Commentary: Which Path Will Cleveland Take to Serve Homeless People When the Convention is in Town?

Commentary by Angelo

It’s 2015 a New Year with new hope and aspirations in charging an old and growing problem, homelessness in America.  Over the last 12 months, I’ve read many stories on cities changing laws to in some ways criminalize homelessness.  Some changes will help provide safety to individuals with mental health issues by encouraging them to work with outreach workers to connect with services the help with income and housing.

The long term homeless may also benefit from some of the new laws.  Although the hardest to reach population (those that surfer from heavy drug abuse), mistrust of the system and those with a serve mental illness always seem to end up back on the streets.   As cities continue to try and improve their images the questions about what to do with the homeless will only grow?

Cleveland is hosting the Republican National Convention in 2016.  Will we start to see new laws that impact the homeless population here? Or will Cleveland take a different approach and finds ways to accommodate all its citizens as we shine a light on our great city?  Only time will tell.           

Copyright Cleveland Street Chronical and NEOCH January 2015