I read with interest yet another letter in the ongoing metro area debate over whether our community should give homeless people overnight shelters or permanent housing and rent support (“Readers respond: Crossroads in homelessness response,” Nov. 23). Most people concerned about the housing crisis know we actually need both, badly.And not soon, but now.
I have not been surprised that people who experience homelessness prefer permanent housing over living outdoors. The low vacancy rates in affordable housing substantiate that survey data. However, that isn’t an actual choice in the winter of 2025-2025. The real question is whether a person would rather sleep indoors for 10 hours or outside in the rain and cold under a tarp, hiding in the woods away from the next homeless camp sweep?
There are 6,000 or more neighbors living outside right now. Overnight shelters provide them a few hours of respite during these dark, cold, wet, windy and dangerous nights. The shelters aren’t perfect, but they are better than a tent in the woods…