Housing-first plan sure to experience dramatic change if Project 2025 takes effect | Opinion

Housing first?

One of the nation’s most widely embraced strategies to combat homelessness– getting people housed first and then addressing other needs – could be impacted by Project 2025.

Project 2025 has been characterized as a Christian nationalist plan that has the potential to erode the separation of church and state.

Like administrations before it, the Biden White House has employed this housing-first approach supported by many housing advocates.

The housing-first approach was created in the 1990s to help unhoused veterans.

Critics claim that HUD programs discourage the formation of traditional families, and keep people trapped in poverty. Homelessness is a multifaceted issue and is a growing problem among the elderly and disabled.

If the next administration adopted the HUD “reset” outlined in Project 2025, it could place federal funding at risk for programs that combat homelessness.

Now that cities are empowered to criminalize people sleeping outside, Project 2025 could risk placing more Americans in harsh circumstances.

M. Griffin, Spartanburg

Security failure

It doesn’t take an expert in security protection to see that the existing measures applied to protect a high level government official running for president did not work.

Further, now we learn that the 20-year-old sniper with basic rifle skills actually flew his own drone, undetected, just two hours prior to his attempt to shoot an ex-president.

At a minimum, one drone in the sky above the staging area of the podium operated by a Secret Service agent would have easily spotted the sniper on the roof and would have prevented this catastrophe.

Clearly, a child operating a $200 drone in the sky would have been more successful than swarms of security agents on the ground and placed in other elevated locations which evidently proved ineffective, not to mention costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.

Consequently, this catastrophic security failure undoubtedly resulted in Security Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation.

Dan Shinder, HHI

Call 988

Note: The writer is CEO of Three Rivers Behavioral Health.

July marked two years since our nation launched 988, the easy-to-remember nationwide mental health crisis hotline. Since being launched, 988 has received more than 8 million calls from people in distress.

This number is confidential, effective and available to everyone via phone, text or chat.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:

– 988 callers connect quickly with trained crisis counselors;

– Less than 2 percent of 988 calls require response from emergency services though many callers report that their call prevented them from taking their own life;

– Numerous 988 studies indicate that the majority of callers were significantly more likely to feel more hopeful after speaking with a crisis counselor;

If someone you know is struggling emotionally, help them get the care they need by calling 988 or seeking help at a licensed behavioral health facility.

S. Marcus, Columbia

Preventing persecution

July 20 marked the 25th anniversary since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin decided to eradicate Falun Dafa/Gong. In June, the U.S. House unanimously passed. The Falun Gong Protection Act.

Falun Dafa/Gong is a spiritual practice that includes moral teachings centered on the principles of truth, compassion, forbearance and five meditative exercises. The practice, now in more than 100 countries, continues non-violent resistance.

The Chinese authorities estimated there were between 70 and 100 million Falun Dafa/Gong practitioners in China.

Falun Gong practitioners have been beaten and tortured, some never to be seen again. Even today, many practitioners are still imprisoned. Allegations of organ harvesting have also been attached to the treatment of those detained.

We hope the end to this discrimination is coming soon.

Akiko Tsutsui, Greer