Cities consider partnering
After years of lobbying for regional support in the struggle to reduce homelessness, Santa Monica officials applauded a Thursday decision by a group of Westside city leaders to consider partnering in the quest for a year-round homeless shelter.
It was the first time since the Westside Cities Council of Governments was convened two years ago that city leaders from Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and West Hollywood made any joint action on the hot-button issue.
Members of the group agreed to return to their respective governing bodies with a draft statement that outlines an intent to make homelessness a mutual priority, and to seek out the property and money needed for a year-round, 24-hour shelter.
Though no official partnership was forged at the midday meeting at City Hall in Culver City, officials said the discussion was a marked improvement over those at previous meetings. City officials previously had opted to focus solely on circulation issues.
“Just a little baby step for the other cities,” said Jean Sedillos, a long-time Santa Monica activist.
“It’s encouraging. At least they’re saying they want to do something.”
Added Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver: “These guys had never done that before... The sort of discouraging news is that it took two years to do just that. Maybe I need to get used to the timeline in the public sector.
“It’s very important to get to the second step right away: Finding locations in some of the cities that have excess land to build these shelters.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said he would help coordi-nate the effort, and added that county officials for the first time ever have earmarked $2.5 million annually for year-round homeless shelters. An additional $3 million might become available, Yaroslavsky said, though all funding is shared by the county’s five districts.
“We can do this,” said Yaroslavsky, who also agreed to seek out additional state funding. “This is not rocket science. We just have to find the right site.”
One site currently being studied is the Veteran’s Administration property in West Los Angeles. Shriver, who has met with VA officials and social-service providers in an effort to convert vacant VA buildings into shelters, asked the Westside city leaders to narrow the scope of the current effort to serving homeless veterans at the VA property.
Leaving the statement of intent broad, Shriver argued, would put off VA administrators, who are reluctant to host nonveteran services.
“All I’m trying to do is one thing,” he told the city leaders. “What they (VA officials) will get from this, and I promise you, is that you don’t know who they are... that’s the real world.”
Despite Shriver’s concerns, the group of city leaders agreed to move ahead with broad language, with the document serving as an over-arching mission statement. Keeping it open, officials argued, gave the group maximum flexibility.
“I really feel the broad statement is the statement that needs to be made here,” said Santa Monica City Councilman Richard Bloom.
Bloom sits on a board of leaders from throughout Los Angeles called “Bring LA Home,” which was formed in response to President George W. Bush’s direction to draft a plan to end homelessness in 10 years. A proposal is expected to be unveiled later this year.
In the meantime, officials said a smaller, concerted effort among Westside cities would go a long way toward reducing the pervasive problem.
“If they pitched in even proportionately to what Santa Monica is doing, we’d have the potential to do something really meaningful,” Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown said. “Santa Monica will continue to lead, but we won’t carry the burden alone anymore.”
Yaroslavsky said despite the historic lack of coordination between the Westside cities, he was confident the groups would work together.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of helping Santa Monica,” he said after the meeting. “I think most of these cities, most of these officials — and I don’t mean to sound Pollyanna-ish about it — but these are officials who want to do the right thing.
“What is Santa Monica’s problem today could be Beverly Hills’s problem tomorrow.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 18, 2005. Read the original PDF.