The City Council elected in 2017 was nothing if not indecisive.
Since eight of the nine members of that City Council were reelected on July 26, it appears the City of Greensboro is in for three more years of indecision.
At the Thursday, Sept. 1 work session, the City Council appeared to be supportive of proposed ordinance amendments that mainly deal with the homeless population in downtown Greensboro.
However, at the Tuesday, Sept. 6 meeting, City Councilmember Goldie Wells expressed a desire to put a hold on taking any action until those experiencing homelessness could be consulted.
Wells asked that a task force including people who are homeless be formed specifically to hear from the homeless about how the homeless issues could be solved.
Wells said, “One of the things I don’t think we have tried is to listen to the homeless. If we could have a task force that included them. Yes, to hear what they had to say about their problems, why they are there and what they think. I talked to one homeless person and the person told me you are telling us we need houses, all of us don’t want houses. We have other problems but nobody listens so that we can tell them. You’re telling us what you think we need.
“I know when we hear zoning cases and people want to come put housing in neighborhoods we always emphasize we need to hear what the neighbors want but we have not really heard. They come and talk at that mic over there but I don’t think we’ve engaged them in what are your ideas, how do you think we could do something about it. We may come up with some solutions.”
She added, “So I would like to see us form, staff to try to form some type of task force because I know as Councilmember Hightower said we are meeting with people, but I think we need to just listen and hear what people have to say.”
Back in 2018 the City Council decided that it needed to hear from the homeless population about a proposed panhandling ordinance. The Homeless Union and the Interactive Resource Center (IRC) provided homeless individuals to speak at the numerous forums and town hall meetings that were held.
The City Council spent from April to August on the panhandling ordinance, including hiring outside attorneys who attended all the various forums and town hall meetings.
In the end, the toothless panhandling ordinance that was passed by a 5-4 vote of the City Council was opposed by those representing the homeless population.
Dr. Wells is correct. The homeless in Greensboro are living human beings. They have a right to say and ask for what they wish and really need. I hope that the council will consider this and make it so.
Of course they have the right to say what their needs are. So do I, but I do not presume to expect my needs to be met by others.
My needs are met by the result of the efforts of my work.
I suggest they employ the same solution.
It is refreshing to see leaders take an interest in the homeless as people and not just a Problem.
Wouldn’t be a problem if you and tuna would have started the tiny houses you were so into
Let’s ask the dogs and cats about neutering and spaying too!
The Homeless Union?
Ridiculous !
You voted em in. Get used to it. Meanwhile, back on increased taxed property: God help Greensboro.
water bonds????
Lets have a one person task force: Ms. Wells, go ahead and interview all the homeless you desire. Most have such issues that they cannot communicate and further, will most likely avoid you. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand the problem of homelessness. Can the council not put together a plan by themselves without hiring outside consultants or sending out the staff? If not, what purpose do you serve? My six year old granddaughter can site on a board and raise her hand every once in a while for a vote, but it does not mean she brings anything to the table for thought. The council has work sessions on every topic in the world. Get together and propose some solutions. This issue is only going to get worse while you folks sit on your thrones.
Clueless leading the Homeless………Brave New World.
Ha, ha, ha…. good one!
Just wondering why this has taken soooo long
These people are homeless because they chose to be so. Just asked the folks who have already tried to help them. The majority want to be exactly where they are!
Spoken like someone who has never actually engaged with the homeless.
BS. Some of us have dealt with more homeless than you will ever see. The ones downtown have chosen the lifestyle, whether through drugs, mental illness or both.
What a daunting task these council members face. They have monies to give to “every” non profit (especially the ones they sit on the committees of), there are monies for every new “brainstorm” that someone proposes that is “intended” to better a specific community or demographic but yet the roadways in Greensboro are in deplorable condition!
But WAIT, let’s ask the homeless what they want/ need or desire. When did a community of people who chose not to be responsible for their own well-being in lots of cases) become the “decision makers” of what freebies they are looking for. If people on unemployment are required to prove they have tried to find work and the proposal for someone seeking government assistance is to be randomly drug screened, why are the “homeless” allowed to do whatever – whenever and still can block an intersection to get an offering from someone who has a much bigger heart than I. Help yourself, then ask for guidance on making the right decisions!
“Some of us homeless don’t even want homes”…
Ummm..WTF??? Good luck with that….
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Just had dinner on the patio at Bourbon Bowl and listened to a homeless man shouting meaninglessly on the corner of Elm and Lewis St. the entire time. A waiter even walked by shaking his head and said “Every night”. Let’s ask that guy what he thinks the homeless population needs! I really feel for the business owners downtown!
