On the one hand, we’ve all remembered what it is to wake up and feel the chill of autumn returning.
On the other hand, we have been told that this is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
And they should both remind us that there are housing challenges in even rural communities.
Lawrence has experienced this issue recently, as it was noted in press reports this week.
The housing authority there announced it had stopped taking applications on some houses. “Authority officials say it’s taking two years to find homes for people applying for one- or two-bedroom public units.”
It should not come as much of a surprise that an official in Lawrence was reported explaining, “the struggling economy is to blame for the waiting list.”
This is that economy we’ve been told so recently is bounding back with great enthusiasm. No jobs, no funding, no light in sight, but we are to just trust that everything’s OK.
Well, it’s not, as the people working with these social situations can attest.
Whether a person is without housing because of a failing domestic situation or because they are broke, the immediate issue comes down to dollars and cents. If they had money at hand they’d be able to get off the street.
The sad truth is, there are a lot of people out there who are hoping for help, and it is getting longer in coming.
Our communities are going to have to get more creative about the solutions, this month, this season, all year, every year, because these are problems that are not going away any time soon.
— Chuck Smith