[Peace-discuss] RE: [PeoplesPotluck] DI Editorial

[LAURIE SOLOMON]

Well the plight of the Restorartion Ministries vis-à-vis housing for the homeless, which they brought before Champaign City Council, should lend some support to the arguments and position of the Tent City community as to why they are offering a viable and inexpensive  alternative to housing for the homeless and buttress their suggestions that the City could help without any financial disadvantage to the City budget by allowing the Tent City community to camp rent free on some unused City property.  

 

The City could also help out the Restoration Ministry shelter by forgiving its back property taxes similar to the abatments of property taxes it gives developers and business via such programs as “Enterprise” zones and development grants and agreements.  In fact, the Restoration Ministries should probably put pressure on the other taxing districts that benefit from property taxes to forgive the back property taxes and abate them until the organization can get back on its feet and back to normal.

 

From: peoplespotluck-bounces at lists.chambana.net [mailto:peoplespotluck-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of pengdust at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 1:46 PM
To: peoplespotluck at chambana.net; discuss at communitycourtwatch.org; print at ucimc.org
Subject: [PeoplesPotluck] DI Editorial

 


Wow, I guess we're onto something, actual DI Ed. Board 'n shit
_________________________________
Community Should Embrace Tent City


The <http://www.dailyillini.com/profiles/the-daily-illini-editorial-board>  Daily Illini Editorial Board 

July 21st, 2009 - 4:00 AM 

 

=0 A


Also See


*	Champaign’s <http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2009/07/14/champaign%E2%80%99s-tent-cities-cause-controversy>  tent cities cause controversy 

*	 <http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2009/07/17/tent-city-controversy-continues> "Tent City" controversy continues 

Controversy has arisen in recent weeks over the status of a "tent city" next to the Catholic Worker House on Randolph Street in Champaign. Approximately ten homeless people have camped at the site for several weeks. 


The Worker House has told the members of the group, called Safe Haven, that they must leave by the end of the month. This is due to the facility closing in August along with the fact that the city claims the tent community violates the city's zoning laws. 


We recognize that the current location is not the best for the tent community, bu t the city should allow the group to continue to camp in another location. Homelessness is a serious local problem, and a tent community is a sound and low-cost method of providing shelter to the homeless in the short term. 


According to a story in the News-Gazette Sunday, Champaign's City Council is reluctant to embrace the idea of a tent community. 

But given the city's limited options for homeless people, Safe Haven is an opportunity that should be pursued. 


Right now, Champaign has the TIMES shelter for men and a battered woman's shelter. These facilities cannot accommodate everyone in the target population, and the city has no shelters that accept entire families. While long-term permanent housing would be ideal, the city lacks the funds or the initiative at the moment to pursue that option.


If they are able to acquire a permanent site, Safe Haven's organizers plan to expand their community to accommodate 25 people with heated semi-permanent dwellings, and add communal bathroom and kitchen facilities.


Such housing would be a great improvement for homeless people that are currently forced to sleep outside and live without reliable access to food and water. Similar communities have succeeded in other cities, including Dome Village in Los Angeles, which operated for 13 years. Semi-permanent housing is cheaper to maintain than shelters, and gives residents a sense of independence and autonomy. 


No one expects the tent community to solve the problem of homelessness. But in a time of rising budget deficits and cuts to social service programs, Champaign can't afford to wait for the perfect solution. 


The city council and its "expert" advisers have no right to tell people with nowhere to sleep that the tent community is not good enough without offering quality solutions.

 

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