Some Suggested Reading
for “Concerns”
I received
hardly any suggestions for issues to tackle in this blog, so I decided to run out
a list of books that hit the topics I hear in conversations during my daily
rounds. All books listed are available through the Sno-Isle system.
Homeless
Best recent
book for this volatile issue is: Homelessness
is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns, 2022. The
authors, Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern, combine their talents to shed
light on the housing market conditions, which they consider an overlooked
consideration when tackling homelessness issues. Their position is that mental
health and drugs often get the spotlight, while housing availability can be
overlooked. Both work in the Seattle area.
They believe
that public perception, funding, and placing the problem within a broader
societal context are the most important concerns that will help. They say:
“…approaches that work have not been sufficiently scaled to the magnitude of
the crisis.” And they mention that, on the West Coast, there is strong pressure
to demonstrate progress because residents are getting increasingly frustrated.
They cite
the example of the concerted effort to reduce homelessness among veterans.
Since 2009, the number of homeless veterans has dropped by 50 per cent.
Civilians receive far less attention and support during policymaking periods.
And at a federal level there has been more money to address the veteran homeless
issues.
They finish
their book by stating: “Access to housing – independent of one’s ability to pay
– is the bedrock of these policy successes. From the veteran’s example, we know
that investments in housing, rental subsidies, and systems thinking can substantially
reduce the population of people experiencing homelessness…People design cities
and structure markets. They can also choose to change them.”
Island
County has a robust Housing Assistance menu of services as well as the Veterans
Assistance help. Here are the links:
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