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“...if American free enterprise is going to survive, it will have to be humane. It will have to be filled with compassion. It will have to emphasize humanitarianism...Any economic system or economic program which disregards the needs and hopes and aspirations of any segment of the people is a program which is weak. It is filled with the seed of its own destruction and will ultimately produce trouble. Don’t forget that.”
Hon. Hubert Humphrey, 1952
A well-rounded continuum of housing and services is necessary
for every community where persons who are experiencing
homelessness reside. While there is a substantial economic
benefit to providing supportive housing to homeless persons, to
me, that is beside the point. The provision of permanent sup
portive housing, transitional supportive housing, and affordable
housing is primarily a humanitarian issue. How can we, as
Americans, look at our fellow citizens who do not have a place
to call home and say that the system is working? We continue to find resources to fund many things most of us would consider extravagant or unnecessary; yet somehow, we cannot find the resources to provide adequate, safe, decent housing for those of us who are without a home.
According to the National Priorities Project (www.nationalpriorities.org), Texans paid an average of $6,006 in federal income taxes in 2004. Of this amount, about 2 percent ($129) went to fund housing programs, only 3.5 percent ($220) was spent on education and less than one-half of one percent ($24) was spent on job training.
Study after study has shown that supportive housing for homeless persons is not only compassionate and humane, it is also cost efficient, resulting in tax savings for our communities and a permanent place to call home for homeless persons.
Talk to your state, local and federal representatives. Tell them that housing and associated services for homeless persons are a necessity. Tell them that you are concerned about humanitarian issues and urge them to find ways to fund the programs that we need. We are the ones who can bring change to our communities.
Don’t forget that.
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