The Homelessness Battle: Talking and Learning Directly from Homeless Individuals
- Christopher Lopez
- Feb 11, 2023
- 2 min read
The homelessness challenge has become a significant challenge facing our communities. Over the last several weeks I have spent time with an individual named "Mayor" who interviews those experiencing homelessness to gather information and connect.
Many talk about the homeless problem, but few actually go out and walk the streets in order to gather firsthand information from those actually experiencing it.
The Riverside Homeless Issue
For those that live in #Riverside, you cannot escape the homeless problem as it's exploded and increased significantly over the last couple of years. Here are a couple articles about recent developments in Riverside:
As a result of the increase in homelessness, it's not uncommon to pass by those experiencing homelessness on the way to the grocery store, mall, or in my case, the local gym.
Meeting "Mayor"
After leaving the gym one night, I noticed an individual interviewing someone outside of the gym. Their conversation wrapped up relatively quickly and so I asked the individual with the camera what he was doing. He stated that he does homeless outreach in the community and makes it a point to hear the individual stories of those experiencing homelessness.
During our conversation, he stated that he goes around the area a few days a week. I asked him whether he would mind if I joined him as he did an interview, and he didn't have an issue with the concept.
After that, we coordinated to meet up a couple days later to go out together.
Night One
After talking about the gameplan, we walked along Magnolia Avenue with the intention to talk to homeless. It wasn't before long that we met an individual who had a severe leg injury, and was recently released from the hospital. We listened to his story, and learned that he had suffered trauma at a young age, and eventually became addicted to fentanyl after becoming hooked on opioids prescribed for an ankle injury. He and his wife divorced, and he had nowhere to go. Disclaimer: The interview is not intended to be viewed by minors as it contains adult references and trauma. The entire interview can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db4kONqz78c
What are Cities to do?
As "Mayor" and I talked and continued to explore the issue, I told him that during my time as #CityManager, I had implemented a program in #Hemet that provided immediate housing assistance via hotel room vouchers, and then consistent casework follow up by social workers. It led to many successes including the reunification of homeless individuals with their family, and also securing permanent housing for those who wanted it. While the city partnered with CityNet to do the work, many chose not to receive the help.
While there were many successes, this article touches on an issue regarding a more permanent solution:
One thing that should be noted: Political leadership is required.
For more information on what Riverside is doing to address their homelessness issue, please click here: https://www.riversideca.gov/homelesssolutions/
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