By Carolyn Sackariason
Daily Press Staff Writer

CITY HALL — The city’s first-ever homeless czar has spent the past three weeks of his job shaking hands with hundreds of political players and absorbing what they have to say.

Ed Edelman, whose official title is “special representative for homeless initiatives,” recently reflected on his first few weeks since he started his job in mid December. His second floor office in City Hall remains bare, as if he still hasn’t moved in. And that’s not surprising since most of Edelman’s time has been spent in meetings with social service providers, homeless advocates and politicians.

“I started hitting the ground running,” he said. “Look, it’s been a period of time to learn as much as I can.”

Edelman, a former Los Angeles County supervisor and most recently a mediator for resolution disputes, has been charged with bringing regional cohesiveness to the growing homeless problem, particularly on the westside.

He’s been tapping those who are closest to the issue, finding out what their issues are and what they think the solutions are to get homeless individuals off the streets to become functioning members of society.

What’s been the primary problem for many people in Santa Monica is the failure by neighboring communities to help bear the burden in funding social service programs. Edelman said the key to getting those cities’ politicians to “buy in” to the regional effort is educating them.

“I see my work here as bringing some consensus and instead of fighting, working with people,” he said. “We need to educate them and their constituents that we all have to bear some responsibility.”

But he also knows that a plan B might be necessary if other communities can’t be convinced to help pay for homeless services. However it happens, Edelman, who is making $200,000 for his 12-month contract, hopes to walk away at the end of 2006 with measurable results.

“I’d like to see greater buy in by cities that have not stepped up to the plate and working toward a regional solution,” he said. “I think that will come either voluntarily or other ways ... like state legislation.”

If there were ever a time to tackle the homeless issue on a regional level, Edelman believes it’s now. A recent census shows that nearly 90,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County, of which 7,000 live on the westside. The media has focused on the issue so the topic is fresh in people’s minds.

“We have a window of opportunity here,” Edelman said. “We are on the edge of accomplishing something ... one city at a time.”

Edelman said when he was a LA County supervisor there was not the same level of awareness of the homeless issue as there is now. Generally, politicians then weren’t as concerned about it, and as a result, concrete plans were never made to fight homelessness.

But that’s all changed. Now, a movement has began to end homelessness in LA within 10 years, and a council of governments, which includes leaders from several cities along the coast, is regularly talking about a regional approach.

“The seeds are there, and maybe we need to plant a few seeds and water the seeds that are already there,” Edelman said.

Edelman, who answers to City Manager Lamont Ewell and the City Council, has a set of goals and criteria laid out for him to accomplish particular tasks, such as helping to establish a regional mental health court, where by certain homeless individuals may be removed from the criminal justice system in exchange for their willingness to undergo treatment.

City Councilman Bobby Shriver — who proposed the concept of the homeless czar — has said in the past that he’s excited about Edelman’s appointment. Edelman has long been embroiled in Los Angeles area politics. Edelman’s well connected and respected, Shriver said, with a history of championing homeless causes.

Edelman served as a Los Angeles county supervisor from 1974 to 1994, during which he was responsible for creating the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. That agency is charged with providing homeless services for the county.

Edelman also is known for establishing the Skid Row Mental Health Center in downtown Los Angeles, as well as creating the detox program at the Weingart Center and the first drug court in LA County.

He has also assisted U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Harry Pregerson in expanding services to homeless veterans at the West LA Veterans Administration facility.

In addition to his service as county supervisor, Edelman served on the LA City Council from 1965 to 1974 and held many intergovernmental posts, including chairing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board in 1994 and the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee, which he founded.

Most recently he helped form a new crime lab for the Los Angeles police and sheriff’s departments through the California State University, Los Angeles.

Based on conversations with area leaders, Edelman sees the need to find strategies and programs that get homeless individuals working in the community in useful ways. He also believes a 12-month shelter is needed on the westside. Currently, there are only two shelters in the area, and they only serve the homeless from December to March.

But putting those plans in place won’t happen within his one-year appointment and will require outside help.

“I’m not planning on taking any steroids, but I will follow my good experience and instincts to establish relationships,” he said. “We can’t expect things to happen overnight.”