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Help homeless today, not tomorrow
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: Forum
What if you no longer had the ability to pay your rent?
What if your family wasn't there to back you up?
What if you found yourself living in your car, or worse, on the streets?
Unfortunately, all too many Corvallis residents have found themselves in this situation, and as of late, there has been a lack of solutions available to them.
The cold-weather shelter closed for the season on March 15, and Community Outreach Inc., a group that offers many services to the needy, already houses 50 to 70 people each night, according to a Daily Barometer article published Monday.
Advocates for the homeless asked the city to come up with some new solutions, but on April 6, Corvallis city councilors decided not to establish a homeless camp within city limits. The city says it will put aside money to come up with solutions later this year.
But Corvallis needs solutions right now.
Waiting until May or June is not going to help the people who are living in Central Park and under bridges. While city councilors are sleeping in their warm homes night after night, waiting on the issue, people are still on the streets dealing with the problem every day. Oregon is still cold and rainy in April.
We understand that city parks may not be the best place to set up a homeless camp, but there are more than just three or four parks in this town. What about other empty spaces? Why can't the city come up with a temporary camp until it finds a more permanent solution?
We applaud the council's efforts and the fact that it is at least attempting to address homelessness as a problem in this city, but we would like to see more immediate action instead of treating homelessness as any other issue that can "wait." The city can adjust its plans as it finds more money and comes up with other solutions, but it should at least find ways to get people out of the rain and the cold.
Camps could be this solution, at least for the time being.
Shantytowns are popping up all over the United States as a depressing sign of the times, and people have differing opinions on whether they are a better or worse place for the homeless to live; in some places, a homeless camp might be the only solution. Here in Corvallis, the city could possibly find several ways to help the homeless if councilors put their minds to it.
So, Corvallis, put your mind to it. Do something today to fix the problem. Don't procrastinate; this isn't a homework assignment for a class, this is someone's life.
Editorials serve as a platform for Barometer editors to offer commentary and opinions on issues both global and local, grand in scale or diminutive. The views expressed here are a reflection of the editorial board's majority. Disagree? E-mail a letter to the editor or a guest column to forum@dailybarometer.com.
What if your family wasn't there to back you up?
What if you found yourself living in your car, or worse, on the streets?
Unfortunately, all too many Corvallis residents have found themselves in this situation, and as of late, there has been a lack of solutions available to them.
The cold-weather shelter closed for the season on March 15, and Community Outreach Inc., a group that offers many services to the needy, already houses 50 to 70 people each night, according to a Daily Barometer article published Monday.
Advocates for the homeless asked the city to come up with some new solutions, but on April 6, Corvallis city councilors decided not to establish a homeless camp within city limits. The city says it will put aside money to come up with solutions later this year.
But Corvallis needs solutions right now.
Waiting until May or June is not going to help the people who are living in Central Park and under bridges. While city councilors are sleeping in their warm homes night after night, waiting on the issue, people are still on the streets dealing with the problem every day. Oregon is still cold and rainy in April.
We understand that city parks may not be the best place to set up a homeless camp, but there are more than just three or four parks in this town. What about other empty spaces? Why can't the city come up with a temporary camp until it finds a more permanent solution?
We applaud the council's efforts and the fact that it is at least attempting to address homelessness as a problem in this city, but we would like to see more immediate action instead of treating homelessness as any other issue that can "wait." The city can adjust its plans as it finds more money and comes up with other solutions, but it should at least find ways to get people out of the rain and the cold.
Camps could be this solution, at least for the time being.
Shantytowns are popping up all over the United States as a depressing sign of the times, and people have differing opinions on whether they are a better or worse place for the homeless to live; in some places, a homeless camp might be the only solution. Here in Corvallis, the city could possibly find several ways to help the homeless if councilors put their minds to it.
So, Corvallis, put your mind to it. Do something today to fix the problem. Don't procrastinate; this isn't a homework assignment for a class, this is someone's life.
Editorials serve as a platform for Barometer editors to offer commentary and opinions on issues both global and local, grand in scale or diminutive. The views expressed here are a reflection of the editorial board's majority. Disagree? E-mail a letter to the editor or a guest column to forum@dailybarometer.com.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
bobby roberts
posted 4/15/09 @ 10:29 AM PST
You probably have a big open space in your house/appartment, the living room or front/back yard. If every bleeding heart that wants a mentally disturbed/substance abusing hobo to set up camp in Avery Park would just let one or two of them set up in their house, the homeless problem would be solved. (Continued…)
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