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? <br /> Assets: extraordinary cooperation between the public sector and nonprofit service providers and <br />opportunities to maximize grants <br />? <br /> Everyone needs a safe and stable home <br />? <br /> Rents are out of reach for many people with fixed or lower incomes <br />? <br /> The American dream used to be home ownership; for an increasingly large number of people it is <br />simply to have a home <br />? <br /> To succeed in school and in life, children need a safe, stable place to call home <br />? <br /> Homelessness costs the community in terms of public safety, public health, public education, and <br />parks and recreation, and can destroy families, lead to dangerous and illegal behaviors, rob people <br />of their dignity, and reflect poorly on the community <br /> <br />Mr. Weinman said that 95 percent of those who received services were rooted in the community and not <br />coming here from elsewhere. Resolving the problem locally would make a difference. He asserted that the <br />problem could be solved, but not quickly or inexpensively. He said the most effective response was <br />prevention, both programmatically and financially. He presented four tiers of response options: <br /> <br />Tier 4 Identify a long-term funding source to subsidize housing and fight homelessness <br />Tier 3 Identify one or more programs to financially support now: prevention/intervention, emergency <br />shelter, service-enriched housing, access centers, transportation assistance <br />Tier 2 November 2005 recommendations: increased library access, internet access at homeless cen- <br />ters, Safe and Sound funding continuation, utility assistance <br />Tier 1 Current City activities: Human Services Commission, homeless camping facilitation, Looking <br />Glass Station 7, White Bird CAHOOTS <br /> <br />Mr. Weinman said that the staff recommended the Tier 4 response option to identify a stable, long-term <br />funding source. He said an alternative recommendation was to continue Tier 1 and 2 activities and provide <br />$300,000 to fund the following Tier 3 activities: <br /> <br />? <br /> $100,000 – one-time emergency payments to prevent homelessness <br />? <br /> $50,000 – emergency permanent housing for domestic violence victims <br />? <br /> $100,000 – increased hours at access centers <br />? <br /> $50,000 – transportation assistance <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy called on the council for questions and comments. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz thanked all those who participated in efforts to address homelessness. She said the City did a lot <br />but more was needed, particularly to help people break out of the cycle of homelessness. She acknowledged <br />the cooperation among service providers to ensure there was no duplication of services or “fat” in the <br />system. She commended those who served the homeless and the work they did in the community. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor also commended staff for the work done. He said it was an extraordinarily difficult issue not only <br />because of the financial and population questions but the preconceptions around the issue. He said that <br />simply moving the problem around the community was not a workable solution and he liked the “best <br />practices” approach around the key issues of housing, health and livelihood, which were cornerstones of a <br />successful strategy. He said that misconceptions about whether the problem was imported instead of local <br />and who constituted the homeless population were stumbling blocks that would need to be addressed through <br />community education. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 17, 2006 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />