This is a response to Bill Bauer’s column of Aug. 8, (SMDP, page 4) regarding the homeless issue and the new OPCC site in particular. As a member of the Disabilities Commission, I first want to clarify Mr. Bauer’s spin on the commission’s vote. A majority of Disabilities Commission members informally expressed their support for OPCC and its intended site on Cloverfield. However, we recognized that we knew far too little about the site to give a meaningful endorsement of the specific project. This is a far cry from Mr. Bauer’s spin that the commission “did not vote to support the project.” In fact, the commission voted to inform the City Council that our community has an overwhelming need for homeless services — 1,000 beds needed every night and currently only 35 provided by OPCC — such that the commission supports increasing the level of homeless services offered and would oppose any effort to decrease them, such as allowing OPCC’s services to shut their doors if unable to find a new home.
While Mr. Bauer’s column attempts to signal the coming electoral war over homeless issues, Santa Monica isn’t completely gentrified just yet. It is my hope that the City Council and Disabilities Commission will serve important roles in cutting through the misinformation often created by anti-homeless hysteria. I do apologize if my comments appear anti-social, as I know that such behavior is not acceptable in Mr. Bauer’s Santa Monica.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 13, 2003. Read the original PDF.