Poverty is expensive, and so is letting people be poor

You know the funny thing about poverty? It is pretty expensive, and it is definitely more cost effective to just give people money and homes. Scott Keyes discusses this for ThinkProgress. Studies have proven this time and time again. Giving the homeless homes is more cost effective than having to place them during weather emergencies, and that is before the medical costs of living on the streets.

Keyes points to a new study coming out of Charlotte and the University of North Carolina Charlotte which examines a new apartment complex what aims to assist homeless people. Moore Place has 85 unit and was opened in 2012. The residents are required to contribute 30% of their income as rent, which includes benefits such as disability, veterans, or Social Security. The rest of the housing costs are covered by a mix of both local and federal grants and private donors, totally $14,000 per person annually.

Researchers found Moore Place saved taxpayers more than $1.8 million in the first year. These savings come from health care and incarceration. Because of course. The researchers found that Moore Place residents visited the emergency room 447 fewer times in the year after getting housing. These residents had fewer problems with the law as well; arrests dropped 78%. Additionally, despite opponents fears, only 15 tenants got in trouble and were asked to leave Moore Place in the first year. Due to the large success, Charlotte City Council has unanimously approved $1 million more to Moore Place for 120 more units.

Welp, can’t say any of this is surprising except that Charlotte is supporting this initiative. Fingers-crossed other cities take note including let’s say DC, with their ridiculous homelessness and housing problems. Remember DC don’t have many beds for the homeless, which was a huge issue this past winter because SNOW.

Once again a rape victims faces punishment in the US

We live in a world were victims of rape face jail time for naming their accusers who video taped and photographed her, but the rapists have a right to privacy. And now, a college rape survivor is facing expulsion for “intimidating” her rapist.

Jezebel’s Katie JM Baker wrote about it. Last month, Melinda Manning, the former University of North Carolina assistant dean of students, three students, and one former student filed a complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on behalf of themselves and 64 other unnamed sexual assault survivors, alleging university officials pressured Manning into under reporting cases and violated the Campus Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights, the Clery Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and equal opportunity mandates under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Current sophomore Landen Gambill, one of the students named in the case, claims she is being punished by the Office of Student Conduct for “intimidating” her rapist by speaking to the press about her sexual assault. Gambill told The Daily Tar Heel and other outlets about her traumatic experience reporting her assault. The December 5^th, 2012 article said:

“It’s incredibly clear that those people had no idea what sexual assault is, what consent is,’ said Landen Gambill, a sophomore whose assault case was processed by interim procedures.“They were not only offensive and inappropriate, but they were so victim-blaming. They made it seem like my assault was completely my fault.”

Gambill was continually abused-sexually and verbally-by her long-term boyfriend during her freshman year. After the relationship ended, she was stalked for months, threatened, and harassed. She pressed charges within the Honor Court. During the trial, Gambill said she was forced to answer irrelevant and inappropriate questions. She said, “The woman student said to me, ‘Landen, as a woman, I know that if that had happened to me, I would’ve broken up with him the first time it happened. Will you explain to me why you didn’t?’”

Gambill claims the court employed her history of clinical depression and her suicide attempt which resulted from the abusive relationship against her. She said, “They implied that I was emotionally unstable and couldn’t be telling the truth because I had attempted suicide.”

On Janurary 29^th, ten days after the OCR case broke, Landen receive an email from Elizabeth Ireland, the Graduate & Professional Schools Student Attorney General, who wrote that she “received a report of a possible violation of the Honor Code on which you are listed as the reporting party.”

Landen knew she hadn’t done anything wrong because she hadn’t even publicly identified her rapist (he lives across the street from her on campus); she ignored the warning and told her story.

Last Friday, Gambill received another email from Ireland, which claimed she had determined that sufficient evidence existed to refer the matter to the Honor Court:

“Accordingly, you are being charged with the following Honor Code violation(s): II.C1.c.-Disruptive or intimidating behavior that willfully abuses, disparages, or otherwise interferes with another (other than on the basis of protected classifications identified and addressed in the University’s Policy on Prohibited Harassment and Discrimination) so as to adversely affect their pursuits, opportunities for University employment, participation in University-sponsored extracurricular activities, or opportunities to benefit from other aspects of University Life.

“This decision was reached because the evidence provides a reasonable basis to believe that a violation of the Honor Code may have occurred. Please note that being charged with a violation does not imply guilt. It simply means that sufficient evidence of a possible violation exists to warrant a hearing before the Undergraduate Honor Court.”

If Landen is found to have “intimidated” her rapist and “adversely” affected his life she could be sanctioned with the following”

“Expulsion (precludes matriculation at any UNC constituent institution)Permanent SuspensionDefinite or Indefinite SuspensionDefinite or Indefinite ProbationWritten WarningGrade PenatlyEducation AssignmentConduct Sanctions (such as community service and restitution)Loss of Privileges”

Laden attended the preliminary Honor Court meeting and asked whether she could have violated the Honor Code by saying she was raped; the answer is yes.

“This type of gross injustice is the reason why UNC students are speaking out and demanding answers. The reason why I’m so vocal about this isn’t because I just want justice for my case. I want to make sure no one else has to go through this if they want to report an assault to the university.”

People suck. I'm not really sure how to proceed except to say I hate everyone and everything. I'm not clear on why rape victims face stiffer penalties than their rapists. Nor do I understand why we protect the privacy of rapists and not their victims because rape victims never seem to get to keep their privacy.