Nicole Hayden of the Oregonian/OregonLive examined the dollars and cents of sweeps in today’s paper. Here’s a quote:
The city pays its contractor $70 per hour for each worker assigned to remove an encampment, [city spokesperson Mark Alejos] said. The clean-up teams typically include three workers and sweeps can take anywhere from two hours to three weeks, he said.
Here is another juxtaposition:
It costs $20,000 to fund permanent supportive housing for one individual or household for a year, which includes rent coverage and other assistance such as behavioral health support.
vs.
It costs $17,000 to $40,000 to provide group shelter for one person for a year, due primarily to high costs to staff such shelters.
It turns out sweeps and shelters cost big money, too, and after all the trauma, we will still have unhoused people.
The strategies proposed by the 3000 Challenge are not only more humane, they are also cost-effective. Let’s choose housing!
Read the full article at OregonLive here:
Portland homelessness: Sifting through competing proposals, costs to lessen the crisis
