By Jean Sedillos Santa Monica
I found Bill Bauer’s July 17 column (SMDP, page 4) about the new Santa Monica Homeless Court so irritating, I had to go into the kitchen and eat half a can of Reddi-whip. I am now ready (Reddi?) to respond.
First, before Bill gets his shorts into their weekly twist, he should get his facts straight: City Hall has not dramatically increased spending on homeless programs over the last couple of months. The City Council allocated $200,000 to allow Ed Edelman to complete the 18 months — not two years — he was originally expected to serve. The city did not “cough up”another $1.2 million to house people in the new homeless court program. This funding — much of it federal grant money — has already been allocated to the city’s chronic homeless program. The rental subsidy he mentioned was $75,000 to help St. Joseph’s Center stay in Venice. The evaluation of homeless services was funded in last year’s budget. So we’re talking about an additional $275,000 out of a $445 million annual budget. Not so dramatic, really.And the homeless court itself will be funded by Los Angeles County.
Bauer complains that over the past 25 years Santa Monica has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on homeless programs, yet we have more people living on our streets. I have made that statement plenty of times myself. That’s why I and other volunteers are working with city councilmembers and staff to find new ways to move Santa Monica’s chronically homeless people into housing: The chronic homeless program, serial inebriate outreach, family reunification, supportive housing on the VA grounds for chronically homeless vets, expedited housing programs, and the homeless court.
As Bauer’s anonymous “experts” say, of course some people will abuse these programs and fall back into destructive lifestyles (I myself just went back and finished the Reddi-whip). But others will complete their rehabilitation and move on to jobs and housing.
This is not “blind optimism.” These approaches are all working in other cities. Search Google and you’ll see.
In column after column, Bauer carps that every city program will not reduce the number of people who live on our streets. I have two questions for Bill: 1. Should we go ahead and shut down all these programs, then? 2. If you and your experts know so much more than the people working to solve the problem, why haven’t you ever suggested one course of action that will be effective?
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 25, 2006. Read the original PDF.