City council meetings are lasting a lot longer than they used to, with a five-hour meeting this week that was again dominated by discussions of how to alleviate homelessness. There were disagreements over many things, but not the need for better communication. The city, social service organizations and individual advocates are all making efforts to address this challenge, generally with good intentions, but malice is often assumed when people are taken by surprise, whether it's announcing a plan for new low-income housing in a neighborhood that doesn't want it or sending Public Works crews to clean up an encampment. Heartland HOUSED was launched in 2022 to serve as the umbrella organization for groups working to address homelessness, and the organization issued a statement last month about not being consulted prior to introduction of an ordinance to ban public camping. Perhaps more conversations need to happen – outside of city council meetings – before any more solutions are proposed. – Michelle Ownbey, publisher