Brainstorming –
- 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.