{"id":14121,"date":"2020-02-28T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=14121"},"modified":"2022-10-09T07:04:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T11:04:34","slug":"nimbys-listen-up-get-on-board-to-end-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/nimbys-listen-up-get-on-board-to-end-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"NIMBY\u2019s, Listen Up – Get on Board to End Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

This Is the Simple Solution If You Don’t Want to Be Inconvenienced by the Sight of Homeless People<\/h2>\n

Does the sight of a person sleeping outside send you into an uncontrollable rage?<\/em><\/p>\n

Would you rather miss work three weeks in a row than let your zoning commission permit the construction of a new shelter anywhere near your house, job or children\u2019s school?<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you have a collection of picket signs with slogans like \u201cThere goes the neighborhood\u201d and \u201cWe should never build anything new that doesn\u2019t directly benefit ME\u201d ready at a moment\u2019s notice for use at a town hall meeting?<\/em><\/p>\n

If so, you may be a NIMBY.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not going to try to change you. Clearly your beliefs are deeply entrenched. I mean extremely well-thought-out. But here\u2019s something you may not have considered:<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t want to see another homeless shelter built in your community, want to keep parks free and clear for your 20 minute jogs with your dog, Buttercup, and never have to have an uncomfortable conversation with your child after they ask a question about why that person is sleeping outside \u2013 the best way to achieve all this is to end homelessness<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so simple.<\/p>\n

If we could just give everyone a home, they wouldn\u2019t be homeless anymore and inconveniencing you!<\/p>\n

It Could Never Work… Could It?<\/h3>\n

Yes!<\/p>\n

Think about it. Why are all these tents suddenly popping up sort of near your house or car? Has everyone just gotten really into camping? No! They just have nowhere else to go!<\/p>\n

If we could give them somewhere else to spend the night that\u2019s better than a tent pitched slightly within the passenger door opening range of your Buick, everyone would clear out of here.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just crazy enough to work.<\/p>\n

But Where Would They Go?<\/h3>\n

Now, this is the part that might set your NIMBY blood boiling, but don\u2019t reach for the picket signs just yet.<\/p>\n

We will have to build.<\/p>\n

The good news is that if we take the time to build housing that\u2019s actually suitable for human habitation, it won\u2019t be an eyesore at all. We will actually add to the unique fabric of the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

I know that standing idly by while improvements to your community are built goes against every NIMBY bone in your body. But just think of what you\u2019ll gain!<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t be forced to post pictures of the people you see sleeping on the streets on your commute to work, saving tons of time when you could be paying attention to that podcast you weren\u2019t really listening to! You\u2019ll also be able to look in whatever direction you want while you\u2019re out shopping, without ever having to fervently pretend that you don\u2019t see the person panhandling just outside of your direct line of vision!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Cheaper!<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re still not convinced, let\u2019s get to the bottom line, literally. Providing housing for people who don\u2019t have it is cheaper than letting them remain unhoused. In fact, a recent analysis from researchers in Central Florida showed that each unhoused person cost community members a whopping $31,000 per year<\/a>. And what quality of life does that money buy? Not much.<\/p>\n

In contrast, it would cost only $10,000 per person to provide permanent housing to each unhoused person, along with a case manager to smooth their transition.<\/p>\n

But wait! How does simply ignoring the problem cost money? It should be free, shouldn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Well, no. And the rise in laws that criminalize homelessness is only making it more expensive.<\/p>\n

There are a number of costs associated with continued homelessness that usually don\u2019t attract the same shrewd fiscal eye that building shelters or providing useful services inevitably does.<\/p>\n

For one thing, police presence isn\u2019t free. And over-policing the homeless population in particular can get pretty pricey. Every time someone is arrested off the street and hauled off to jail (largely for offenses like trespassing or sleeping in parks), taxpayers are footing the bill.<\/p>\n

The biggest contributing cost of continued homelessness, however, is medical care. Living on the streets isn\u2019t good for one\u2019s health. Add in the extra susceptibility to violent crimes and the fact that many chronically homeless people require additional medical care due to physical disabilities or mental illnesses, it\u2019s no wonder people experiencing homeless need more medical care on average.<\/p>\n

If these people were put up in safe, permanent housing, they would be happier, healthier, and incur fewer medical expenses.<\/p>\n

Oh, and they would never \u201cspoil the view\u201d out of another NIMBY\u2019s window again. So I guess it\u2019s a win-win.<\/p>\n

The Way Forward Is Clear<\/h3>\n

NIMBY or not, there\u2019s only one way to go from here. Whether you\u2019ve come to this conclusion out of empathy and respect for your fellow members of the human race or out of a desire to get to the Jamba Juice without seeing anyone \u201caggressively\u201d sitting on a sidewalk, the path ahead is clear.<\/p>\n

We need to end homelessness by providing affordable housing for all who need it. Only then can we all live in peace \u2013 regardless of what your definition of \u201cpeace\u201d is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

YIMBY\u2019s and NIMBY\u2019s working together toward a common goal. With our powers combined, nothing can stand in our way. Not even homelessness.<\/p>\n

Image by Quinn Kampschroer from Pixabay<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Is the Simple Solution If You Don’t Want to Be Inconvenienced by the Sight of Homeless People Does the sight of a person sleeping outside send you into an uncontrollable rage? Would you rather miss work three weeks in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":14122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8977,389],"tags":[13105,253,832,515,508,8521,8644,9421],"coauthors":[8990],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14121"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19481,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14121\/revisions\/19481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14121"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=14121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}