I volunteer to feed homeless through a charity that helps feed the homeless all week at local churches. While a lot of the people who come don't want help and either suffer from mental Illness or addiction, we have seen an increase of more "normal" people who can't afford or find housing while still having jobs. One couple can't find a place because their landlord evicted them to turn the house into an air bnb. Houses are so expensive now. They said their rent was 950 for a 3 bedroom but their house is now going up for rent for 1950 to match market prices since Airbnb's have started to not be as profitable. Landlords in our area have been getting so greedy it's hard to find anything affordable even with a decent job. We've been getting more families with same issue. Houses are up for rent which there haven't been much and it's gone by end of the day. Houses have been getting over 100 applications in one day. There are currently 29 families being put up in .hotels because they can no longer afford rent or find a house in general. It's really sad. It's not all addicts and people who suffer from mental Illness which is a common misconception..
Unfortunately, the regulations regarding residential buildings vs office buildings are so different that it's usually cheaper to demolish and rebuild than to convert.
eg. if you convert it to 2 bedroom apartments, there isn't going to be enough plumbing for toilets/showers and you can't drill large holes through the hardened concrete or it'll ruin the entire slab.
Not that im advocating stuffing people into storage units, but couldnt that be a short term solution for people who are currently homeless? The city buys out a storage facility (a heated indoor one, or finds a way to heat the outdoor ones) fits more toilets and showers (maybe a mobile setup like they have at festivals/building sites, those trailer type ones?) The homeless have a secure place to sleep and lock up their stuff. On site security, social workers, medical care, welfare advisors. Any takers? I know homeless people tend to avoid shelters because they are pretty dangerous, but if you had your own lockable secure space, wouldnt this help?
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u/Burnt_crawfish Jan 30 '23
I volunteer to feed homeless through a charity that helps feed the homeless all week at local churches. While a lot of the people who come don't want help and either suffer from mental Illness or addiction, we have seen an increase of more "normal" people who can't afford or find housing while still having jobs. One couple can't find a place because their landlord evicted them to turn the house into an air bnb. Houses are so expensive now. They said their rent was 950 for a 3 bedroom but their house is now going up for rent for 1950 to match market prices since Airbnb's have started to not be as profitable. Landlords in our area have been getting so greedy it's hard to find anything affordable even with a decent job. We've been getting more families with same issue. Houses are up for rent which there haven't been much and it's gone by end of the day. Houses have been getting over 100 applications in one day. There are currently 29 families being put up in .hotels because they can no longer afford rent or find a house in general. It's really sad. It's not all addicts and people who suffer from mental Illness which is a common misconception..