Problem within — one man’s success also reveals flaws
By Ed Silverstein
(Editor’s note: This is the third installment of a three-part series that tracks how a man lifted himself off the streets of Santa Monica with the help of California’s social services and some of the inherent problems within.) James McCord is a recovering drug addict from Alabama who came to California to find help. The first two articles last week detailed James becoming addicted to crack cocaine, his decision to seek help and his road to recovery.
James McCord utilized California’s programs to kick his drug addiction, find shelter, secure employment and gain affordable housing. But his experiences, while positive, highlight many problems cited by critics.
A case in point is the charge that California’s generous social programs attract an unfair number of homeless to the state. James has confirmed that it is common knowledge on the streets that California offers the most social services and financial assistance. In fact, as James would admit late in our interview, this was his third trip to California for help. He had previously been in programs in Los Angeles and in Santa Cruz.
The influx of transients creates enormous consequences for progressive cities where the majority of social programs are located.
Theodore Dues, executive director of Samoshel homeless shelter, acknowledges that the homeless population in Santa Monica has created a social crisis.
Exploding homeless populations devastate businesses and adversely impact city revenue needed to pay for programs. City services, such as police and emergency health care, are strained to the breaking point. Quality of life plummets as crime skyrockets.
James admits that had he not achieved sobriety as quickly as he did, he would have committed crimes here.
“The first I would have done would be shoplifting,” he said. “I kind of got a rush off of going in a department store or whatever kind of store and the excitement of getting away. I just stole three pair of jeans and they didn’t see me and I got away. I’m a hustler. I go back to the dope man. ‘Whatcha need, man I got your size, pair of jeans, shirt, tennis shoes.’”
Another common complaint concerns the method of determining funding levels for social service agencies.
“Money and politics get in the way,” James observed. “You write certain grants based on how many clients you have. Sometimes it gets to the point that they’re not concerned with who succeeds and doesn’t succeed; we just need a certain amount of people to fill the particular facility, to fill the beds.”
While Joel Schwartz, senior administrative analyst for homeless services for Santa Monica, and Dues deny this is the case, many people involved in the field support James’ observations. They also suggest that funding by numbers creates incentive to maintain clients on the rolls rather than move them off. The result is that many languish in the system.
“They’re taking people, I don’t want to say they don’t have a chance, because I’d like to believe all people have a chance, but they’re taking people who don’t have a real desire,” James said. “They are retreats, been in the program seven or eight times. They need to cut off some because they’re taking a bed of someone who may really be trying to change”
A1998 University of Pennsylvania study, cited by Joel Stein in his Time Magazine article “The Real Face Of Homelessness,” demonstrated that chronic homeless cases, such as the severely mentally ill, hard core drug and alcohol users and the very sick, take up 50 percent of the beds in shelters, while only representing about 10 percent of the homeless population.
The study concluded that these cases would be better served if we provided less expensive alternatives such as free apartments exclusive of any ancillary services. Stein also cited other experts who contend that some poor people, who wouldn’t normally be homeless, are attracted to shelters as a quick way to tap into government assistance.
In addition to taking up scarce resources, accepting chronic homeless candidates has a negative impact on caregivers. James suggests that many of the staff, faced with too many unmotivated clients, become emotionally guarded and reluctant to become personally involved. This is troubling as James attributes much of his success to the efforts of a few individuals who took a personal interest in his case.
Another issue that plagues these programs is a lack of accountability. Although the means are available, social service agencies rarely track their clients once they leave a program. Santa Monica has a computer system that coordinates 18 programs, but some agencies refuse to require social security numbers.
This allows clients to make up fictitious names and defeats detection of abuse. Even if accurate information is provided, agencies rarely employ it to evaluate the suitability of a client for a program.
Dues admitted that he does not use this system as criteria for admittance into Samoshel. The system is further circumvented by shuttling the homeless between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. One resident claims to have witnessed several instances in which bus-loads of homeless were deposited at the Santa Monica Civic Center at 4 a.m.
Social programs need to improve, but this can only be achieved through tracking those in the system. In addition, success, rather than head counts, should be rewarded with additional funding. Mr. Schwartz, who oversees these programs in Santa Monica, agrees that this would be worth-while, but says that there is no source of funding for tracking clients. Yet, with the existing computer system already in place, funding could be created through savings realized by reducing duplication of services and by eliminating existing ineffective programs.
One such program is General Relief (GR) payments that provide several hundred dollars a month to cover subsistence items.
However, since these needs are already met by social services, these tax dollars are usually used to purchase drugs and alcohol.
In one egregious case, a liquor store allowed transients to use its address to receive GR checks, cashed them and kept the money on account for the purchase of liquor. GR payments should be replaced with vouchers (or debit cards) good for specific items and services. A further measure to prevent abuse would require identification to redeem vouchers as well as food stamps.
One of the most divisive issues is that of public feedings. Several outside groups were providing meals to hundreds of homeless in Santa Monica parks and public properties, attracting even greater numbers of recipients to the area. The situation became so acute that Santa Monica, like many other cities, passed an ordinance to severely restrict public feedings.
Though widely supported, the laws have been challenged in court by feeding groups and homeless advocates, including attorney Robert Myers. Myers was the City Attorney for Santa Monica until he was fired by the City Council for refusing to draw up a law prohibiting camping in public parks. Should Myers and his group prevail it will only work against the people they are purportedly trying to help.
Dues, who was a homeless substance abuser prior to seeking help from and going to work at Samoshel, agrees that “frontline feedings” need to be linked to more intensive services. And Gary Silverstein, executive director of The Therapy Center, a private mental/behavioral health practice, concurs with many experts in the field who suggest that a tough love approach is most effective in treating substance abusers and the mentally ill.
“The only impetus for change is when people are uncomfortable enough or distressed enough with their circumstances to face the rigors of change,” he said.
Programs such as public feedings and GR payments enable the homeless to continue their self-destructive behavior. In James’ case it was his family’s support that stalled his seeking help and prolonged his addiction. James concedes that if the streets were less comfortable, the homeless would make more and better use of social services, but he also cautions, “It (making the streets less hospitable) must also come from a place of compassion rather than indignation or self-righteousness. It should not be done only to get rid of the problem.”
As James demonstrates, social programs are needed and can be effective. And despite the current administration’s attempt to undermine these programs through draconian tax cuts, most Americans are more than willing to support services that help those less fortunate or in crisis. But too often these services lack proper oversight and evaluation. And few want to see our tax dollars wasted. It is up to the city, the state and the federal government to insist on accountability. It is only through true appraisal that these agencies and programs will improve and success stories such as that of James McCord will become the rule rather than the exception. (Ed Silverstein is a freelance writer living in Santa Monica. He thanks James McCord for his insights and honesty. Comments can be e-mailed to:).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 30, 2003. Read the original PDF.