Why not seek copies of the thousands of task force reports from progressive cities all over the USA? They have the same progressive policies which have resulted in the same problems Greensboro is starting to see. Almost certainly the “Task Force” will spend thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach the same conclusions. The result will of course be more progressive policies and more of the same problems…..so save your money.
Wells and other Council members want a Task Force because they have no idea how to fix the problem. The Council members are incompetent.
As the old adage says “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”.
I serve breakfast every Monday morning at Center City Park. I’ve been doing it for 5-6 years. I speak with 30-40 individuals once a week about their issues, their hopes, their fears, while passing out hot coffee, oatmeal & grits. Many of them “live outside” are “experiencing homelessness” or whatever else you want to call it. Some are just trying to make their food stamps last until the end of the month. Many of these individuals are mentally ill. Many would qualify for benefits, but they have no ID because sometimes all your possessions get stolen when you live outside. Over and over again. They have no transportation, which is why they congregate near bus shelters, downtown near resources (IRC, the public library, Greensboro Housing Authority). We do need a solution to help those who cannot help themselves. It’s called PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. I am willing and EAGER to join the task force on homelessness! I have personal, face-to-face interaction every Monday with people who SUFFER, especially in the winter. I will reach out to city council OR if you’d like to reach out to me, please do! sharonburgosrealtor@gmail.com
Do you not know you’re part of the problem. Cats will continue to eat where they are fed.
Uh, no. What you are asking for is MORE tax money extorted from us, and then administered by an inept and corrupt government.
Many of the homeless are mentally ill. It’s very difficult to get proper treatment. Some of these people aren’t capable of making an informed decision.
Greensboro does the bare minimum. If treatment were better, more will show up from other cities.
How many are living in your house is that why you’re still here. Please go to California
You are right!
Homelessness is just a numbers game. Housing costs a certain dollar amount and so long as people do not have the dollars they need to get housing, they will be homeless. The solution is actually very simple: get people the money they need to pay for housing and control the costs of housing so that they all can afford it. The best way to do this is through a robust welfare state that provides a baseline, universal income to anyone so that they have the money they need and housing owned and operated by the county or state to control costs. You can’t distribute income and housing the way that we do via the market and not have homelessness. It’s just math.
No it’s not math. It’s called a socialist nanny state. Everyone in Russia gets a certain amount from the government but they have to work every day doing something for the government it may be as simple as sweeping the streets. but everyone works. No free handouts. Keep working with your pea brain and America will get there. MORON
Hilarious!, JTJ!
You’re joking, right? All those control & command socialist measures have failed utterly to alleviate the problem wherever and whenever they’ve been implemented. If you believe in direct government control of the price of housing, why is rent-controlled New York City the most unaffordable housing market in the nation?
“The solution”, as you put it, is to repeal the forest of penny ante pettifoggery that home builders must obey when they build homes. The red tape, restrictions, requirements and regulations have made it uneconomic to build affordable housing – so there’s very little of it. As if the Left hasn’t damaged the market enough with all that, now they’re imposing even more costly “Green” building regulations that add thousands to the cost of every domicile.
It’s become impossible to provide affordable housing because of the Left – and then they have the nerve to say it’s “a failure of the market”!
You are correct. That’s why all you see in Greensboro residential development are apartments. High density to recoup potential losses.
Bus them to a sanctuary city that the Dems are so proud of. DC is a good start. Hell bus the city council, city manager & city attorney anywhere!
Just think how the money GIVEN to Councilwoman Johnson (900K+) (Cure for violence- could have been used to assist with this problem? I have personally seem an individual holding a homeless sign run in some bushes only to get into an suv in the parking lot on the other side of the bushes. He was not homeless but a scammer. If the city is so concerned, why not employ the homeless? Yes many may not be able to pass drug, alcohol and mental heath screenings but even if a job if provided to one individual that would hopefully mean one person of family not homeless.
OR put them all on a bus and send them to New York, Atlanta, Houston, Miami for the winter?
You’re hiring people who are not homeless, near homelessness, or have experienced homelessness to solve homeless problems? People with homes, degrees, decent paying jobs, and money to LIVE, homeless do what they have to just to SURVIVE. Very soon it’s going to be more people and families experiencing homelessness, because of the cost of living here is so high. Homes, apartment buildings, a decent stable place to live requires good credit, three times the income, and very limited resources to help in times of crisis. The community sees the funding being given to help, but where is this money going really? I just don’t understand why people with stable lives really need help to solve COMMON SENSE problems. This is sad, and these problems will only get bigger and worse, because more people are moving here under the impression that it is a better more affordable place to live.
I am interested to know your common sense solution to the homeless problem. When I see a homeless person, my first thought is, where is that person’s family?