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# Columnist off base
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/columnist-off-base-editor/
- Published: 2003-12-11T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:19:12.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness

*By John Maceri Executive Director, OPCC Bored with the Promenade Editor:*

Bill Bauer’s latest verbal assaults on homeless people (SMDP, Dec. 5, page 4), and the agencies, particularly OPCC, working to eliminate the scourge of anyone living on our streets is another example of using his column to spread the misinformation and vitriol that has become his trademark. He begins by blaming the agencies and the city for the unfortunate death of a homeless man, and then continues to discuss our policies for providing services as if he is an authority on the subject. Neither is true.

For the record, contrary to Mr. Bauer’s assertion that “anyone can receive basic services for years on end with no questions asked,” people receiving services at OPCC’s Access Center are required to register and provide information which is tracked through a computerized case management system mandated for all city-funded agencies. We are not interested in respecting our clients’ anonymity. We are very interested in respecting their dignity. One of our greatest challenges is building trust with individuals who have learned to survive by isolating and disconnecting from other people. That takes time. Anyone with experience working with homeless people understands how long and difficult it can be to make a connection that results in someone changing their behavior and making better choices.

It is not a myth that more services do get more people off the streets. It’s a fact. The No. 1 barrier to eliminating homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, combined with appropriate supportive services, especially for people living with mental illness or substance addiction. Safe and affordable housing is the most stabilizing factor in a person’s life. Numerous studies have been conducted across the country and all come to the same conclusion — chronic homelessness can be eliminated with appropriate services attached to affordable housing. Santa Monica’s Housing Authority has one of the most successful retention rates in permanent supportive housing in the country. It isn’t a myth and isn’t by accident. It happens because the same agencies Mr. Bauer continues to malign for their ineffectiveness are, in fact, extremely competent in getting and keeping people housed when the resources are available.

Yes, there are untreated, severely mentally ill and addicted people wandering the streets. Many are there as a result of being discharged from public institutions or other systems without adequate planning for where they will live or receive care for their illness. Some homeless people engage in anti-social behavior that is obnoxious and annoying, and residents and businesses are negatively impacted by their actions. We have never advocated that homeless people should be able to act anyway they want and not be held responsible for their actions. We have consistently advocated for not blaming all homeless people for the bad behaviors of a few, and for trying to understand the complexities of the problems of people living on the streets. The social service system is not perfect. We labor under constant pressure to solve some of society’s most difficult problems — persistent mental illness, addiction, physical and sexual assault, and domestic violence — all manifested in the people we serve. We work with severely disabled people who have multiple needs and face multiple barriers in returning to lives of stability. There aren’t enough resources to help everyone, and some individuals aren’t ready to accept help from the services that are available. It’s a system that is overwhelmed by need and limited by capacity.

The numbers of homeless people are increasing everywhere. Not because social service providers aren’t doing their jobs, or because Santa Monica has made a commitment to shouldering some of the responsibility of trying to assist people living like abandoned animals on our streets. The numbers are increasing because other local municipalities have not done their fair share to develop and support housing and services in their own communities, because the federal government has failed miserably to provide the resources necessary to build and sustain adequate affordable housing and supportive services, and because we want quick fixes to complex social problems. The venom Mr. Bauer regularly spews from his column would be better directed at the elected officials in Culver City, Beverly Hills, Inglewood and Los Angeles to get them to take some responsibility for a regional problem. Continuing to act as if Santa Monica exists in a vacuum separate from the rest of Los Angeles County, and is somehow immune from the impact that redevelopment and policy decisions in other cities is having on us here, is what is responsible for the misery and death of people living on the streets. It is time for Mr. Bauer to stop blaming service providers for tackling the problems, while he just continues to endlessly whine.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 11, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121103.pdf?ref=smdp.com)