Santa Monicans to be asked how to end homelessness
Those who plan to end homelessness in Los Angeles County in the next decade hope it’s not just a pipe dream filled with empty words and promises.
Called “Bring LA Home,” a panel recently convened to devise a plan to end homelessness in Los Angeles County within the next 10 years. The plan is similar to those of dozens of other cities that are taking on the daunting task, which was spurred by the Bush Administration’s goal to rid the nation of its homeless population.
“The administration is committed to hearing about the plan from communities, and this is something we’ve never heard from the federal government,” said Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, who sits on the panel.
There are as many homeless people in all of Los Angeles County as there are residents in Santa Monica, an analysis of the county’s homeless population suggests. Of the 80,000 people who live on the streets at any given time during the year, only 2 percent of them live in Santa Monica.
And the panel of about 70 people — from politicians to business leaders to homeless advocates — hopes to end the problem that has plagued this city for decades. It’s considered the largest effort ever by community leaders to tackle a problem that some say is the Feds launch ‘Project Safe Neighborhoods’ with area officials biggest one facing the country.
And although Santa Monica handles 2 percent of the county’s homeless population, it’s a huge impact on the community, residents say. And with the exception of Venice, there aren’t many westside cities that share the burden of taking care of the homeless. That’s one of the reasons Bloom is involved — to solve the problem with a regional approach and mandate that other communities help.
“It’s an honor for me to be chosen, but we were selected because we are the city of Santa Monica,” he said. “There’s always been talk (of a regional approach) but now someone appears to be listening.
“I think it is a bi-partisan effort and it’s going to require bi-partisan support,” he added. “I just hope the commitment is upheld (from the federal government) and not just empty words.”
The panel met for the first time last month. An 80-page report was presented that outlines the problem, gives an analysis of who is homeless and why, and how many services they use each year. Bloom gave an overview of the presentation to the city’s social-service commission earli-er this month.
Commission chair Linda Huizar said the plan is encouraging and she is confident Bloom and his colleagues won’t let the issue fall by the wayside. The commission suggested that homeless service providers be added to the panel to offer more perspective on the issue. Huizar said she hopes the plan includes all communities in the county and not just the ones who are impacted the most.
“This community is dedicated to the homeless issue, but I think some of us are experiencing compassion fatigue because it doesn’t seem to be helping,” she said. “Santa Monica draws the people, but other cities on the westside don’t have the problem.”
There will be a series of about 20 community meetings held between now and February throughout LA County. The primary objective is to get residents’ input on the process and give suggestions on how to end homelessness. Then, the panel will lay a solid foundation for addressing the issue.
“We want folks to come up with solutions,” said Jose Quinonez, the strategic planner for Bring LA Home.
He said the regional-approach issue was discussed at the panel’s November meeting, but nothing of substance came out of it. Panel members agreed that downtown Los Angeles, the Antelope Valley and Santa Monica seem to take the brunt of homeless people wandering the streets.
“They kind of dipped their toe in the water on that issue, but they’ll have to put their whole foot in before April,” Quinonez said.
Quinonez said a community meeting will be held in Santa Monica at the beginning of the year. The specific date and place has not yet been determined.
A letter from Bring LA Home will be sent out to agencies throughout the county, including police departments, governments, homeless service providers, housing groups and many others. It will solicit their thoughts on how well the current programs are serving people and the costs associated with them. That information will be discussed at the panel’s next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 5, Quinonez said.
When the draft plan is finished in April, it will be presented to various communities within the county. The final plan is supposed to be done in June.
What leaders of the effort don’t know is how much it will cost or who will pay for it.
“Everyone asks that question. Without a crystal ball, it’s hard to answer that,” Quinonez said, adding it’s a problem that has to be addressed on a national level. “Thirty or 40 years ago there were not this many homeless people, especially women and children. Something has changed to make this happen.”
Quinonez said with all the services combined, as well as hospital and law enforcement costs, the county spends nearly $1 billion a year on its homeless. That money could be better used by providing housing, he added.
“If the reluctance is to spend money then we must ask, ‘How effective is the money being used today?’” Quinonez said. “The solution is not necessarily more money to tackle the problem. It’s significantly cheaper to house them in a unit than it is to care for them by putting them in hospitals and letting them go through law-enforcement agencies.”
He added that it was encouraging to hear an LA city councilman during a radio interview earlier this month say the plan won’t work and is only rhetoric if there isn’t a dedicated source of funding.
“At least it’s better to have a plan in place before asking the federal government,” Quinonez said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 22, 2003. Read the original PDF.