City and state officials’ inability to address the homeless situation should worry the rest of us. Why? If those agencies are unable to care for the homeless, how are they going to care for the wellbeing of many more people when a natural disaster strikes? The homeless already have those skills.

The Northwest has been hit with wildfires, excessive heat waves and cold winters and is long overdue for a massive earthquake. Throw in flooding from tsunamis or collapsed dams, and we can expect bureaucrats to make the situation worse. Past experience and a recent New Yorker article on disaster management highlighted that most agencies are ill prepared for the realities of catastrophes, apparently the closeness of a community is better at dealing with an aftermath.

Providing for the homeless is an ideal opportunity for government officials to demonstrate they actually care for the survival of the entire community now instead of waiting until a greater crisis happens later.

Alisa McLaughlin
Eugene

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