WESTLAND, ARE WE WILLING TO HELP?
I want to write this one a little differently. After watching the Local News Story. I felt like I needed to speak out.
This isn't an investigation. I'm not presenting a bunch of statistics or claiming I have the answer to homelessness. I'm writing this one from my own opinion and from something that has been bothering me.
Most people in Westland probably don't realize the encampment recently talked about behind Kroger isn't the only one.
There are other places around our city where people are sleeping outside. There are also people sleeping in their cars.
Some of them we probably drive past every day without ever knowing they're there.
And that bothers me.
Not because I don't want them here.
Because I don't want anyone to have to live that way.
I know homelessness is complicated. I know addiction can be involved. Mental health can be involved. People lose jobs. Families fall apart. Rent becomes unaffordable. People make bad decisions. Sometimes life just deals somebody one bad hand after another.
And yes, sometimes people refuse help.
I'm not pretending any of this is easy.
But I keep wondering whether we're asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking, "How do we get these camps out of Westland?"
Maybe we should be asking, "How do we help the people living in them?"
I don't know how to fund it
I want to be very clear about that.
Westland is a big city. We have more than 80,000 residents.
I would imagine there are grants, programs, partnerships or other sources of funding that could help us do more about homelessness if we really went looking for them.
I'm not claiming I know what money is available.
I'm not claiming there's a giant check sitting somewhere waiting for Westland to ask for it.
I'm suggesting that we try to find out.
Let's ask.
Let's look for grants.
Let's talk to organizations that already work with homelessness.
Let's see what programs have worked elsewhere.
Let's find out what it would cost.
And then let's decide whether Westland wants to do something.
If I had it my way, we'd start small
I wouldn't start by proposing some giant building or multimillion-dollar program.
I'd start with people.
I'd like one place residents can call when they see somebody who appears to be living outside or sleeping in a vehicle.
I'd like trained outreach workers to go meet them.
And not just once.
If someone says no today, go back next week.
Learn their name.
Ask what happened.
Ask what they need.
Because I don't believe every homeless person needs the same thing.
One person may need addiction treatment.
Someone may need mental health care.
Someone may have a job but can't afford the deposit on an apartment.
Someone may need identification.
Someone may need a shelter bed.
Someone sleeping in a car might be a few hundred dollars away from getting back into housing.
We won't know until somebody sits down and asks.
I'd like us to help before somebody ends up outside
This is one idea I really believe is worth exploring.
Maybe someone is $800 behind on rent.
Maybe the car they need to get to work just broke down.
Maybe they're about to have their utilities shut off.
Maybe they can afford an apartment but don't have enough money for the security deposit.
Would it make more sense to help that person before they're homeless?
In my opinion, yes.
I'd like to see us explore some kind of emergency assistance program with clear rules, documentation and limits.
Not unlimited assistance.
Not paying somebody's bills forever.
A hand when that hand might actually prevent someone from losing everything.
And if somebody says they're ready, let's be ready too
This part matters to me.
If an outreach worker talks to someone sleeping outside and that person finally says:
"Okay. I want help."
What happens next?
I'd like somebody to be able to say, "Let's go."
Not hand them six phone numbers.
Not tell them to call somewhere Monday morning.
Help them get identification.
Help them apply for benefits.
Get them to treatment if they need it.
Find an available shelter bed.
Help them look for housing.
Maybe work with Westland landlords willing to give someone another chance.
And have one person stay with them through that process instead of sending them from agency to agency.
Getting someone housed shouldn't be the end either
I'd want us to check back.
Are they still housed three months later?
Six months?
A year?
Do they need help finding work?
Are they getting treatment?
Are they falling behind again?
The goal shouldn't simply be getting somebody out of a tent.
The goal should be helping them stay out of one.
But here's the question I really want to ask Westland
I can sit here and tell you what I would like to see.
That's easy.
What I really want to know is what you think.
Are Westland residents willing to help?
Would you support our city actively looking for grants and outside funding to address homelessness here?
Would you support outreach workers going directly to people living outside?
Would you support a carefully controlled emergency fund that could prevent a Westland resident from becoming homeless?
Would local landlords be willing to participate in a housing program?
Would churches help?
Would businesses help?
Would residents donate clothing, food, hygiene products or money if there were a trustworthy local program coordinating it?
Would people volunteer?
I genuinely don't know.
But I'd like to find out.
Because this isn't just about one camp that happened to make the news.
There are other people living outside in Westland.
There are people sleeping in vehicles.
There are probably people much closer to becoming homeless than any of us realize.
And I don't think moving a tent from one patch of woods to another solves anything.
Maybe we can't help everybody.
Maybe some people won't accept our help.
Maybe we try a few things that don't work.
But I'd rather see Westland try.
We're a big enough city to have this problem.
Maybe we're also a big enough community to help solve some of it.
So I'm asking.
Westland, are we willing to help?
Brian R. Hopkins
Editor in Chief, Voice of Westland
