Subject: Solutions to end the housing crises -from a victim to a victor program -M Andres
Hello, my name is Monica. I have been experiencing the effects of homelessness, which I believe are the key factors for my drive and determination to make a difference in the lives of those who have no voice and because of a lack of material wealth have often become invisible.
From my experiences homelessness can affect anyone, for me it was the sudden loss of my spouse and a mortgage that was setup for us to fail by the terms and conditions within the fine print meant to steal our equity and eventually render us unable to climb back out after an unexpected tragedy.
After that it became a test of endurance and strength while -proactively trying to save myself while dealing with a system that didn't even know or see me as worthy of being saved. I found that the federally funded programs all had long lists and hoops to jump through that a person without legs could never do. I found that in theory yes it looked like we were trying to do our best to address the homeless crisis but in truth we have failed on a grand scale and in fact those who had never had to wonder where they would sleep from night to night or someone who sat behind a desk and had a scripted response of "there is a 5 year waiting list for housing assistance" would never be able to cure a problem that was rapidly growing and consuming our hopes and our dreams while destroying our trust that anyone even noticed that we were crying out for and desperately in need of immediate-housing -relief without judgment without waiting lists without funds to secure or recommendations which if we did have surely we would not be in such dire straits and in need of assistance in the first place .
You see for me this crisis had taken a personal toll and in losing my home and all of my equity I also lost custody of my minor children due to no home in which to shelter them, and in losing all of the things that I had lived my entire life to acquire, give-birth-to and nourish I lost myself. I lost the hope and the inspiration of waking up to start my day no matter how clear or how cloudy the sky was outside. I was blessed to have a roof over-my-head, heat to warm my soul and food to feed that soul. I knew that my hard work, integrity and good-sound judgment were the foundation on which I had based my life and had taught my children to also do.
So, you see, for me this homeless crisis became my fuel to bring attention to the destruction of lives, the destruction and breakdown of the American family and the theft of Our American dream due to Greed from those who control the financial/Housing/sectors and the inability to see that each and every person experiencing it as worthy of being saved from it. My fuel to proactively expose the weaknesses in programs that only claim to be doing its part to cure the problem yet in theory were just a waste of dollars that could actually be used to fix what is so horribly broken.
I see the homeless crisis as curable, but it would take a re-educating or a reminder of common courtesy that I believe greed/discrimination/ and the abuse of power have erased.
1. Poverty and those at the poverty level (or those disabled, those who have suffered a loss or hardship) should be a protected class of people until they are in fact able to climb out of that protection. I say this because of my own experience from those who knew that I had no way to defend myself from their predatory actions meant to keep me in poverty.
2. There should be a law that makes the acts of those who have wealth or those backed by large corporate-wealth or interests, to intentionally single out and intentionally make those who they deem as not-worthy of relief from their predatory behavior/actions guilty of the crime- Intentionally causing a financial -hardship- which should then be considered a Hate-Crime and abuse of -power due to one-sided ability to exploit the downfalls of another who they knew would not be able to fight back .
3 Housing should be a "Right" and not just a privilege given to the rich/wealthy/or those of a particular race or class BUT in fact given to ALL Americans who are born here -without the ability of another to intentionally interfere with their right for clean -secure-stable housing/ shelter.
4 The public housing authorities - should all be either eliminated and re-established to represent the communities for which they serve- or held to stiffer rules and accountability. 1 You get paid for eliminating the problem of homelessness, you will be rated for the amount of homelessness that you eliminate each year not by pointing out the waiting list and collecting a check for services that you are not providing to EVERYONE who comes to you in need of immediate housing.
5 There should be a requirement that those who are getting paid to help the crisis of homelessness actually get out from behind their desks and go to the communities in which they serve and offer assistance to those in need. This is what a Social Worker is supposed to do.
6 Anyone found to be abusing their position, their power, or working with others to oppress, deprive or collude to prevent any person from being able to attain safe sound and secure housing should be arrested and charged with deprivation of a right. Under title 18
These are just a few things that really need to be implemented in order to effectively eradicate the Homelessness crisis and to start living up to the promises of Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness and in order to be living the American Dream you must first be able to rest your head in a sound secure and safe place each and every day and night without the threat of another to compromise your security.
