What if you were personally able to end homelessness, would you be willing to? 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness at some point during the year. In Michigan, 80,000-100,000 compete for less than 30,000 shelter spaces, many of them children. The long winters are unbearably cold and many surrender their lives to it. One study showed that the associated health care, safety, and temporary shelter costs paired with homeless amounted to over $28,000 per year per homeless individual. The house below, though small has heat, water, a bathroom, a living room, and a bed. Its portable. It costs $5,000. Once. The state alone, apart from federal funding and private donor giving, pays nearly that amount ($4, 262.50) to support a single bed in a shelter for a single year at $12.50/night/person...and yet each person sleeping in a shelter remains homeless. We pay on average $9,000-$12,000 annually to send each child to school, $31,000 on average to annually house each prisoner, and $2.1 million on each soldier we deploy to Afghanistan this year. Could we actually save each state thousands of dollars on the associated costs of homelessness by spending a fraction of that cost on an actual small home for each of them? The house below was built with 16 tools most people already have in their garage. They can be constructed fairly quickly, be placed on vacant, abandoned land in Detroit, using existing power and water hookups, and moved elsewhere when that area is later able to be redeveloped. Due to their size, heating costs are minimal and electricity could easily be generated with solar panels. If placed in communities near social service agencies, wrap around services to help these folks back on their feet could be provided with fewer travel barriers. With a permanent address, these individuals will be more easily capable of applying for a job and getting any necessary documentation needed. This is just one of many creative home designs. Homelessness is solvable and this is just one creative solution. If we are willing to spend $31,000 annually to house those in prison, could we consider spending 1/6 of that on those most vulnerable among us? Before I was born, my birth-parents were homeless. When I met my mom 30 years later she was living under a bridge. At the time I felt impotent to help. Ive been thinking about how to best address the issues related to extreme poverty for the last 9 years. Im now convinced that solutions exist if people are willing to creatively try. Would you consider taking some time to think about how to take this idea further? Perhaps in the process, an even more brilliant and creative solution will surface. In community, I believe our unique skills, ideas, and personalities can make lasting change a reality. In fact, I believe you have been uniquely created in such a way for such a time as this.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:46:41 +0000
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