More than 2,000 homeless people live in Santa Monica.
City Hall spends about $2 million each year in social services for the homeless and untold dollars more in police and paramedic hours dealing with the large transient population.
Recently, City Hall approved $9.2 million to relocate and expand the city’s largest provider of social services.
Some say all the services are necessary because of the large amount of homeless people in Santa Monica who desperately need help.
Others say the mere fact that the resources exist continues to attract more homeless to Santa Monica than can be helped. They say we should limit our services in accord with what neighboring cities spend.
The debate has raged on for decades. So, this week Q-Line wants to know, “Is Santa Monica making itself a magnet for more and more homeless people or are we simply doing our fair share for society at large?”
Call (310) 285-8106 with your response before Thursday at 5 p.m. We’ll print them in Friday’s paper. Please limit your comments to a minute or less. It might help to think first about the wording of your response.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.