Housing is a necessity and should be a right. The construction of the kinds of housing for all of our citizens, from those with large families to the single low-income, needs to be a major focus of our city leaders.
If we have camps for the unsheltered, and I hope we work to not need them, then they need to be healthy and safe. The parks are an invaluable asset to our community and it is too great a loss when they are not accessible for exercise, recreation and solace. The placing of encampments must be organized to maintain other uses of the parks. The city public safety system must include all of our citizens, including the ones camping. We don’t tolerate violence, shooting, rapes, and unhealthy activities in the rest of the city and the camps need to be organized to provide disease awareness and healthy, safe places for people to be. To do otherwise is to neglect a major responsibility of city governance.