There’s no place like home.
There are numerous local debates raging about APFO and how building new housing fits into who we are in Howard County. This is, at least to me, an extremely complicated topic and every time I approach it I come away feeling as though I wish I were smarter. You can rest assured that I am not going to attempt to explain it to you here.
I am going to share three things that I’ve been saving for just the right moment. I think that moment is now.
The first is from the newsletter of Bridges to Housing Stability.
The Importance of Home (excerpt)
I hope you'll take some time to visit our children's art exhibit at the Howard County Library's Miller Branch, starting Nov. 5. The exhibit, part of the library's programming for Hunger and Homeless Awareness week, showcases the meaning of home for kids in our community.
The faded picture shown here was drawn by one of my daughters when she was little. It hangs on the wall of my office. I love the sentiment that "Home has love, memories, creativity, warming (I believe she meant heating), family, holidays, protection, food, cooling, children & hospitality." The library will also have some books on display as well as resources and programming from Bridges and our community partners.
I continue to see people defending strong and ever more restrictive APFO policies refer to families and children who struggle with housing insecurity in our community as being “beside the point.” Time and time again they claim that those are not the people we should we thinking about when we make the rules. Their arguments veer ever closer to saying the quiet part out loud: those people aren’t the real Howard County. In order to protect what I have it is necessary to classify those other people as irrelevant.
Are they human? Are they valuable? No, they are in the way. And, therefore, “not our problem.”
As soon as I see someone go that route, I know immediately that they are wrong. I don’t care how many numbers you throw at me - - statistics, pie charts, scary predictions - - if this is at the root of your argument, you are wrong.
From moving into your first apartment to welcoming a new family member, milestones are made at home.
This holiday season we are celebrating the milestones made in the 1 million homes we have created since 1982 and asking for your support to help the residents and families we serve make many more memories for years to come.
Milestones are made at home.
Basically, my view is this: if you are fighting for a plan that focuses on reaffirming “people like you”, that’s a problem. Not everyone is like you. Even among people you see every day, people you may not know are struggling. Neighbors, coworkers. Children in your kids’ schools. We are talking about people who are already here, and/or provide valuable services in our community.
Why do we draw these lines?
Do you remember when any talk about alcohol and drugs was about “abuse” and criminal behavior? Then as we saw addiction happening closer to home we began relabeling it as “misuse” and caring about the human suffering because it affected people like us.
Are we only going to create comprehensive and more nuanced housing guidelines for Howard County if suffering happens to people like us?
Recently I’ve seen people use the term “housing advocate” with the kind of venom one would normally see when saying something like “war criminal” or “child abuser.” Yet I would hazard a guess that one hundred per cent of those name-callers have a home.
Funny, that.
Both sides appear to agree that what we have in place isn’t working. What I see housing advocates saying is that we don’t have all the right pieces combined in a way where they can possibly produce a healthy outcome. I’m not getting war criminal vibes here.
But my main point is simply this: if the only way your theories hold together is by calling some people secondary or beside the point then that’s an automatic disqualifier for me. Whatever you are selling is inherently broken.
*****
Today in Local HoCo: Keep an eye out for the are many fall/holiday craft shows and late season farmers markets that are offering local, handmade items, food-related and otherwise. There's one today at Frank's Produce and look for The Thanksgiving Market and Holiday Market at Clarksville Commons on 11/23 and 12/14.
If your school or other community group is hosting one let me know.
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