tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post2674784586508265474..comments2024-03-28T23:08:19.423-04:00Comments on the sunsphere is NOT a wigshop : voted the BEST blog about knoxville: A More Permanant SolutionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post-90591183754168750892008-03-14T16:03:00.000-04:002008-03-14T16:03:00.000-04:00You might be interested in these two websites. Com...You might be interested in these two websites. Common ground is a phenomenal program based in New York that has developed a template for "curing" homelessness while taking into account mental and physical illness, addiction, unemployment, and families. They develop abandoned hotels and apartment buildings into mixed residential facilities. The range of rooms and apartments accommodates everyone from the long-term homeless to students to young professionals who have never been homeless. Their view is that if all homeless people live together the area becomes "that part of town" i.e. our 100 block of Gay. If you develop a "community building" that encourages many kinds of people to live there it will become part of the greater community of the city. Most of their funding comes from private donations and government grants; although, some of their mixed use buildings are beginning to generate some revenue. They have been consulting with other smaller cities in an effort to modify their "homelessness fix" template for each city. They have a lot of good nuts and bolts ideas about how to get a variety of people to willingly live together. It has been wildly successful in New York and some other bigger cities. They, at one time, came to Knoxville to provide their point of view and recommendations. The founder has also lectured at the UT architecture school. The second link is "Knoxville's Plan".<BR/><BR/><BR/>http://www.commonground.org/<BR/><BR/>http://www.knoxcac.org/homeward_bound/homeless10yrplan.pdfthe value of the plainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14834308857570064009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post-25624235512107278142008-03-10T23:03:00.000-04:002008-03-10T23:03:00.000-04:00for a good start on the topic, see:http://cityofkn...for a good start on the topic, see:<BR/>http://cityofknoxville.org/Press_Releases/Content/2005/1007.aspSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10799667834171543360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post-85150962636316890012008-03-10T10:50:00.000-04:002008-03-10T10:50:00.000-04:00That's a tough one.So how is your bid for public o...That's a tough one.<BR/><BR/>So how is your bid for public office coming along?Mickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16980072484914437668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post-25150572288666869082008-03-10T10:08:00.000-04:002008-03-10T10:08:00.000-04:00my mom, who is in the mental health business, told...my mom, who is in the mental health business, told me about studies that linked the mass closing down state mental institutions in the 70s and the rise in homelessness in the past 30 years. many of the people are out on the street because they don't have the mental capacity to take care of themselves. as a counterpoint to the two comments above, yes teach a man to fish but also take the man, who is so schizophrenic that he's talking to the fish, and put him in a safe environment (which means the government will need to pony up again to take care of the mentally ill- counterpoint #2). while this doesn't address all homelessness, it would help significantly reduce it.ckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06540640791693095371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post-57453985143066388042008-03-09T18:40:00.000-04:002008-03-09T18:40:00.000-04:00where knoxville seems to excel is providing tempor...where knoxville seems to excel is providing temporary solutions to the homeless. like you said, the combined efforts of KARM, the salvation army, and volunteer ministries among others provide enough support to actually bring a large homeless population to the city. i believe to that this is something knoxvillians can be proud of, to some extent. many cities ignore or to even make homelessness virtually illegal.<BR/><BR/>however, it is clear that efforts to provide long-term support are lacking. while there is a significant amount of subsidized housing throughout the city, even residence there is difficult to obtain if you're trying to get off the street. <BR/><BR/>i have to plead ignorance to current programs aimed at getting people into permanent housing or efforts to help them become self-sufficient. i know there is an old school on 5th ave. that is solely for adult education, but that's about it. <BR/><BR/>does anyone else know of any city or private efforts to get people into homes? this is a very important question. like the previous poster noted, while it's important to provide for immediate needs, we really should be focusing on training the impoverished for the long run.stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07778420224034073662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6974628747643667572.post-30505146395854834292008-03-08T21:33:00.000-05:002008-03-08T21:33:00.000-05:00I've never gotten the sense that the city is tryin...I've never gotten the sense that the city is trying to do anything to help them ... officials seem to concentrate more on controlling them -- keeping them from panhandling on busy streets rather than trying to help them develop job skills or find housing.<BR/><BR/>It all goes back to the adage: "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime."The Modern Galhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08663558561522180816noreply@blogger.com