Benton Project is Approved!
IMPROVED SAFETY FOR EVERYONE
Data collected from 5 projects in San Jose show that the number of emergency calls in the area around interim housing sites went down in every category except health.
Increased ambulance calls is not an inherently bad thing. It means that people in need of medical care are able to access it, when otherwise they might not have had the means to receive it. And ambulances typically do not use their sirens at night.
Getting people off the street and into shelter means public incidents are contained to an area with support staff who can mitigate any real or perceived danger.
Proposal leaders have told us that this facility will have a controlled entrance so no one can enter the property who is not supposed to be there.
In outdated congregant shelters, there is a prevalence of theft among residents. The proposed model for this facility, which includes privacy and locks on doors, will lower internal crime.
Multiple sources state that unhoused people are more likely to be the victims of crime than perpetrators. Providing the unhoused with housing is shown to bring down chances of crime and sickness.
LifeMoves has reassured the public that illegal activities will not be allowed. There will be full time staff on the campus 24/7.
Every facility is designed differently, run differently, and filled with different people. There will always be examples of individual projects which have failed for various reasons, but if we base our predictions on statistics and numbers, the chances are significantly higher that this facility would work and not increase danger in the area.
SOURCES
20 Years of Hate: National Coalition for the Homeless Hate Crimes Report 2018-2019
A Longitudinal Study of Housing Status and Crime in a Homeless Population
A Report of Hate Crimes and Violence Against People who are Homeless in the United States in 2000
Are People with Serious Mental Illness Who Are Not Being Treated Dangerous?
Crimes Against Homeless People Increased 24% in 2019 While Overall Crime Decreased, Crime Data Shows
Do Affordable Housing Projects Harm Suburban Communities? Crime, Property Values, and Taxes in Mount Laurel, NJ
Gun Violence and Mental Illness: Myths and Evidence-Based Facts
Navigation Centers: What do Neighbors Have to Fear?
New Study Finds that Providing People Experiencing Homelessness with Housing has Positive Impacts on Health, Crime, and Employment
Preventing and Removing Barriers to Housing Security for People With Criminal Convictions
Speaking of Psychology: Dispelling the myth of violence and mental illness, with Joel Dvoskin, PhD
