Would YOU let a homeless person live in your backyard? Portland offers residents free tiny homes if they rent it to families who are on the street

[mystery-ak]

Would YOU let a homeless person live in your backyard? Portland offers residents free tiny homes if they rent it to families who are on the street

    Homeless families will move into houses in the backyards of willing homeowners
    This is part of a government pilot program that will take effect this summer
    The project, called A Place For You, may be the first in the nation to do this
    Hundreds of homeowners have registered since the project was made public 

By Associated Press and Jordan Gass-Poore for Dailymail.com

Published: 01:57 EDT, 19 March 2017 | Updated: 02:18 EDT, 19 March 2017


Faced with an intractable homeless problem, officials in Portland are thinking inside the box.

A handful of homeless families will soon move into tiny, government-constructed modular units in the backyards of willing homeowners.

Portland officials are looking for four backyards to place its Accessory Dwelling Units, what some people may call a granny flat, or a tiny home minus wheels.

Under the pilot program taking effect this summer, the homeowners will take over the heated, fully plumbed tiny houses in five years and can use them for rental income.



more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4328226/Portland-wants-residents-let-homeless-live-backyards.html

[Sanguine]

"Homelessness" isn't their biggest problem.  It's all those other things that drove them to be homeless that are the problem.  And, giving them a home in someone's back yard isn't going to fix those problems, unfortunately.

[Right_in_Virginia]

The families will receive social services that the county already provides to all homeless families they house, Li said, and they will pay 30 per cent of the rent themselves.

How?

'We said to ourselves, "What does FEMA do when they have to house 10,000 people after an earthquake?" Well, they grab a bunch of trailers and they plop them in a field,' Li said.

'Well, there's underutilized space in people's backyards. What if we provide a lower-cost - but very habitable option - in people's backyards?'

Hmmm... I wonder what could be next.   

[Cripplecreek]

"Homelessness" isn't their biggest problem.  It's all those other things that drove them to be homeless that are the problem.  And, giving them a home in someone's back yard isn't going to fix those problems, unfortunately.

I would be willing but I would need total control over who gets to live in my yard (Small family only) and I get a few weeks to get to know the people. I'd even provide internet service and transportation for job searching.

The days of getting a first paycheck, running out and renting an apartment are over. These days a decent apartment will cost $800 per month and getting in the door costs first and last month rent plus security deposit. Its why I took my nephew in for free for 6 months. He had a job the whole time but needed breathing room to get ahead so he could get the apartment he lives in now.

[roamer_1]

giving them a home in someone's back yard isn't going to fix those problems, unfortunately.

Especially if that home does not have a bathroom. Predictable results.

[EC]

Yer a good man, CC.

[Cripplecreek]

Yer a good man, CC.

There are plenty of homeless people I don't want anywhere near my house but I also recognize that there are those who will accept the help that is given and use it to begin making their own way.

A few years ago on a bitter coldwinter morning an old guy who appeared to be in his 70s on a bicycle stopped me in the street and asked if there were any homeless shelters around. The nearest shelter is at least 2 hours ride away so I took him in the party store and bought him a cup of coffee and had him wait while I came home to grab my truck. I took him a big bowl of chili out of the crock pot and took him to the interfaith shelter in town. I didn't want the guy to even know where I lived but I didn't want the guy to suffer either so I made a compromise I could live with.

[Sanguine]

I would be willing but I would need total control over who gets to live in my yard (Small family only) and I get a few weeks to get to know the people. I'd even provide internet service and transportation for job searching.

The days of getting a first paycheck, running out and renting an apartment are over. These days a decent apartment will cost $800 per month and getting in the door costs first and last month rent plus security deposit. Its why I took my nephew in for free for 6 months. He had a job the whole time but needed breathing room to get ahead so he could get the apartment he lives in now.

Exactly!  Having a healthy, supportive network of family and friends and perhaps a religious community are one of the things that people need. 

I've had nieces and nephews live with me for periods of time while they got their financial situation worked out.  They weren't homeless.

[mountaineer]

These little houses look like rabbit hutches or chicken coops. Either way, I'm not sure putting the homeless out the backyard like a beagle is preferable to a shelter with hot meals and beds.

[geronl]

pure insanity

[geronl]

These little houses look like rabbit hutches or chicken coops. Either way, I'm not sure putting the homeless out the backyard like a beagle is preferable to a shelter with hot meals and beds.

treating them like pets is dignity?

[Sanguine]

treating them like pets is dignity?

Well, for my pets, yes, but I think Mountaineer was being sarcastic.

[truth_seeker]

Multiple studies conclude that 2/3 of homeless are mentally ill, addicts/alcoholics. Or combinations thereof.

They typically value their freedom, above following rules for shelter, etc.

When found outdoors during hard weather, I think jurisdictions should be able to confine them in reservations.

Homeless populations appear to have grown greatly under Obama's compassionate realm.

Most qualify for some level of public assistance, and will drink/drug it up, leaving no money for shelter.

I am NOT aware of any area churches that let them live on the premises. Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, independent evangelical. Nada, zip.

I rate pretty low, on the compassion scale.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

"Under the pilot program taking effect this summer, the homeowners will take over the heated, fully plumbed tiny houses in five years and can use them for rental income."

Yeah, sure they can.  I think what they really mean is that in five years the city will inform you that your land is not zoned for rental, oh and by the way you have an unauthorized structure which needs to be removed immediately or face a $100/day fine, starting five years ago.

