Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

Mr. Kelly observed that prioritizing the strategies to address homelessness would be challenging and asked who would be doing the prioritizing and how it would be done. Ms. Jones responded that the current group, which included all of the stakeholders and homeless community members, would conduct the prioritization and attempt to determine what the best use of limited resources would be in this endeavor. Mr. Kelly asked that the results and requisite resource attachments be brought back to the council in the form of updates and reviews. Ms. Jones affirmed that this was the plan and the intention was to provide quarterly updates. Mr. Pryor expressed his approval of where this plan was going. He observed that many communities tried and failed to address this issue. He felt homelessness had to be tracked on multiple levels as, like the communities of color, homeless people were not one monolithic entity. He noted that he had discussed this at a Human Services Commission meeting the previous day. He said there were basic services and there were prevention components, including intervention services, but there was a fourth component and this was the enforcement piece, in other words, the need to be able to help people even if they do not want it. He did not want to focus too much on one service to the exclusion of what may be essential and important services. He also did not want to be a “carrot and a stick,” but rather wanted to find a flexible and appropriate way to respond to all of the different issues. He hoped to collaborate with agencies that could provide that level of service. Mr. Papé asked if there was a clearinghouse for all of the services available for homeless people in Eugene included in the priorities. Mr. Magee said it was included on page 324 of the AIS. He noted that it was one thing that was identified by the continuum of care group. Mr. Papé remarked that it would not be possible to “do it all” all at once due to limitation of financial and human resources. He related that he received a letter regarding the homeless program in San Francisco. Mayor Piercy said Portland embarked on a model similar to the San Francisco program that was based on permanent housing solutions for people as opposed to stop-gap solutions. She underscored that Eugene was not alone as it had community and state partnerships to reach its goals. She noted that there were many people in this community who gave generously to try to help homeless people or prevent homelessness, but she was uncertain of whether people had a real idea of what homelessness was in Eugene, Oregon. She stressed that it would take work to paint a full picture of what that was and it had to do with jobs and many other factors that were out there. She said this issue was about the fabric of the community and not about some people who had fallen on hard times. It was about what kind of community people wanted to live in and how to ensure, within the community’s means, that most people were in their own homes and could provide for themselves. Ms. Bettman stated that social service providers did an incredible job with limited resources, but they needed more resources. She indicated she would consider a small utility tax or fee dedicated to homeless preven- tion. She emphasized that people need a roof over their heads when it is freezing outside. Ms. Ortiz expressed appreciation for the work that went into the plan. She liked the continuum of care model as it was much cheaper to keep someone in a house than it was to help them once they were homeless. Ms. Taylor did not believe that the Eugene Mission received enough appreciation. She related that according to the Mission they had never turned anyone away. She agreed that it was easier to keep people in their houses than to help them once homeless. She supported passing a living wage ordinance. She noted MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 30, 2005 Page 7 Work Session