> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Public to weigh in on plan to end LA homelessness - URL: https://www.smdp.com/public-to-weigh-in-on-plan-to-end-la-homelessness/ - Published: 2004-10-11T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:16:33.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness *More meetings for homeless plan scheduled* KEN EDWARDS CENTER — As officials in the coming months finalize their plans to end homelessness in Los Angeles County in a decade, the public is growing increasingly skeptical of how realistic the lofty goal is. But regardless of the skepticism, those involved in the plan are excited about the possibility of all 88 communities in the county working together and lobbying the government to meet their goal. A couple dozen Santa Monica residents and politicians met last Thursday during a minimally publicized community meeting to talk about “Bring LA Home,” a comprehensive plan that would recon-figure the county’s homeless services to include an additional 70,000 emergency shelter beds and 40,000 units of affordable housing, among other things. A “Blue Ribbon Panel” was convened last year to begin working on the plan. The panel consists of about 80 leaders of government, faith-based, social service, advocacy, entertainment, law enforcement and business organizations, as well as people who have experienced homelessness firsthand. Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom is on the panel, and is the only elected official from the west-side working on the plan. The panel unveiled a draft of the 10-year plan last month and was met with criticism from people who say the plan is too vague. More community meetings were scheduled for October to get more public input before the plan is adopted in December. One of those meetings was held in Santa Monica last week. Some people questioned details of the plan, and others had more broad questions, such as if officials looked to other cities such as New York to see how they have successfully addressed their homeless populations. Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the LA Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness and one of the coordinators of the plan, told the group that other cities have been studied and their solutions to end homelessness are included in LA’s plan. New York City in recent years was able to house their homeless residents at night through a “Right to Shelter” program in which the city spends $35,000 a night to provide people a place to sleep. Apparently, LA has the same number of homeless as New York City did, but they receive about $89 million in federal funding and LA receives $45 million. Currently, there are as many homeless people in all of Los Angeles County as there are residents of Santa Monica, according to an analysis on the county’s homeless population. Of the roughly 84,000 people who live on the streets at any given time of the year, 2 percent of them live in Santa Monica. Homeless populations fluctuate throughout the county — in Los Angeles there are four homeless people for every one bed in a shelter while in the East San Gabriel Valley, there are 137 individuals for every one bed, Erlenbusch said. Santa Monica currently spends about $2 million each year on services for homeless people. The city of Los Angeles spends more than $14 million, most of which comes from the federal government. LA County spends tens of millions of dollars on homeless services and special needs programs. “Money needs to be redistributed in the system to integrate services,” Erlenbusch said, adding the plan focuses on providing transitional and permanent housing, with items such as mental health and alcohol and drug addiction services attached. “We need to act with one voice to lobby the state and federal government.” One of the ideas that stands out for Santa Monica City Councilman Mike Feinstein is the idea of establishing a regional trust fund to supply housing, and integrated and related services for the homeless population. Money would be collected from not only local, state and federal governments, but also philanthropists, donors and residents. It’s been said by local leaders and citizens for years that Santa Monica takes the brunt of the homeless problem on the westside because other surrounding cities aren’t willing to share the burden. Feinstein told the group the trust fund could be one way cities — many of which for years have ignored the issue — could be part of a solution to end homelessness. “One of the biggest challenges in bringing about effective regional coopera-tion has been getting other cities to, in effect, start from ‘ground zero’ in their community to both single-handedly fund and locate a project within their border,” Feinstein said. “If there is a county-wide trust fund to draw from, it would lessen the financial and political burden on any individual city, making the expansion and regionalization of services far more likely to occur. “Even for those cities who may only pay in, but won’t actually locate a service within their boundaries, the fact that the financing would be regional would also serve to remind every community that this is our common responsibility to be borne by all of us, and not just by Santa Monica and a few other cities. “I am very excited by the possibilities this option presents,” Feinstein added. The idea to end homelessness in a decade was prompted by the Bush Administration, which asked cities to come up with their own plans. The administration, however, didn’t specify how it would be funded. Now that 120 other cities have either developed plans or are in the process of developing them, there could be more leverage to get federal money. “If we can harness 120 communities who have all stepped up to the plate, we can go to the federal government and ask for money,” Erlenbusch said, adding that when President Bush asked cities to devise their own plans, he might not have realized that they would collectively knock on Washington’s door and demand funding. “It’s an interesting dynamic and a tremendous opportunity.” Bring LA Home officials have held dozens of community meetings and focus groups in the last year, garnering more than 300 suggestions for ending homelessness. “In this planning process, we have already conducted 17 community meetings and various focus groups, and over 1,000 individuals have participated, and response has been tremendous,” said Mitchell Netburn, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. “When this plan is completed and the community has participated, everyone will have had a part in developing solutions to end homelessness.” A few more public meetings will be held this month. Log onto www.bringlahome.org for times and locations. Officials also are asking the public for comments on the plan, which can be viewed on the Web site. “These meetings are an opportunity for everyone to participate,” Erlenbusch said. “This issue affects us all, and these meetings are part of continued steps in building a shared vision and solutions that the community desires.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 11, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)