93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A Columbia mayoral candidate wants to see the city build a permanent homeless shelter.
Columbia school board member David Seamon, a former U-S Marine, spoke on “Wake Up Columbia.”
“You drive down Providence and Nifong, Stadium and Broadway, you see two or three people standing on the side of the road with all of their possessions in a bag and a sign on the road. And a lot of those times that sign for me, what I see is it says I’m a veteran. And for me, that is heartbreaking,” Mr. Seamon says.
Seamon would like to see Columbia tap into American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the homeless shelter. Columbia has received $12.6 million in federal ARPA funding, and will receive another $12.6 million at a later date.
Seamon says many of Columbia’s homeless are military veterans.
“But when you don’t have an address, it’s really impossible to find employment. So actually having a spot where you can put down an address on an application, get a job and begin to get your life back together,” says Seamon.
Seamon also supports community policing, and is calling on people-focused development and growth that includes increased wages and benefits.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Columbia mayoral candidate David Seamon.