[XenaLee]

Would YOU let a homeless person live in your backyard? Portland offers residents free tiny homes if they rent it to families who are on the street

    Homeless families will move into houses in the backyards of willing homeowners
    This is part of a government pilot program that will take effect this summer
    The project, called A Place For You, may be the first in the nation to do this
    Hundreds of homeowners have registered since the project was made public 

By Associated Press and Jordan Gass-Poore for Dailymail.com

Published: 01:57 EDT, 19 March 2017 | Updated: 02:18 EDT, 19 March 2017


Faced with an intractable homeless problem, officials in Portland are thinking inside the box.

A handful of homeless families will soon move into tiny, government-constructed modular units in the backyards of willing homeowners.

Portland officials are looking for four backyards to place its Accessory Dwelling Units, what some people may call a granny flat, or a tiny home minus wheels.

Under the pilot program taking effect this summer, the homeowners will take over the heated, fully plumbed tiny houses in five years and can use them for rental income.



more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4328226/Portland-wants-residents-let-homeless-live-backyards.html

Many of the homeless are drug addicts and alcoholics (why they're homeless).  As a homeowner, you are responsible for anything that happens on your property.  I wonder how long it will be before some bottom-feeding lawyers start stalking these "lucky" homeless folks for any "axedents" that may occur after they move in.

[mountaineer]

treating them like pets is dignity?

no, that's the opposite of what I said (or at least, meant to say). Putting them in cages like animals is horrendous.

[goatprairie]

Multiple studies conclude that 2/3 of homeless are mentally ill, addicts/alcoholics. Or combinations thereof.

They typically value their freedom, above following rules for shelter, etc.

When found outdoors during hard weather, I think jurisdictions should be able to confine them in reservations.

Homeless populations appear to have grown greatly under Obama's compassionate realm.

Most qualify for some level of public assistance, and will drink/drug it up, leaving no money for shelter.

I am NOT aware of any area churches that let them live on the premises. Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, independent evangelical. Nada, zip.

I rate pretty low, on the compassion scale.

There seems to be a concerted effort on the part of the local media to hammer home stories about the homeless. The local tv stations and the local rag have had numerous pieces on all the homeless in the area.  But they never reveal how many homeless there are.
I remember back in the '90s there was a homeless advocate named Mitch Snyder (?) who claimed there were two or three million homeless people in the U.S. Then some person did an actual study and determined the amount was about one tenth of what Snyder claimed. He subsequently committed suicide. I don't know if it was because of his scam being exposed or if he was headed in that direction anyway.
At any rate, whenever the media jumps on a social issue, I'm always skeptical of their numbers.
Help the people who've lost their homes under unfortunate circumstances? Sure, but like what another poster mentioned two thirds of the homeless are mentally ill or drug addicts. Putting them in citizens backyards is only asking for trouble.

[mountaineer]

Little known fact: there are no homeless anywhere unless a Republican is in the White House. It's amazing.

[truth_seeker]

Little known fact: there are no homeless anywhere unless a Republican is in the White House. It's amazing.

It is a popular topic of discussion in my SoCal suburb. We have them in numbers never before seen.

A combination of a long Obama-depression with fake data, a state willing to soften laws and let druggies and drunks run amok in nice neighborhoods, among us hard working and law abiding folks.

The "new" thinking is that marijuana is harmless, minor offenses draw no jail time, etc.

The police officers are worried about getting sued by slick lawyers, if they use measures from just a few years back. (drop them off in a less prosperous community more than a one day walk).

If up to me, pass laws on vagrancy again, erect minimalist reservations far out in the desert, sentence them. Pass more laws about care of indigent mentally ill, to confine them if family won't care for them.

[Frank Cannon]

Portland officials are looking for four backyards to place its Accessory Dwelling Units,

We call them tool sheds on the East Coast.

[Smokin Joe]

How?

Hmmm... I wonder what could be next.   

Reminds me of a scene from Doctor Zhivago where the house is being doled out as apartments...

[Fishrrman]

Joe wrote:
"Reminds me of a scene from Doctor Zhivago where the house is being doled out as apartments..."

Ayn Rand wrote of this as well in her first novel, "We The Living"...

[Frank Cannon]

It is a popular topic of discussion in my SoCal suburb. We have them in numbers never before seen.

Because you live in a welfare state. We don't have homeless stinking up my town because anyone like that gets hauled off by the cops and thrown in the dumpster or whatever they do with those people.

[Smokin Joe]

Because you live in a welfare state. We don't have homeless stinking up my town because anyone like that gets hauled off by the cops and thrown in the dumpster or whatever they do with those people.

We have winter. Homeless here just doesn't work very well from Sept through April or May, at a minimum.

[240B]

My experience with homeless people is that they are dangerous to be near. They are homeless for a reason, and sometimes those reasons are very serious. They can't hold a job because of addiction to drugs or alcohol. They can't get housing, even public housing, because of a history of violent felonies or sex/child related crimes. And most of the time they refuse any treatment for their issues. In their minds, they do not have a problem. Society just doesn't understand them.

No matter how nice they may seem when you first meet them, if they get to know you, they will almost certainly turn around and bite you in the butt. They will steal from you. They will steal your identity if they can. They will use you as a guarantor to their bookie or with their drug dealer.

Nine of ten homeless people are really bad news. It is best to stay away from them. Even homeless people will not get involved with other homeless people, because they know better. If you have a compulsion to help the homeless, make sure you do it from a distance. And never let them know your name and where you live unless you want that 3am knock on the door asking for booze, money, a place to sleep, a ride somewhere, or all of the above.