Some 1,300 volunteers will deploy throughout
Those kinds of numbers give
us an opportunity to inform individuals on the nature and extent of
homelessness first hand.
We go out to count the
number of people who are experiencing homelessness at the same time we take an
inventory of the housing we have available for them.
These facts will allow us to
articulate the extensive housing crisis that people in poverty, with disabling
conditions, or a history in the criminal justice system face in Dallas and Collin
Counties
We will report out our
findings on March 9 at the State of the Homeless Address and
give the community a clearer picture of the nature and extent of the barriers
people face in trying to secure a stable home.
As we go out tonight and
look under bridges, along sidewalks, and in vehicles, we must resist the
inclination from the encounter that the living condition is merely some defect
of character or decision making. We must understand that there are real
institutional and economic forces that create disparities in access to
resources of housing and healthcare which create a population of people who no
longer have homes.
Can we change the hearts and
minds of enough residents to resist the tendencies towards NIMBYism that all
too often hold back the development of safe, quality, accessible and affordable
housing?
Can we compel more to action
that they will demonstratively give their local elected representatives the
political backing they need to make the housing decisions that are the
solutions to homelessness?
This is our opportunity to
inform 1,300 volunteers and the public who watch, listen and read of the
homeless count that Homelessness is what a housing crisis looks like.
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