Saturday, February 23, 2008

Whose regional homeless plan is it, anyway?

Springfield, Holyoke and Northampton MA mayors will be presenting their "Pioneer Valley Plan to End Homelessness: All Roads Lead Home" on Friday, February 29 at the Holyoke Community College, 9:30 - 12:30 in the Peoples Bank room at the Kittridge Center. "Legislators, State and Local agencies, service and housing providers, community groups, business leaders and the faith community are encouraged to attend," according to an email I got.

No mention of homeless people, of course, but that's par for the course.

Our old friend Phil Mangano, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness will be the keynote speaker-- the same guy who promotes Ten Year Plans without ever mentioning that the man he works for, George Bush, continues to decimate housing opportunities. Will he change his tune now that the Presidential election is approaching, and actually say we need more housing?

I'm trying not to be cynical, here-- communities working together to end homelessness is a brand new phenomenon in this region-- but will we be skating on thin ice or really plumbing the depths of this crisis?

No comments: