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Panel pushes housing solutions to help end homeless
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Related Topics: BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - There are three simple solutions to solving homelessness in Baltimore City.
“Housing, housing and housing,” Michael Stoops, executive director for the National Coalition for the Homeless, said at a forum at the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work Wednesday.
The forum, “Poor, Brutish and Short: A Discussion of Homelessness, Health and Life and Death on the Street,” chaired by William Breakey of Johns Hopkins University, featured four expert guests who discussed the severity of homelessness in Baltimore and ways the problem could be eradicated.
“We came to this session to sit down, and there were four seats and five of us. It seemed like that was the perfect metaphor for the experience of homelessness in our country. There just aren’t enough seats,” said Fred Osher, director of Health services and system policy for council of state government.
“Research in several cities has shown that death for homeless people is four times that for the general population,” Breakey said.
The panelists said the government needs to promote more efficient housing plans, and create an affordable health insurance system where homeless people with disabilities can more easily have access to help.
“There are many people out there entitled to disability benefits who don’t have them because they have to prove how disabled they are,” Osher said.
The panel highlighted such programs like the Healthy Maryland Initiative — a coalition formed to endeavor to provide health care for all residents of Maryland as a stepping ground toward the right direction for solving homelessness.
Peter Beilenson, former health commissioner in Baltimore and guest panelist, said efforts have to be made nationally before homelessness can be solved on the local level.
“There’s got to be more than just people like us who are concerned about this,” he said.
“We need to elect a president who will make homelessness a major issue for him or her. Once we have a president in power, we have the resources to go about solving the problem.”
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:43 AM MST on Sat., Sep. 6, 2008 re: "Waiting-list for low-income housing open in Montgomery"
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Telisa said:
I am 17 years old. me and my 4month old daughter need a place to stay...we need help....how do i go about moving in a HUD property ASAP??
4 agree | 1 disagree
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Examiner Reader/Nadia said:
I have NO idea if you can help But Im going to take a shot at it - Last FRI there was Gun fire exchanged at my apartmnt complex right infront of my door. I have a month to month lease and have put in my 30 day notice to move out since i feel extremely unsafe. How can I move before the 30 days are up without being charged?
4 agree | 2 disagree
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Wai Yip Tung said:
By adding 60,000 units over 20 years, this housing 'boom' represent an annual growth rate of 0.77%.
6 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
No matter Mr. Metcalf's take on the real estate market, i have lived in SF since 1979 and, to the best of my knowledge, not a single-building boom has significantly effected the price of housing one way or the other, however, clearly (and arguably, unfortunately) real estate "bubbles" have. Even today's Chronicle states the Assessor's office in SF is overhwelmed with homeowners seeking a re-assessemnent of property values because of falling prices. My guess is that has more to do with the real estate "bubble" bursting than available housing on the market.
7 agree | 5 disagree
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Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty said:
The county this year increased property tax revenues 14% with another huge increase expected next year. Reduce spending, and hence the next for more tax increases, by $500,000.
10 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner reader said:
Knapp might run against Leggett for County Executive? If that happened, Knapp would surely win. Given the choice of a fiscally irresponsible, clueless, pandering politition or a tool for the developers, the voters will probably choose the tool for the developers.
10 agree | 8 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Wow! It is unbelievable the amount of selfishness that I see in people who do live in these establishments. I suppose they have the mentality of give back to the community...but not on my block. Let me tell you...I ended up in this type of housing for a year. Thank GOD it was there! I relocated from LA to MD for a $120k/yr. job which I ended up being wrongfully terminated from when I caught pneumonia. As a single mother, an educated professional, worked in my field for 17 years...I was humbled. Don't let your fill yourself with so much gusto, God has a way of humbling those on their high horse.
6 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
hello my name is korena i live in jhonson homes which is pha/lowincome i am looking to get a transfer out of philly how can i do that
5 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Yeah, that's exactly what we need, project thugs in nice new developments. I don't think so!
8 agree | 9 disagree
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Reader said:
Get a fix it man and stop whining!
9 agree | 13 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
"Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation" Run by Thomas Perez, ex chairman of the board of Casa de Md. I wonder if he allowed illegal aliens to fix or certify the roof.
9 agree | 11 disagree
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Norwood Apts Reader said:
As a tenant at the Norwood I take issue with your characterization of tenants as welfare seekers. These tenants are working class low income people who work service jobs in DC. Some tenants work in the mail room at the White House, waiters at Old Ebbitt Grill, or cleaning offices. These people are the ones who help our city run and we deserve to have a decent place to live. By decent I mean demanding a proper working elevator that does not take 31 days to repair.
375 agree | 261 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Columbia doesn't need anymore housing.....Most of the individuals at the meeting, are those seeking welfare and goverment funded housing........
299 agree | 280 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
When will this new policy take place?
643 agree | 289 disagree
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Silver Springer said:
This is a remarkably important story and the Examiner deserves a lot of credit for digging it out. while bigger papers in Baltimore and Washington failed to do so. Mortgage regulators should have stopped the current binge of looney loans years ago. They failed to do so and now large numbers of homeowners are facing foreclosure -- and more will in the future. That's a terrible price to pay to sell more loans and to inflate short-term lender profits.
301 agree | 275 disagree
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