It’s time. The only question is where. You see, I’m an aimless soul. When an adage truly has an effect on me, I collect the words on whatever medium within arm’s length. And there it remains, waiting to be rediscovered. I noticed the lead notation on a slip of paper carefully tucked away among 20 years’ financial records. I found the words profound and a perfect start to this month’s topic. Those words came from within me sometime during recent years. Little did I know those words would never be truer than they are now. I am an aimless soul; I am homeless. With the greater part of my lifelong-collected possessions packed away in storage pods and my car crammed with daily essentials, I have been traveling purposelessly between friends and family for nearly three months. I’m fortunate to have an amazing support group. The aimless souls on our city sidewalks obviously do not. When I first arrived downtown, I remember hurriedly walking past abandoned warehouses between Third and Union along Market and Island. Cardboard condos littered the former loading docks and sidewalks below. The occupants and their belongings were securely tucked away. Quickly, the distressing feelings turned to annoyance, as at every turn, these dwellers would approach and beg for spare change. At one point, there was a campaign to educate residents not to give the destitute money. We were instructed instead to hand them a printed card summarizing social service programs offering food, shelter and other assistance. As you can imagine, this didn’t go over too favorably. Over time, annoyance morphed into a blind eye. I stopped seeing the individuals with their hands extended. The city landed the coveted Republican National Convention. Warehouses were razed, parking lots paved and the Children’s Park constructed. Urbanization began in full force. Displaced, the homeless picked up their belongings and moved to East Village. There, they resided almost unnoticed until revitalization began peppering the neighborhood. Just how many drifting individuals live in our downtown neighborhoods? As required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a physical Point-in-Time count was conducted on Jan. 30. The count revealed that 55 percent of the county’s 7,892 homeless resided within the city limits, only 1,865 truly without a home. Roughly 1,050 are living in District 2, which includes downtown, but there are no published numbers for downtown proper. If our council members agree that homelessness is a regional issue, why do they continually place the temporary winter shelter in our neighborhood? Last year, didn’t they promise to assemble the tent outside downtown? And in realty, do those inhabiting our sidewalks want to live in a regulated shelter? I wonder: Are the homeless aimless or layabouts? It’s time to resolve this important issue. The tired argument that all services and therefore all homeless should be downtown is no longer viable. Each district should find a suitable site to provide services and housing to the homeless population. It stands to reason: If you build it, they will come. Viva-city — fostering a vibrant, welcoming community, where residents greet neighbors as friends! Visit www.viva-city.info.
