LETTER | Shifting focus from tents to homes
Letter to the Editor by Phyllis Arends, former Executive Director of NAMI South Dakota
Homelessness IS solvable—if policymakers choose to solve it. Calling someone’s home an “encampment” depersonalizes their reality. When we don’t know their name it’s easier to detach ourselves from thinking of them as a human being rather than an annoyance to be dealt with. When we destroy their home without offering permanent, affordable housing, we destroy their dignity and leave them with nowhere else to go. Referring folks to mental health, substance abuse treatment, a shelter or outreach agency is meaningless when no decent, supported housing options exist.
The city has the power to partner with developers to build affordable housing that’s tied to essential services—mental health care, substance-use treatment, job coaching, and transportation. People cannot address trauma, addiction, or mental illness when they lack a safe, stable place to call home. It’s easier to bulldoze their tents when their names and stories remain unknown.
