FEBRUARY 23, 2024 HOUSING GROUNDCOVER NEWS What’s Flats used for Housing First in Finland are built alongside other types of housing to build community spirit and make the transition into mainstream society an easier process. The setup also offers employment opportunities. Photo credit: Y-Foundation, the Big Issue UK Homelessness is a crisis in America: lessons from Finland’s housing policy More than 300 mayors arrived in Washington, D.C. on January 16, 2004 for five days of meetings as part of the 92nd annual United States Conference of Mayors. They talked to lawmakers, the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor and the U.S. President about important issues which affect their cities. Among the issues on their agenda were the homelessness crisis, violent crimes and public safety, dangerous drugs across the southern border, severe mental illness, anti-semitism and Islamophobia. With regards to homelessness, the mayors who appeared on national TV broadcasts (ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC) said that they wanted to ask lawmakers and the President to provide more support to HUD — the United States Department for Housing and Urban Development. The mayors said that they want more affordable housing for low-income people and people experiencing homelessness. The reality today is that the American Rescue Plan which was designed to help Americans deal with the challenges of COVID-19 has expired. Most of the emergency assistance and protection for rent and shelter were not reauthorized. In early 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration launched the Housing Americans Initiative. The HUD program sent out 75,000 emergency Section 8 housing vouchers to local governments to be distributed to people experiencing homelessness in their jurisdictions. Mayors were asked to do more by working with private sector developers to increase the supply of low-income affordable housing. What is the key reason for our thousands of migrants to northern cities as if they are human cargo. Mayors of urban cities along with county commissioners, policy makers and homelessness advocates, have searched for good models for ending homelessness. WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 Alexandra’s Comments on Finland’s Housing First Policy affordable housing crisis and homelessness? Many housing policy experts blame the Faircloth Amendment of 1998. This amendment to the New Deal era 1937 National Housing Policy Act forbids HUD from building new low-income affordable housing which would have increased the supply of housing in cities where rent is high, eviction is high and housing demand pressure is exponential. Research evidence, including studies from HUD, shows that more than 582,000 residents of American cities are homeless. HUD’s “PointIn-Time” homeless data shows that hundreds of thousands of individuals and families are unsheltered and sleeping in street encampments and public recreational parks or under bridges. Some community observers say that a more troubling phenomenon now is the growing number of homeless families with infants and school-aged children. Another aggravating factor highlighted by the mayors is the busing of asylum-seeking migrants from Texas to northern cities such as New York, Chicago, Denver and Washington, D.C. The governor of Texas boasted that he had shipped more than 92,000 migrants to “blue cities” and plans to keep sending tens of Alexandra Granberg is a native of Finland. She has lived in the states for the past two and half years. She visited Finland last summer. Her testimony below is based on her eye-witness account and research on the topic of homelessness in Finland. “The policy that’s been implemented in Finland since 2008, called 'Housing First' is not unique to Finland. It has been tested in some other European countries as well. In my understanding, this means housing (as a constitutional guarantee) is provided directly to a person who is homeless. As the name implies, housing comes first and any other assistance or needed treatment follows after. Prevention and direct housing plus a support system with wraparound services are included in this model. Before this policy, housing was provided only after any underlying health condition like alcoholism or drug-addiction was treated. In other words, a person was required to “get their lives together” before they could obtain housing, apparently called the 'Staircase Model.' “With the housing first policy, the government converted some shelters into housing units, and see FINLAND page 8 Happening at the Ann Arbor District Library Open 10am–8pm Daily Hang out in any of our five locations across town, browsing books, magazines, newspapers, and more, or check out movies, CDs, art prints, musical instruments, and home tools— you name it! Study and meeting rooms, fast and free WiFi, and plenty of places to sit and hang out. Ann Arbor 200 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of Ann Arbor’s founding. To mark this occasion, AADL is undertaking a project called Ann Arbor 200. Throughout 2024, there will be 200 digital content releases exploring topics from Ann Arbor’s history. Visit aadl.org/ annarbor200 to learn more and check out the growing collection. Public Computers The AADL has public-access Internet computers available for use by both cardholders and noncardholders at all five locations. Each station has USB ports, headphone jacks, and some of the fastest wifi speeds in town! FEATURED EVENT 5 Mario Day Celebration Sunday, March 17 • 11:00am–4pm Downtown Library Celebrate Super Mario Day at the Library with a packed day of fun for fans of all ages. Compete in our Mario Kart tournament, conquer live-action balloon battles, and end the day with a screening of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ! Check out aadl.org/marioday for more.
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