Modest Proposals to Address the Homeless Crisis (Part 3)
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10)In 1862, Congress passed and President Lincoln signed into law, the Homestead Act. This law decreed that pioneers (invaders for sure, but that's another story) could eventually own up to 160 acres of federal land almost free of charge by satisfying requirements to live on the land for five years and improve it. Any drive along Oregon's rural roads reveals a significant number of abandoned homes, ranches and farms that have gone to seed and most likely foreclosure. There are probably thousands of such properties all across Oregon. I've seen them everywhere and shake my head at the lost opportunity here to house working people. Who knows how or why these properties ended up going to seed, but the state or counties should create a type of Homestead Act or Habitat for Humanity-like program that partners with local lenders to attract people to inhabit and rehabilitate them with the goal of eventual ownership. These places already have water, septic systems and are wired for power. Many people long to escape urban existence and try something less hectic. Remote work makes rural living possible for many Americans. A family living in a $1800-a-month apartment (not including utilities) in Roseburg might take a shot at starting a new life, say, near Myrtle Point, if it meant the possibility of owning a home in five years. True, Myrtle Point suffers from a lack of living-wage jobs, but then again, so did the frontier back in the day and people often made that work. Why not at least set up a pilot project in a rural county and see how how it plays out.
Modest Proposals to Address the Homeless Crisis (Part 3)
Modest Proposals to Address the Homeless…
Modest Proposals to Address the Homeless Crisis (Part 3)
10)In 1862, Congress passed and President Lincoln signed into law, the Homestead Act. This law decreed that pioneers (invaders for sure, but that's another story) could eventually own up to 160 acres of federal land almost free of charge by satisfying requirements to live on the land for five years and improve it. Any drive along Oregon's rural roads reveals a significant number of abandoned homes, ranches and farms that have gone to seed and most likely foreclosure. There are probably thousands of such properties all across Oregon. I've seen them everywhere and shake my head at the lost opportunity here to house working people. Who knows how or why these properties ended up going to seed, but the state or counties should create a type of Homestead Act or Habitat for Humanity-like program that partners with local lenders to attract people to inhabit and rehabilitate them with the goal of eventual ownership. These places already have water, septic systems and are wired for power. Many people long to escape urban existence and try something less hectic. Remote work makes rural living possible for many Americans. A family living in a $1800-a-month apartment (not including utilities) in Roseburg might take a shot at starting a new life, say, near Myrtle Point, if it meant the possibility of owning a home in five years. True, Myrtle Point suffers from a lack of living-wage jobs, but then again, so did the frontier back in the day and people often made that work. Why not at least set up a pilot project in a rural county and see how how it plays out.