20 ideas (first 10 are from previous post):
- Is the decline in numbers of homeless in Athens-Clarke County part of a broader trend statewide or nationwide? Is it particular to some sectors of the homeless population in our community or more generalized? What has it taught us about what worked and what did not? This story would look at efforts to reduce homelessness in Athens within the broader frame of trends and successful solutions nationwide.
- How have factors associated with increasing rates of homelessness, from the 1980s onward, played out in Athens? These factors include: decrease in manufacturing jobs/decreased wages for those at the lower end; deinstitutionalization; disinvestment in social programs; gentrification/less affordable housing. This story would look at factors known to contribute to homelessness in terms of their applicability to Athens over the decades since the 1980s.
- The Housing First model has been recognized nationally as a successful strategy. It calls for priority to be placed on finding housing without erecting barriers (such as requiring sobriety or other issues of compliance). This story would investigate use of the Housing First model in Athens.
- How coordinated are services within Athens-Clarke County? Coordination of services has been cited as essential to help individuals benefit from resources and avoid waste of time and resources. This story would focus on providers, their roles in the community, and coordination among them, including successes stories as well as those who have fallen through the cracks.
- How does the Athens-Clarke police force interact with the homeless community? In what ways is this beneficial? In what ways is it detrimental? This story would look at ordinances that disproportionately impact the homeless as well as their enforcement in the community.
- We might call assumptions and stereotypes of homelessness a “master narrative” from which responses of the public are shaped and from which individuals themselves may view themselves. This story would look at assumptions/myths, responses they typically call forth, and realities that could change the conversation.
- Among novel approaches to funding housing for vulnerable individuals is a call for Medicaid to include it among covered services! Here in Georgia we are a far cry from expanding Medicaid to include housing, but it is worth investigating where it stands elsewhere and perhaps plant the seed for discussion about it.
- Starting with recognition of Athens as a compassionate community (with lots of evidence to show that!), this story would help direct compassion to as yet unfulfilled – or under-fulfilled – needs.
- Athens, like other towns, has installed sidewalk meters that look like parking meters to collect donations for services for the homeless. The idea is to discourage direct contributions to panhandlers and funnel the money into a general fund. Is this a good idea? Has it “worked” in Athens or elsewhere? This story would look at rationales for the installation of care meters, amount of money collected and where it ends up, impact on amount collected by individuals on the streets.
- Looking at one individual as a face of homelessness, this story would focus on Tony, the man I previously interviewed, in terms of his daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal routines and his use of resources in the community. This story would highlight what it is like to be homeless in Athens (for Tony specifically but with some implied extension to others), what has been useful to him and what needs remain unmet.
New ideas:
- Sidewalks as a place for social exchange (in the words of Supreme Court Justice Roberts) where first amendment rights prevail. This article could bring in various things that take place on the sidewalks, including street performances, sidewalk preachers, and panhandlers.
- Impact of being homeless on health –sleep deprivation, exposure to elements, lack of facilities
- How community counts of number of homeless are obtained, as well as insights gained from the process of counting – qualitative in addition to the quantitative results
- Awareness of subsets within the homeless population, including displaced families
- Panhandlers downtown in contrast to those in outlying areas – differing access to resources, perhaps differences in demographics
- Facing adversity – utility of a personal narrative of condemnation or redemption, connected to the bigger picture of personal storytelling in all of our lives
- Diversity within population of homeless, including identified subsets and their differing needs
- Homeless swag – not to sound too lighthearted but it’s interesting and informative to see websites devoted to how to get through the experience of homelessness, including this one on items that make it more bearable. http://www.swags.org.au/
- Life after homelessness – how does one move on?
- Keeping and caring for pets while homeless
Top ideas for profile story:
- Looking at one individual as a face of homelessness, this story would focus on Tony, the man I previously interviewed, in terms of his daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal routines and his use of resources in the community. This story would highlight what it is like to be homeless in Athens (for Tony specifically but with some implied extension to others), what has been useful to him and what needs remain unmet. Sources for this story, in addition to Tony, could include: one of the founders of the PBJs program (which provides lunch and conversations every Sunday afternoon), founder of the Backpack project (which brings backpacks filled with useful items to those on the street), a community member who regularly interacts with Tony on the street, and a volunteer from Action Ministry (which provides breakfast and lunch Monday – Friday and bagged lunches on Saturday and Sunday).
- Looking at an individual (or family) who has gotten past a period of homelessness, this story would perform the similar function of showing a face and a life to humanize the issue; it would describe what the experience had been like, as well as what it is like to move past the experience. It would also highlight community resources that were helpful and those that continue to be helpful. Sources in addition to the individual/family would be drawn from resources identified by the primary source (in a way similar to those described above).
Top ideas for trend story:
- Yearly counts have revealed declining rates of homelessness in Athens-Clarke County as well as regionally. Is the decline in numbers here part of this broader trend? Is it particular to some sectors of the homeless population in our community or more generalized? What has it taught us about what worked and what did not? This story would look at efforts to reduce homelessness in Athens within the broader frame of trends and successful solutions regionally and nationwide. Sources could include Samantha Carvallio, who is responsible for conducting yearly counts; Rob Trevena, who heads the Housing and Community Development Department of Athens-Clarke County; Shea Post or Mary O’Toole representing the Northeast Georgia Homeless Coalition; and the individuals noted in the profile ideas above.
- This story would focus on sidewalks as a place for social exchange (in the words of Supreme Court Justice Roberts) where first amendment rights prevail. It would bring in various social exchanges that take place on the sidewalks, including street performances, sidewalk preachers, and panhandlers and would look at threats to established ordinances brought on by a recent ruling that, by extension, would make current anti-panhandling ordinances unconstitutional. Where does this leave the community, particularly in terms of controlling aggressive panhandling? Sources for this story could include William Berryman, Jr., county attorney; Pamela Thompson, Executive Director of Athens Downtown Development Authority Board; individuals on the street, and (beyond the local scene) Anthony Laurielo, who is a JD candidate at Columbia Law School and who has written about possible resolutions to this dilemma.
Top ideas for pick-em story:
- Behind the numbers – This story would look at data representing incidence of illness and mortality among those experiencing homelessness and would investigate conditions that bring on or exacerbate these illnesses. Sleep deprivation, exposure to conditions, lack of sanitary facilities, and possible threats to safety are certainly among those. Sources could include a representative of the health department, a representative of medical services at Athens Resource Center for Hope, one or two individuals living on the street, and (beyond the local scene) a representative of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
- Off the beaten path – A master narrative that guides reactions to homelessness, toward individuals experiencing it, and contributing to development of policies can be identified in terms of commonly held assumptions, revealed in sociological research. This story would look at those assumptions/myths and realities that could change the conversation. Sources could include a professor from the sociology department at UGA; Marina Fisher, public policy expert with University of California at Berkeley; and founders of local nonprofits that serve sustenance and emotional needs of individuals experiencing homelessness in Athens (whom I believe would give balance in terms of not operating from that narrative).