Letter: Two kinds by Barry L. Plotkin – April 1, 2021

Referencing Rick Bowers’ letter of March 6, there are two kinds of homelessness — economic and chronic.

Economic homelessness can be solved by additional housing stock, but that housing stock has to be affordable. When housing is scarce, as it is in Astoria, affordable housing can only be created by changes in zoning that permit greater density, and economic incentives to builders to charge affordable rents….

Read the letter in The Astorian here.

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

~Edward Everett Hale

“To end homelessness, a community-wide coordinated approach to delivering services, housing, and programs is needed.” —National Alliance to End Homelessness

“One thing is certain: There is almost always resistance from individuals and organizations seeking to defend the status quo.” —Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives

“… middle-class values cannot be imposed on those who have had no access to middle-class comforts.” —Lloyd Pendleton