Benton Project is Approved!
UNHOUSED PEOPLE ARE JUST PEOPLE WITHOUT A HOUSE
Homelessness looks like many different things:
The elderly woman with no family left who couldn't save for retirement
The young person who has been rescued from a trafficking situation
A domestic violence survivor who is afraid to put their name on a lease
Someone who had a medical emergency and ran out of sick time
Growing numbers of families are living paycheck to paycheck. This means that they are one emergency away from losing their home. All it takes is a medical emergency, a traffic ticket, or any other unexpected expense, and a family who was living on their own can lose their shelter.
Contrary to what many believe, the vast majority of unhoused people in our area lived here before they became homeless.
The image many have in their minds when they hear "homeless person" is often inaccurate and dehumanizing. Any kind of person can become unhoused for a wide range of reasons.
Homelessness is not a moral failure, but a combination of factors including systematic failure, income disparity, housing shortages, and being let down by friends and family.
We have significant privilege to be debating whether or not someone ELSE gets to have a place to live. We are all closer to being in need of a facility like this than we realize.
SOURCES
20 Years of Hate: National Coalition for the Homeless Hate Crimes Report 2018-2019
Emergency Calls, Complaints Are Down Near San José's Temporary Housing Sites. So Why Are They Still So Politically Risky?
Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Ages 23 and 24
Op-Ed: Profiles of People Living in Homeless Encampments. It's Rarely What You'd Expect
The Growing Problem of Older Adult Homelessness
