Trump’s latest on-going attack on the defenseless unhoused

Trump’s latest on-going attack on the defenseless unhoused

By Lynda Carson - September 18, 2019

As President Trump continues to ratchet up his on-going media attacks on the unhoused (homeless), earlier this week the Trump Regime also released a threatening 41 page report from the Council of Economic Advisers called “The State of Homelessness in America.”

Regarding the approach of the threatening Trump Regime, there's a menacing tone to how they plan to address the unhoused crisis in America with different approaches, and on page 3 the report states, “Policies such as the extent of policing of street activities may play a role in these differences.”

On page 34 there's a paragraph that threatens the further criminalization of the unhoused with police actions to address the homeless crisis, and reads; “Another important factor that increases homelessness is the tolerability of sleeping on the street, which among other factors may be affected through policing of street activities. The administration has through a series of executive orders consistently supported the police. As potential evidence of better supported police, the violent crime rate fell slightly (by just under 1 percent) in 2017 after increasing by 7 percent between 2014 and 2016. According to preliminary data (based on the first 6 months of 2018), violent crime in 2018 fell by 4.3 percent. More research is needed to understand how different policing policies affect the outcomes of homeless people—including their ultimate destinations, mental health, drug use, employment and other dimensions of wellbeing—as well as outcomes for non-homeless people.”

Additionally, on page 34 the report mentions that the latest 2019 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the nation’s Housing First approach to assist the unhoused allows communities flexibility to impose service participation requirements for participants after they have been stabilized in housing. This means that those who fail to meet the service participation requirements will be threatened with becoming unhoused again, or the possibility of facing jail time and incarceration. The report also mentions that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has also strengthened its emphasis on self-sufficiency as a key component of homeless assistance programs.

Recent reports reveal that police citations and arrests are being used as a strategy to address homelessness in San Diego, and in Los Angeles, as cities across the nation are reportedly using some very cruel measures to attack the defenseless unhoused populations.

The Trump Regime may have something in mind like the above mentioned reported attacks on the unhoused, or they may plan on having concentration camps around the nation for the unhoused like they are using for the undocumented migrants and their children that are being rounded up coast to coast. Only time will tell.

Meanwhile the Trump Regime wants to cut HUD’s housing assistance programs. Additionally, many non profit housing organizations also have unconscionable "minimum income requirements" that exclude seniors on Social Security, the disabled receiving SSI, and the poor from their so-called affordable housing projects.

In response to the Trump Regime’s scheme to criminalize the unhoused, see the “September 12” release from the National Coalition for the Homeless called, “Statement Rejecting Trump Administration Efforts to Criminalize Homelessness – Call for Significant New Investment to End Homelessness Now!”

If Trump is so really concerned about the unhoused, he should invite them to stay for free in the White House, and his Trump Hotels.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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