In the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, Craig’s Place, the town’s prominent seasonal homeless shelter, served 186 people from November 2015 to April 2016. Three out of ten of those individuals were “chronically homeless.”
From 2000 to 2010, median rent in Amherst rose by over a third — from $653 to $872. The rent for the new One East Pleasant apartments range from $1,500 to $3,000.
State Representative Solomon Goldstein-Rose has suggested five solutions to the problems of homelessness and rent in Amherst:
- A minimum wage of $15
2. Paid family medical leave
3. A tax on millionaires (Fair Share Amendment)
4. Tax incentives for developers
5. A permanent shelter/community center
Notes on suggested solutions:
a) #1 and #2 and are by no means a direct way to solve homelessness and rent (this is without denying the positive spill-over effects of both policies)
b) The revenues from #3 would be designated towards education and transportation (Again, not a direct way to solve either problems)
c) #4 gives more disproportionate economic and political power to developers — weakens the democratic will of residents and centralizes control among those at the top
d) #5 is a much needed policy
Additional solutions:
- Public housing
- Job Guarantee
Notes on additional solutions:
a) On #1: Giving the homeless a home is more cost effective than doing nothing at all
b) On #2: Giving the homeless a job via the government is a great pathway to permanent employment
