The shortfalls in the government’s approach to helping the homeless are especially visible during times of national tragedies. At a time like this, The Gift Card Project is reminding people of their approach based on enlisting the help of individuals instead of the government.
In San Francisco, for example, they are falling short of meeting a goal for leasing 8,000 hotel rooms for homeless, at-risk populations:
While there is no formal punishment for failing to lease the 8,250 hotel rooms, the lack of rooms is a blow for a city that even before the outbreak of COVID-19 was struggling to handle a growing crisis in homelessness. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ goal of 8,000 rooms was already 1,250 more than the city’s Human Services Agency had targeted at the onset of the outbreak, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed has said that it was unrealistic to believe the city could lease that many rooms for the homeless.
Fort Lauderdale, on the other hand, is cracking down on homelessness and redrawing boundaries in the community.
Fort Lauderdale already has a ban on camping in the downtown area, with violators facing fines up to $500 and 60 days in jail. The ordinance discourages people from taking refuge on public property, including parks and sidewalks. The new rule would impose another boundary, barring anyone from setting up camp within 1,000 feet of schools and daycare centers throughout the city.
The Gift Card Project founder Ryan Bilodeau started the organization in response to the shortcomings of government programs like these.
“Individuals already living in communities can do so much more for the homeless surrounding them than some bureaucrat at the state house or in Washington D.C. The principle of subsidiarity is a valid one when doing the heavy lifting of helping the homeless,” said Ryan Bilodeau
Warren James is the lead editor for Diving Daily. Warren has written for many publications including the New York Daily News, Vanity Fair and Yahoo. Warren is based in New York city and covers issues affecting local communities. In addition to following the day-to-day life of the Big Apple, Warren also has a passion for martial arts.