Meeting with Ward 6 Councilor Karin Uhlich on Homelessness

On July 22, Ward 6 Councilor, Karin Uhlich, held a “Huddle” with Neighborhood Representatives to discuss issues of homelessness. Jennifer Beard attended as our representative. Here are some of her notes from that meeting:

The huddle was really good. So many neighborhoods had great ideas on how to move forward to help lower the homeless population.

Some of the things discussed were the type of homeless we have. Two main categories, drug addiction and mental illness. There is also a large population that has both mental illness and drug addiction.

Homeless families generally find accommodations quickly. The city plans to move forward to remove the large encampment off of Golf Links, but I didn’t hear any solutions on where they plan to move these people.

Another thing that was brought up was creating a drug use area. I thought that was an intersection idea. Ways to handle the homeless living in alleys causing fires and destruction of property was discussed too.

Several people suggested speaking with them and finding out who they are and what their needs are, treating them as humans.

We also discussed how to create more living space for them. There a a few programs out there now, but the need to be more creative was recognized. Including creating financial means for these programs.

One I thought was interesting, was tax credits for creating shelters on private property. And increasing taxes on airbnbs to support homeless programs.

In a separate document, you will find the summary prepared by Ward 6 staff, including a link to a survey.