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Who Can Breathe in Lane County?

Taylor Griggs Henry Houston

September 18, 2020 |

Eugene Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

As smoke from local wildfires created an unhealthy outdoor environment, cities in Oregon looked to expand temporary housing options for those experiencing homelessness. While not all have been successful, the Portland area saw success from being able to rely on their "system for responding to severe weather, as well as the Multnomah County’s Emergency Management Department."

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How a Charlotte Nonprofit Links Landlords With People Experiencing Homelessness

Jared Brey

September 15, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

A real estate developer has teamed up with homelessness service organizations to house working families. The Lotus Campaign gives landlords $1,000 a year to rent a unit to a family that is at risk of homelessness or is already experiencing it. Rent is paid by the organization and any damages to the unit are covered. Landlords taking part in the program waive security deposits, credit checks, records of employment, and provide a 30-day window before seeking evictions. The pilot program intends to demonstrate that the private housing sector can alleviate homelessness if given the chance and the incentive.

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Dejte nám šanci. Princip stabilního bydlení Housing First se šíří Českem

Jan Novotný

September 14, 2020 |

Euro |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Czech Republic, Jihlava

Ubytovny pro sociálně slabé občany jsou předražené a nenabízí životní stabilitu. Alternativu přináší projekt Housing First, který se po úspěšném pilotním spuštění v Brně začal šířit Českem. Pomáhá lidem v nouzi najít stabilní bydlení a s ním i cestu zpět do aktivního života. V rámci celé republiky se má projekt rozšířit do 16 měst a pomoct stovkám lidí. Dosavadní výsledky projektu ukazují, že stabilní bydlení rodinám pomáhá řešit i další problémy. Přesto projekt stále čelí výzvám. Jednou z nich je například sousedské soužití, ohledně kterého se objevují stížnosti.

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In Denver, This Program Helps Reroute 911 Calls To Police Alternatives

Scott Simon

September 12, 2020 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

In its first three months of existence, Denver's STAR program sent medics and counselors to respond to more than 600 calls to 911 in place of the police and without ever having to call the police as backup in a violent confrontation. The calls dealt mainly with complaints about unhoused people who callers complained were trespassing. Instead of the police approach, which often is to see such people as a threat, the STAR team sees them as people needing help. Such calls diverted from police end up connecting people with necessary social services and avoid possible violence or unnecessary incarceration.

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These Hotels Are Stepping Up To Help Hawaii's Virus Control Effort

Eleni Avendaño

September 11, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Honolulu, Hawaii

The city of Honolulu has partnered with hotels to offer quarantine housing for those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 but have nowhere to safely self-isolate. The new units compliment other existing facilities – such as city-owned buildings and hospitals – and provide meals and health check-ins for the patients conducted by the state's Behavioral Health and Homelessness Statewide Unified Response Group.

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Gaining traction: With an eviction crisis still on the horizon, sanctioned overnight parking lots provide temporary relief

Emma Athena

September 10, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

The nonprofit Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) began SafeLot, a program providing an approved parking lot where people living in vehicles can spend the night safely. Safelots have sprung up nationwide, particularly during high unemployment thanks to the pandemic. In Boulder, they've created tension with the regional agency charged with reducing homelessness. Its Housing First approach, emphasizing more permanent housing solutions, strikes some as contradicting safelots' shorter-term fix. Safelot advocates say it offers stability that acts as a bridge to a more settled lifestyle.

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Homelessness on wheels: Boise Police, social workers launch new initiative for those living in vehicles in downtown Boise

Margaret Carmel

September 08, 2020 |

BoiseDev |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boise, Idaho

An emergency shelter, a housing nonprofit, the City of Boise, and the Boise Police Department came together to coordinate efforts and give assistance to the growing number of residents experiencing homelessness and living in RVs and cars around the city. The “Street Outreach Support” program involves knocking on the vehicle doors and offering temporary housing and medical attention to those who need it. While there are a smattering of reasons that people are living in their vehicles, the city is searching for a more permanent solution to getting people access to affordable housing.

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Community courts and the homeless: Do these programs make a difference?

Donny Morrison Gina Scalpone Zack Demars

September 05, 2020 |

The Register-Guard |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

As an alternative to traditional courts, community courts provide resources to those experiencing homelessness. Fines and jail time are often the punishment in traditional courts for those charged with trespassing or loitering, but community courts provide services that help people find housing, jobs, health care, and even offer mobile showers, food stamp assistance, and mental health care. While the long-term data are lacking and don't offer a clear picture of recidivism rates, community courts do provide a better quality of life for those living on the streets.

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In CAHOOTS in Oregon

Taylor Perse

September 04, 2020 |

Voices of Monterey Bay |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

Oregon's CAHOOTS program has succeeded in replacing police on many mental-health crisis calls over its 30-year history because it is integrated in a larger system of services, including law enforcement. CAHOOTS' crisis workers, who cover the cities of Eugene and Springfield with three vans taking dozens of calls for help a day, come to their jobs with expertise as EMTs, nurses, or social workers. Then they spend 500 hours of training in crisis management and de-escalation, learning to offer help without forcing it, and without the threat of arrest except in the few cases when police backup is needed.

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Rural California Transit Agency Reinvents Itself During COVID

Carl Smith

August 31, 2020 |

Governing |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

The coronavirus pandemic drastically reduced the ridership of the Monterey-Salinas Transit District, so the system shifted services to help the mostly rural community it serves. Despite cash-flow problems, unused drivers and vehicles helped Meals on Wheels deliver 8,000 meals to seniors and persons with disabilities, wi-fi-enabled commuter buses parked in rural areas to provide hot spots for students, and the system donated unused vehicles to groups serving veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and at-risk youth. The system continues to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances.

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