Political Action: A Powerful Weapon in the Fight Against Homelessness

Author: Renegade Member-Vamashi G.

The winter, although a special and joyous time for many, is hardest on the homeless population. In the coldest of months, homeless citizens face difficulties in acquiring the necessary resources—including shelter, warm clothes, food—which they need to survive.

Despite the fact that there has been a multitude of efforts from local organizations to tackle this issue, they have clearly not been enough to support the entirety of the homeless community. For instance, the majority of the homeless populations in cities such as Berkeley still do not have any sort of security when it comes to permanent shelter. Although there are several approaches that can be taken to solve this crisis, one thing is for certain: government intervention is necessary.

In major cities like San Francisco, local governments must take further steps to assist their homeless citizens. For example, while the city’s Department of Homeless and Supportive Housing offers temporary housing, it only does so when certain weather conditions—high levels of precipitation, strong winds, extremely low temperatures—are met. Clearly, this service should be expanded by the city’s government to be accessible over a timespan of multiple months.

Making this advancement in the battle against homelessness depends on fiscal support from local leaders. Thankfully, San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s administration has made the fight a priority in the city’s budget.

However, we need to take action to ensure that others follow her example; thus, we encourage our readers to reach out to political figures in their area to help make a difference.

By simply writing a letter, sending a quick email, or making a phone call to the mayor’s office of your city, you can make your voice heard and promote political action for the benefit of the homeless community.

With the United States election coming up this year, we also hope that our readers will look for candidates across all levels of governance that support our cause. Thankfully, according to a poll presented by the VC Star, over 60% of eligible voters in California are aware that homelessness is still a key issue in the state and are in support of fiscal policies to combat the problem. Thus, we believe that 2020 will be a great year for political action when it comes to the homelessness crisis.

As more information becomes available, we intend to promote propositions and candidates which we believe are ideal for our cause and encourage our readers to stay tuned.

-Vamashi G