Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 4/30

[SVPete]

EXCLUSIVE: In Cities Across America, Homeless Services Are Doled Out Based on Race and Sexual Identity

https://freebeacon.com/america/exclusive-in-cities-across-america-homeless-services-are-doled-out-based-on-race-and-sexual-identity/

The homelessness crisis in Multnomah County, Oregon, is among the worst in the country. Home to deep-blue Portland, where the deaths of homeless people quadrupled between 2019 and 2023, according to data from the county health department, Multnomah has a per-capita homeless rate of 1.3 percent, and some shelters are closing due to budget problems.

That means that there is more demand than ever for the county's public housing resources. Multnomah allocates those resources using a points-based system, which refers those with the requisite number of points to public housing. The county considers factors such as how long a person has been homeless, whether he or she is survivor of domestic violence, and, if applicable, the age of his or her children.

It then weighs those factors against some less conventional criteria: whether the person is a minority, a non-native English speaker, or "LGBTQIA2S+."
...
The rubric, obtained by the Washington Free Beacon through a public records request, is "designed to prioritize … BIPOC households, LGBTQIA2S+, [and] people with disabilities," according to a Frequently Asked Questions pamphlet. It awards 1 point for "interest in LGBTQ services," 2 points for "English as a second language," and another 2 points for "interest in culturally specific services," a catch-all term for Portland's race-based housing programs.
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The Free Beacon identified five states and dozens of cities that have incorporated racial preferences into their housing programs. The preferences operate through various mechanisms, including grant requirements and funding formulas, and could jeopardize the funding of any publicly financed projects subject to antidiscrimination laws. Several use points-based rubrics similar to Multnomah County's, giving race more weight than poverty or unemployment.

In at least two states, Maryland and Minnesota, race appears to be the single largest factor in allocating certain forms of rent relief.