My Take
Homelessness is a problem everywere, but a pretty big problem in the Richmond area. It is spreading
not only throughout the inner city area, but also in
outer city and is creeping along the suburbs as
well. My take on homelessness? I think that that
the government is spending too much money on things that won't matter as much in the future such as a new baseball stadium, when it should be working on more important things like reducing the homeless population. Most of the families living on the street are there because when those families requested emergency shelter, their pleas were left unanswered. 61% of households that requested shelter were unable to be immediately filled. Almost all of these families were turned away because the family shelters were too full. Richmond government should be worried about making homeless shelters bigger and able to hold more families.
Homeless shelters are one of the most expensive ways to answer the question that is household instablity. The estimated costs for a family to be maintained in an emergency shelter for three months is $3,950. The estimated cost to maintain a family in a transitional shelter (longtime shelter) is $35,000 or more. It is much cheaper to assist a family for a short term than the long term costs of using emergency shelter. The easy and the best solution that Richmond has recent experience in is rapid re-housing. This process shortens the time parents and their children spend in shelters and it also increases the tendency of long-term stability. See? Richmond government should spend more money in the Community Foundation, which has answers to homelessness and how to help them.
Do you think that the Richmond government is spending too much money on things that won't be useful in the future? Well, I think that the government is spending too much, and not paying off the debt that it is in at all. If the government was not in debt, then no one would have to pay as much taxes as we do today. With less taxes, every one would have more money, and with more money, not as many people would be homeless. The government not paying off it's debt is a reason why
people are homeless, or cloe to having no money. Would
you rather have the government pay for a baseball
stadium or pay less taxes? I think everyone has the same
answer, and it is the latter. I rest my case on the
government and homelessness.
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