> ## 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. # SM City Council members defend homeless agenda - URL: https://www.smdp.com/sm-city-council-members-defend-homeless-agenda/ - Published: 2003-10-28T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:08:08.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness *Council, public will debate issue at annual meeting tonight in City Hall* (Editor’s note: This is the second article in a series this week that addresses the issues surrounding Santa Monica’s homeless population. The Santa Monica City Council tonight will hold a public hearing that reviews an annual report, assessing the effectiveness of its social services programs). With its annual review of social services scheduled for tonight, the Santa Monica City Council is expected to hear from people on both sides of the contentious homelessness issue. Some are pushing for more social services and say City Hall doesn’t do enough to help the needy get off of Santa Monica’s streets. Others say City Hall’s $1.8 million in services attracts a large homeless population that hurts business and puts an unnecessary burden on emergency workers. Responding to three questions from the Daily Press, all but one of the council members polled defended City Hall’s social services programs. And all of them said other cities in Southern California need to help solve the problem and alleviate Santa Monica’s burden. City Councilman Bob Holbrook, the only one polled who said services should be curtailed, said he doesn’t expect City Hall to change how it deals with homelessness anytime soon. Ultimately, Holbrook said it’s up to the voters to elect council members who don’t have strong social service agendas. But City Councilmen Ken Genser and Kevin McKeown disagree, saying the large homeless population downtown could be curtailed through more effective policing. “When people say that our programs are attracting more people, I wonder how many of those people have visited the shelters that we fund,” Genser said. “I’ve visited and I’ve seen people who could be my relatives or theirs. They are people who are decent folks, going to work or going to school... They’re regular folks.” Here, council members explain their positions on homelessness: ■ Mayor Richard Bloom What is your response to members of the public who complain the homeless situation has not been adequately addressed by the council? “Homelessness is an ugly reality. As a city, we strive to draw a balance. We do the best we can. If all cities did that and if the federal government provided a modicum of assistance, I believe we would see significant progress.” What is City Hall doing right in how it deals with the homeless population? “We have a responsible, well-thought-out program that is focused on getting people off streets and into productive lives. That is a difficult, frustrating business. We are fortunate to have a dedicated group of service providers who are willing to shoulder the burden.” What could City Hall be doing better? “We could be doing a better job, as a community, at working towards regional and national solutions. Nobody likes homelessness. It is a regional and national problem. Yet there is little done regionally and nationally. We are seen by many others as a model. I hope that we can unite behind an agenda that encourages other communities and the federal government to work harder at becoming a part of the solution.” ■Ken Genser What is your response to members of the public who complain the homeless situation has not been adequately addressed by the council? “I think that we have. The city funds transitional programs, primarily, that move people from the street to permanent housing. That includes things like job training, substance abuse treatment, transitional housing and so on... I don’t believe the people who are in the city programs are the ones who people find bothersome or become problematic — that comes from the people who are not in the city programs or are not suitable to the city programs. “One of the things that has attracted so many people who seem to cause problems are the unregulated feeding programs in our parks. They send the message that all you have to do is come to Santa Monica and get a free meal and you’ll be taken care of. They are very unlike the city programs that require one to have a commitment to improve their lives. We are doing everything we can to reduce the number of open meal programs but we have been severely limited by the courts.” What is City Hall doing right in how it deals with the homeless population? “We adopted a policy that was enacted over a decade ago that is sound. That is to concentrate our resources to help fewer people but help them in a more meaningful way — and not concentrating municipal resources on emergency services which tend to attract more people in need to our small community.” What could City Hall be doing better? “We need to step up enforcement of the laws we have and target the anti-social behavior that many residents find disturbing... I think that the police department needs to dedicate more resources to enforcement activity against the anti-social behavior of individuals in our public spaces. I don’t believe it’s because of a lack of ordinances or policy. I believe we’ve given the police department the tools it needs but I would prefer to see more concentrated enforcement.” ■Bob Holbrook What is your response to members of the public who complain the homeless situation has not been adequately addressed by the council? “I think they’re correct.” What is City Hall doing right in how it deals with the homeless population? “That’s tough to answer. I think providing some basic programs is the right thing to do. I think the mistake has been to expand them because it doesn’t get any additional people off the streets here, it just attracts people from other areas of Southern California to Santa Monica.” What could City Hall be doing better? “We could enforce the laws strictly. We could check everybody that we don’t know who they are on the streets... a lot of them are parolees that have broken parole. I think there’s a lot of things we could do like this. I think the general attitude of the police officers is, ‘Santa Monica must want this because they keep offering services that attract this. And so must the public because they keep electing a City Council who keeps providing all these services and makes it worse.’” ■Pam O’Connor What is your response to members of the public who complain the homeless situation has not been adequately addressed by the council? “It’s a regional and national problem so the council can do some piece of helping, but, again, we live in a region, we live in a country where there’s not enough affordable housing. And pretty much some of the key is housing — what defines homelessness is whether somebody has a place to sleep or not.” What is City Hall doing right in how it deals with the homeless population? “The continuum of services that Santa Monica provides — through a consortium of nonprofits and other groups — provides a helping hand to people to take them, to lift them, from the streets through a system of temporary housing, more stable housing, reintegrating (them) in the main stream, looking for work and providing support services after the person has gotten a job. “Focusing on any one piece doesn’t help a person and it’s up to the individual to decide to help themselves. And some segment of the homeless population, like some segment of the general population, breaks laws, and that is not — and cannot — be tolerated.” What could City Hall be doing better? “What we need to do is, as a region, provide services. Other cities in the county, other counties in the state need to do their fair share and we need to push them to do their fair share. Santa Monica can’t solve the problem alone, nor can we turn our back on it. “As the world goes on, you find ways of tweaking and making things better and we should be ever vigilant about that. But again, it’s not about sustaining programs, it’s about solving problems and the core of the problem has to do with providing affordable housing region wide and state wide.” What is your response to members of the public who complain the homeless situation has not been adequately addressed by the council? “The council, or the city, cannot alone solve a regional and national problem. We need to turn to the county, the state and the federal government and insist on their help. A society that has allowed its social safety net to fray and fail should not be surprised when as a result more people hit bottom.” What is City Hall doing right in how it deals with the homeless population? “We in Santa Monica have historically struggled to balance appropriate compassion for homeless people with their impact on our city, and we’ve developed an effective continuum of care that can get people off the street permanently. Sharing food with the poor shouldn’t be a crime, but we’d all benefit from moving the charitable providers indoors and coordinating them with our successful social service programs.” What could City Hall be doing better? “We have good laws on the books to control the specific anti-social behaviors by which a few among the homeless make life more difficult for all the rest of us. Let’s enforce those laws fully and fairly, and get the predators and lawbreakers off the streets. Then let’s work together to help those who want and deserve our compassion and real assistance.” Since first being investigated for his handling of $10,000 in Green Party funds earlier this year, City Councilman Mike Feinstein has refused to comment to the Daily Press. The investigation is ongoing. City Councilman Herb Katz, who is on vacation in Philadelphia until Friday, will miss tonight’s meeting. He couldn’t be reached for comment. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 28, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102803.pdf?ref=smdp.com)