Members of the Community Development Block Grant Committee gathered at the Madison Municipal building Thursday to discuss issues relating to homelessness and affordable housing.
Prior to the meeting, Mary Jo Walters of Occupy Inc. and Russell Albers of Occupy Madison used the public forum to express their concerns about the current state of homelessness in Madison.
“The homeless here need more services and buildings where we can feel safe,” Albers said. “The shelters only house you for 60 days, and pretty soon you run out of shelters.”
Albers described the dangers of sleeping outside, naming incidents such as theft, sexual assault, and even the murder of a homeless man in June. Both Albers and Walters said the lack of affordable housing is the primary issue among Madison’s homeless community.
Also at the meeting, Capital Area Planning Commission member Steve Steinhoff delivered an exhaustive 25-slide report focused on opportunity-poor areas of Madison and surrounding cities. Steinhoff used a series of metrics measuring data such as segregation, poverty level and transportation availability.
One key metric was the availability of fresh food, defined as the presence of a full-service grocery store within walking distance. Many areas lacking a grocery store within walking distance are also neighborhoods with a low percentage of car ownership and, for residents in suburbs such as Oak Lane, the bus is not as viable an option as it is for downtown residents.
The metrics used to pinpoint parts of the metro area with low scores on many measurements revealed to be areas largely inhabited by black and non-white Hispanic residents.
Committee member Colin Bowden spoke on the matter of segregated regions, declaring it a “racialized policy issue,” and called for a strategy to revitalize those areas.
