Looking Glass President and CEO Craig Opperman provides his perspective during the open mic discussion portion of The Register-Guard's forum on homelessness on Wednesday, January 17, 2018.
After a year-long editorial series, which concludes in earnest in February, The Register-Guard held an open forum discussion surrounding their findings and exploring progress and remaining challenges. Editorial Page Editor Jackman Wilson and Associate Editor Ilene Aleshire led the discussion in a room at The Register-Guard offices on Chad Drive which held roughly 170 community members.
Looking Glass President and CEO Craig Opperman participated in the editorial series earlier in the year and spoke often with R-G editorial writers on the topic and the variety of challenges our community faces in combating them. At the event, Opperman spoke about the need to get more of the voices in the room connected with key stakeholders and others in the community who have opposing views so that each side can be heard and real progress can be possible.
The Register-Guard indicated a commitment to continue to exploration of the issue after the year-long series was completed. “We’re never going to be done,” Wilson said. “We’ll keep writing about homelessness as long as it exists.”
Much of the discussion among the attendees, during a lengthy period of open mic comments and questions, surrounded finding solutions and early intervention programs. "In part, the services provided by Looking Glass in focusing on the area's youth, are true early intervention programs," Opperman said.
See The Register-Guard homelessness forum event coverage, including photos and video, here: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36350642-75/lessons-ideas-focus-of-register-guard-forum-on-homelessness.html.csp