Dallas to provide houses for the homeless
The Dallas City Council has approved a plan to have city taxpayers help pay for the construction of at least 500 of the 700 new housing units that the city will provide to the homeless.
The Dallas Morning News reported on the plan today, saying that while federal money will be used to pay for 200 of the 700 units, the city itself — and, by extension, Dallas taxpayers — would pay for the remaining 500 units.
According to the Morning News story, the cost of the housing in the plan will range from $7.2 million to $18 million. The project, designed to help get more homeless off the streets in Dallas, also includes about $4 million to provide support services such as medical care and drug and alcohol treatment to city residents.
The official responsible for dealing with homelessness in Dallas told City Council members that the program would ultimately save taxpayers money by getting more homeless off the streets and into a stable, productive environment.
The housing plan is still in its early stages, and the City Council has not yet committed any funds to it. But you can bet that it will receive some heavy criticism. Taxpayers won’t be happy about paying for the housing. And as soon as the council announces where the newly built housing units will go, get ready to hear the complaints from residents not happy that the units will be popping up in their neighborhoods.
This is unfortunate. The City Council’s plan is a worthwhile one; Anything that gets the homeless off the streets is worthwhile. I’ve covered enough council meetings in the suburbs of Chicago to know how this proposal will go. Neighbors of the new housing will be furious. But let’s look at this realisticaly: The housing has to go somewhere. Let’s just hope that the City Council spreads the homes out, so that no one can claim that council members were merely dumping the homes in one or two neighborhoods. If council members are smart, they’ll make sure to put some of the new housing units in their own neighborhoods. If they don’t do this, angry neighbors will certainly point it out.
The Dallas City Council has a rough road ahead of it. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this proposal goes through. Cities need to do everything they can to help the homeless, especially considering our nation’s current recession. The way the economy is going, there are going to be a lot more homeless people on the streets.
