Omaha Needs a City Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter

Omaha Mayor, Omaha City Council Members.

Omaha has no city run homeless shelter. Omaha does have a few privately run homeless shelters in the city but they are constantly overcrowded. Many homeless people can be seen sleeping in parked cars outside the homeless shelter because they are so full. There are about 2000 people homeless every night according to the Open Mission. Many homeless shelters are NOT inclusive to all homeless people, nor do they provide enough services for all the homeless people's needs to get them out of homelessness and poverty. Many homeless people sleep outside along the Keystone Trail, Heartland of America Park and various other places where they can sleep undisturbed and unnoticed without being picked up police.

Local nonprofits play a big part in Omaha's homelessness pipeline and absorb millions of dollars without the City seeing an actual end to homelessness, hunger or poverty, nor is the performance of these nonprofits checked for efficiency.  This should be a requirement when its taxpayer money and taxpayer lives on the line. The Omaha City Hall has no problem removing people from busy intersections, but has a very difficult time giving people a decent place to stay.

Omaha can make up for these oversights by building a multi-purpose facility for an inclusive, city-owned and operated homeless shelter with space for a health center, education and job training center, soup kitchen, housing office and even a city employment office built into it. The City of Omaha must operate an inclusive homeless shelter that also protects against discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.  

INFO
https://www.opendoormission.org/about-us/fast-facts/

Please support the idea of a City-Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter and helping to work toward getting it done! Please Sign the Petition.

Petition by
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To: Omaha Mayor, Omaha City Council Members.
From: [Your Name]

Attention Mayor Jean Stothert, Councilman Pete Festersen, Councilman Ben gray, Councilman Chris Jerram, Councilman Vinny Palermo, Councilman Rich Pahls, Councilman Brinker Harding, Councilwoman Aimee Melton.

Omaha has a major homeless problem and it is time for the City of Omaha to deal with the problem of homelessness by building a multi-purpose facility for a City-Owned and Operated Homeless Shelter with space for a health center, education and job training center, soup kitchen, housing office and a city employment office built into it. Omaha has privately run homeless shelter, but they are not inclusive enough, nor do they offer the services needed by homeless people in Omaha. The City of Omaha must operate an inclusive homeless shelter that also protects against discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion. The City of Omaha must operate a homeless shelter that avoids the pitfalls of control by various corporate nonprofits.