leave the streets. The third group are the unemployable, mostly ex-convicts and drug addicts. It is possible, but difficult, to help them.

Will the city leaders in Spokane be able to solve the problem? No! Not unless they can bury their political divisions and develop diversified programs. How likely do you think that will be?

Frank Watson is a retired Air force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 20 years.