Homeless Forum to examine political candidates

The Homeless POWER Project, a group of homeless and formerly homeless individuals, have invited a number of elected officials and candidates to attend the inaugural Homeless Forum Wednesday at the Downtown Presbyterian Church.

After registering several hundred homeless or formerly homeless individuals to vote, organizers decided to use the forum as an opportunity for candidates and officials to speak on issues concerning the homeless.

"They are going to be asked to talk about how they are going to incorporate the homeless voice into their decision-making process," said event organizer Matt Leber.

He said the forum came about as a result of realizing that it would be beneficial for the homeless to have relationships with those in powerful political positions.

"Given that there is an election coming up," said Leber, "this is really an important time to find out what is the U.S. House of Representatives going to be thinking about when it comes to the issue of homelessness and what is Vice Mayor Howard Gentry thinking about in terms of solving the issues