Home Fund needs support from laws

I appreciate the two good Samaritans who recently asked for support for the Home Fund. And I do care. But it seems to me there should be a better balance between free market housing and government supported housing. Two years ago The Olympian reported 80 percent of the apartments in Olympia area are government subsidized. This sounds way out of balance to me.

When a new apartment block comes open, the government rents the whole building and gives apartments out to the mentally ill and homeless to get them off the street. That sounds great for those who care, but we are recruiting the homeless/mentally ill from across the nation.

A young man was recently reported on by The Olympian. He had been better treated in Olympia than anywhere else so he decided to stay. And The Olympian also had a letter from a woman from Hawaii who wrote back after her stay here to say her visit was terrible. And she would not recommend Olympia to anyone. The homeless had taken over Percival Landing and spread out their clothes to dry on all available tables and chairs.

If we don’t have laws against loitering and panhandling, and the police to enforce them, its just going to get worse.

Our council needs to go to Florida to see how Miami, Orlando, and Tampa keep from being overrun by homeless. They have laws and police to enforce them, while Olympia continues to go downhill.

Use new taxes to help, not recruit. Thanks.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Home Fund needs support from laws."