City must intensify
efforts on housing
Fayetteville has been identified as one of the worst cities in the country for its lack of adequate housing. Prices, both to buy and rent, have risen so high it is extremely hard to find a place to live. As affordable places become scarce, all places down the price ladder are equally scarce, with a domino effect on the market. The result is an increasing homeless population.
So far we have been fortunate that the homelessness situation is not as dire as in many other cities -- we do not yet have tent encampments lining Dickson Street or people sleeping in doorways on Center Street. But that consequence is coming if we don't address the issue now.
Over the years, the city has implemented programs to help, all of them valuable but none sufficient. Consequently, we have hundreds of homeless people in Fayetteville. Whatever the number, it is too high.
The temptation is to continue to stick BandAids on the problem and wait for it to heal itself. While some progress is made by the hard work and foresight of nonprofit organizations, real change has to come from the top. The mayor or City Council has to initiate, implement and fund solutions. Two resolutions considered by the City Council called for additional city staff to be hired to initiate the needed effort. The actual staff position is not specified, since the city officials know what would work best.
At present, no one in the city government is responsible for dealing with the housing situation. No one person has the needed expertise in that area and cannot simply add that to their job description. Adding to the staff is critical to solving our housing problems, and I urge the council to retain this staff position in whatever version of the proposed resolution is adopted.
Some examples of solutions that can be implemented:
1. Designate a legal, safe place for homeless people to camp temporarily until they can be transitioned into appropriate housing. A place called Gateway Village has been proposed and could fill this need.
2. Revisit the zoning code to allow more flexibility for types of housing. Fayetteville's current zoning code was adopted in the 1970s.
3. Apply for federal grants to provide more subsidized housing for extremely low-income people. Section 8 housing vouchers are inadequate because many landlords will not accept them. We need many more subsidized apartments, and I'm told that there are grants out there that the city has not pursued. Grant applications take more staff time and expertise than are available now.
4. Investigate how other cities have dealt with housing needs. This is a national problem.
It's time for Fayetteville to let go of its attachment to the status quo. Change is inevitable, whether we like it or not, and we can shape the changes in the ways we want. Action is needed now.
Maya M. Porter
Springdale