Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake held a press conference this week at a Phoenix homeless camp covering the homeless crisis the state is facing and her policies to do something about it if elected as the next governor.
“I’ve covered our homeless crisis for many, many years, and nothing seems to get done,” Lake said at the opening of her conference. “We’ve got our hard-earned tax money going to create parks to keep our cities up, and we can’t even use our parks anymore. We can’t walk our streets anymore because we’re afraid. Not to mention it is cruel to allow this chronic homelessness to continue on.”
Kari Lake just held a press conference at a Phoenix homeless camp about her plan to fix this crisis:
Watch her opening statement:
"It is cruel to allow this chronic homelessness to continue on. We're pouring money into the problem…it's not doing anything to help the people." pic.twitter.com/xjDD5r98OC
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) August 12, 2022
According to Lake, her policy stemmed from a meeting where a young mother asked what Lake planned to do with the homeless. The mother said asking the question made her feel uncompassionate, but she no longer felt safe taking her children to a local park overrun with unsheltered people, some of whom were drug users.
Furthermore, Lake said homelessness has become an “industry” in Arizona as money is poured into the problem; yet, little results are seen, and Arizona is at risk of becoming like California.
In the conference, Lake said her plan involves “a little bit of tuff love” as an investment in drug addiction treatment is needed.
“We’re going to offer help. We’re going to encourage people to get that help so that they can become contributing citizens. That’s what it’s all about, turning your life around,” Lake said. “We want these people to get help, whether it be mental help, whether it be drug addiction help, but we are no longer going to allow the homeless to live on the streets in despair and make our cities the blight and the crime that is caused by this.”
Watch @KariLake outline her plan to fix Arizona's homeless crisis.
"We're going to invest in drug treatment…we're going to encourage people to get that help so that they can become contributing citizens. That's what it's all about, turning your life around." pic.twitter.com/YpDktzY7DG
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) August 12, 2022
The Arizona Sun Times previously reported that Lake’s policy plan to alleviate the homeless situation in Arizona is state-wide and comprehensive. Aside from new shelters and treatment, her plan involves banning urban camping, campaigning against judges who do not support new policies, and arresting homeless people who break the law to improve the quality of life for the state.
Lake’s conference came two days after a group of Phoenix property owners submitted a complaint against the city for its handling of the homeless population.
The Sun Times reported that the lawsuit came because of “the Zone,” an area in downtown Phoenix overflowing with homeless people and drug use. One business owner shared feeling scared to leave his property because of the environment created by the Zone.
According to World Population Review, Arizona has the ninth largest homeless population in the nation, with 10,979 shelter-less individuals. While this number is high, it still does not compare to the number one slot, California, with 161,548 homeless people.
Moreover, Axios shared that roughly 500 homeless people have died in the Metro Phoenix area since the beginning of the year. Accidents, such as drug overdose, caused most deaths, but nearly ten percent were homicides. People experiencing chronic homelessness have a life expectancy between 42 and 52 years, over 20 years less than the average American.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kari Lake Held a Press Conference in Downtown Phoenix to Expand on Her Homeless Policy” by The Kari Lake.
Sounds like she is assuming all homeless are drug users or somehow unstable. Certainly true for some but won’t alleviate the problem. It’s a bandaid on an open wound largely cosmetic in nature.
Lots of variables involved in being homeless. Need some qualified people to look at what’s really going on, make realistic suggestions about remedies and enact them. Stop throwing money at failed programs, get creative. We handled this during the Great Depression, we can do it now.
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