It is evident that Seattle is one of the places with the highest number of homeless people. The government has used a large amount of money in trying to deal with this problem, but no significant changes are yet to be seen.
However, the problem of homelessness in Seattle can effectively be addressed through two major steps. This proposal addresses the steps that can be taken to solve the problem of homelessness in Seattle.
What the mayor of Seattle needs to do is increase the supported housing programs that are already going on in the city. This can be done through a number of ways.
Firstly, the housing programs can be improved by adding supportive services, which should be done on a long-term basis.
Secondly, the office of the mayor should avail comprehensive services that cater for special groups such as the poor families with physically challenged members and young children.
Thirdly, the community partners who are interested in taking part in reducing homelessness in Seattle should be encouraged to team up.
Fourthly, the cost of renting houses in Seattle should be reduced through vouchers and other ways that can allow the poor families to secure rental space (Cnare, 2005).
An alternative to the program of increasing supportive housing is to enhance the supply of cheap and affordable shelter in Seattle. The problem of homelessness in Seattle is worsened by the lack of affordable housing units for the poor citizens in the city.
The supply of affordable housing can be increased through a number ways.
Firstly, this can be achieved through the creation of opportunities for building affordable housing units.
Secondly, the currently available affordable housing units should be expanded to accommodate more homeless households.
Thirdly, the office of the mayor should work toward ensuring that affordable houses are built and sold to homeless individuals who have access to some money.
Fourthly, the existing housing market prices should be subsidized to enable these people to acquire houses (Calavita, 2011).
The second way that the problem of homelessness in Seattle can be solved is through the removal of barriers that hinder people from acquiring residential houses.
Firstly, the barriers can be reduced by enacting regulations that will prevent unnecessary evictions resulting from defaults in rental fees or mortgage repayments.
Secondly, the people should be educated and counseled on financial matters to avoid cases of defaults in mortgage payments.
Thirdly, the people of Seattle should be supported and assisted socially for them to lead a stable life. This may help them to view life positively and start working harder to make their lives better (Cnare, 2005).
An alternative to the program involving the removal of the barriers that hinder the poor from accessing affordable housing is the creation of more job opportunities in Seattle. Unemployment is one of the major causes of homelessness in Seattle.
Many people in the city are homeless because they do not have sufficient money to buy or rent a house. In this regard, the office of the mayor needs to create as many job opportunities as possible.
These opportunities can be created by reducing the current recommended wage-rate to enable companies and organizations to employ more people to do the same amount of work that they normally do (Calavita, 2011).
In conclusion, this action plan proposes a number of strategies that can be used to address the problem of homelessness in Seattle. The strategies proposed include job creation, the removal of barriers that hinder people from buying or renting houses and increasing the supply of affordable houses in the city.
References
Calavita, N. (2011). A review of how to house the homeless. Journal of the American Planning Association, 77(3), 298-299.
Cnare, N. (2005). United ways three strategies for reducing homelessness in our community. Web.