Housing, more funds eyed to aid homeless

Candidates suggest legal campgrounds

Tiny houses, campgrounds and more money for the state’s Housing Trust Fund were among steps for reducing homelessness mentioned by candidates for various state offices at a forum in Little Rock on Wednesday.

The forum, organized by the Arkansas Homeless Coalition, featured several candidates for state legislative seats, the Libertarian pick for governor and a representative for a congressional candidate.

The coalition, a group of more than 200 individuals who advocate for solutions to homelessness, focuses primarily on central Arkansas. Wednesday’s forum is part of the group’s push to become more politically active, coalition president Sandra Wilson said.

Topics discussed by forum participants included establishing legal campgrounds for the homeless, ways to address roots of the problem and whether to add money to the state’s Housing Trust Fund.

The fund was established in 2009, but did not receive any money until 2013. It was established to construct affordable housing structures. The federal government says people are living in affordable housing if they spend less than 30 percent of their incomes on rent.

The fund also provides other forms of rent assistance services for low-income people. The fund has not received money regularly since 2013.

Wilson said she hopes to compile a voting guide to publish before the elections. The guide will include responses from candidates who were not at Wednesday’s meeting.

Fourteen candidates, including several for positions in Little Rock, attended the forum.

■ Mark West, a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate from Batesville, said he wants to add money to the Housing Trust Fund until enough support can be gathered from community members to cover the services it was designed to provide.

■ Debbie Murphy read a statement from Gwen Combs, a Little Rock resident who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2nd Congressional District. Combs said she supports tiny villages — a form of transitional housing that creates a community for the homeless — and the Ending Homelessness Act of 2017. The act adds money to Section 8 housing vouchers, a National Housing Trust Fund and federal homeless assistance grants.

■ Maureen Skinner, a Democrat, is running for state Senate in District 35, which includes her home in Conway. She focused on a need for more mental health services to pull people out of homelessness.

■ Ross Noland, a Democrat from Little Rock, is vying for a seat in the state House of Representatives in the 33rd District. He said he wants Arkansas to have a “rapid response” to get people back into housing as quickly as possible. This approach has garnered federal support in recent years.

■ Tippi McCullough, another Democrat, is running against Noland in the May primaries. She said she doesn’t believe there is a “one-size-fits-all” solution for homelessness, and advocated for legal campgrounds, a Homeless Bill of Rights to improve the living conditions of people staying outside and adding money to the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund.

■ Jonathan Crossley, a Democrat from Jacksonville, is campaigning for the 41st District House seat. He said he preferred homelessness prevention, primarily through schools. The schools should direct children and parents to community wraparound services, especially for mental health, he said.