Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Homelessness Increasing With Increased Spending
Increased homelessness is causing neighbors to be concerned while Lakewood continues to increase spending, suggesting that spending on homelessness only draws more homeless to Lakewood. This situation is well documented in San Francisco, Denver and Lakewood. Helping people become self-reliant is secondary to paying for housing – the same failed strategy employed in these other cities.
From @dobetterdnvr: “@lakewoodco.gov admits that since COVID we’ve gone from very little in our city budget to several million dollars a year to address these issues specifically”
FOX31 reports that city leaders argue that not enough resources have been spent: “City officials said the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to outpace available resources.”
Recent reporting showcases Aviation Park, which has been a problem area for years. From FOX31: “It used to be a really nice park, but now it’s turned into just a campground for the homeless.”
In another post about a city meeting, a resident comment sums up his understanding by saying, “Lakewood City Council has purposely created policies to attract homeless criminals to our city because this qualifies them for federal funding.”
Meanwhile, the narrative on homelessness is changing. Governments are no longer trying to lower homelessness. Now achievement is measured by lowering “street homeless.”
There is a big difference between getting a person off the street and making them self-reliant.
Without becoming self-reliant, the number of unhoused will only grow.
This explains why Lakewood is spending more money.