Kind of bs, as the people in eugene are almost pathologically helpful. We have burrito brigade, cahoots, shelter care, storage, vehicle campsites, lax law enforcement, decriminalized drugs, tiny house villages, food pantry, shelter care. White bird, st vinnies, urban camping, Catholic community services, and a whole bunch of people doing drive by charity
As nice as that is, and i am sure all that gets a lot of people off the street, we still have more homeless per capita than anywhere else. I hear all the programs have a waiting list. I suspect that many people would rather be homeless in eugene than access services in a place with lower rents and less people on the street.
The people who work in these professions are pathologically helpful, but the greater amount of people in Eugene fucking push back on a lot of the work we try to do to make all this more successful.
How much money do you think it costs to move and pay deposit and rent and buy furniture let alone even get it to your house if you don't have a car?
Also, can you tell me of a smaller place with similar services that don't have waiting lists? When we call and do find that there are shelter beds elsewhere, people are eager to go. When clients know they have friends and family that will out them up and help them find a job, they eagerly go. This is all based in reality, shit I see every day. Quit fantasizing so you can make yourself feel better that people are making the choice to be in the position they're in.
I'm not trying to act as if they don't exist, there are people who don't want to be housed. A lot for very different reasons. But it often isn't just because they just...WANT to, many have experienced intense trauma. Getting neglected by parents and family, getting abused. Some find a great sense of community and excitement from the lifestyle so they don't see a point in getting out. Harder to have compassion for some of those folks because they are SO hard to reach but even some of them come out of it wanting to do something different
kinda surprised that Santa cruz is number 1, but I lived there and worked in mental health and there are quite a few BHU diversion homes, community outpatient mental health centers, and supported housing for people with SPMI. I'd say it rivals eugene but I'm not absolute on that fact. You can pretty much take sheltercare out of the equation here too. I don't know how people access any services there besides medical respite which is extremely short term and needs to be approved by an MD and insurance
That link was appreciated, even though ot says vehicle manufacturing is the main economic driver for eugene. Still glad to see qe are not on the tippy top.
Shelter care has supported housing, transitional housing and a bunch of programs to support those who are in damger of losing their housing. They dp some gopd work and absolutely count.
I just work in social services, and any time I try to call they don't answer or don't have any services available. This is super anecdotal and I shouldn't diminish their part, it just feels extremely inaccessible, or at least way less accessible than most people probably think.
I just know what they claim. They are likely inderstaffed and just treading water. I noticed they were hiring and the wages have gone up. I hope they find some people who can handle the work.
Me too, we are all extremely underpaid, even for the agencies that pay fairly well, ESPECIALLY since prices have gone up so much. If they had more funding sources I think they would be an extraordinary asset to the community for sure
I am on the same page with that, completely. I really wish that my job wouldn't exist, and that's the goal. I feel like most conversation falls flat, though, when you try to get people to start looking at the roots of these problems to address them. It's difficult and requires a lot of time, effort, critical thinking. Most people don't want to engage in that, so stick to their narrative and that's that, so we don't often get anywhere with this whole thing
Housing should be a right. We are rich enough as a country to take care of everyone. If we give people the basics to survive (food, shelter, healthcare) some people will not work, but most will still want above the bare minimum. Some people are so scared of someone getting something they don't deserve that they will withhold help from everyone.
I think the problem is that a) none of those services get you housed and b) all those services attract homeless individuals from other areas where they are not as nice
That's partly WHY we have so many homeless compared to other areas. Which is why we have to look to state and federal solutions and not just more local initiatives.
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u/Moarbrains Aug 04 '22
Kind of bs, as the people in eugene are almost pathologically helpful. We have burrito brigade, cahoots, shelter care, storage, vehicle campsites, lax law enforcement, decriminalized drugs, tiny house villages, food pantry, shelter care. White bird, st vinnies, urban camping, Catholic community services, and a whole bunch of people doing drive by charity
As nice as that is, and i am sure all that gets a lot of people off the street, we still have more homeless per capita than anywhere else. I hear all the programs have a waiting list. I suspect that many people would rather be homeless in eugene than access services in a place with lower rents and less people on the street.