In a new city census released today, the number of homeless individuals living in downtown Chicago was estimated at 24.
Ed Shurna, the executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, called the downtown count "ludicrous." And in a piece written by the Sun-Times, he said:
"I could find 24 people walking from my office [at 1325 S. Wabash] to City Hall. The Pacific Garden Mission has 600 people every night. They're downtown. They're homeless. There's got to be at least that many living on the street," he said.
24 is an insult. It's an insult to taxpayers, to everyone working and living downtown, and it's an insult to the individuals sleeping on the city's streets every night.
Some wonder if the numbers were influenced by the pending bid to bring the Olympics to Chicago, and compare it to the 1996 Democratic Convention when all the downtown shelters were moved out of downtown to "sweep away the problem."
This is business as usual -- where we fib on a few numbers, brush the dirt under the rug, and proclaim mission accomplished.
Ambitious plans, like Mayor Daley's, to end homelessness in 10 years, are courageous -- but groups outside of city hall should be responsible in maintaining the count, once a proper definition of 'homelessness' can be agreed upon.
And let us talk openly about the problem -- homelessness and poverty are universal problems that no city can 'solve.' Instead of lying through our smiling teeth about the problem, why don't we talk openly about the scores of individuals sleeping on our streets and why don't we publicly discuss the process of helping these people. No one buys this erroneous 24 and worse, it does more to sour our hearts than engage them.
Let's have an honest conversation.
Further Reading: Seth's post about what to do when you're wrong.
Comments