Homeless Plan Gets Mixed Reviews

By Blair Clarkson
Staff Writer

Jan. 28 -- A proposed ten-year plan to end homelessness in LA County received mixed reactions from local residents, advocates and members of the city's homeless community at a public forum Monday night.

“Bring LA Home,” a broad initiative to discuss homeless issues, take suggestions and develop a realistic long-term plan, was introduced to a diverse and passionate audience at the Civic Auditorium by representatives from a coalition of civic and business leaders, advocacy groups and public officials.

While several residents and homeless people gave high marks to the City for its treatment of the homeless and to the panel for its efforts to find solutions to the mounting crisis, others were equally pessimistic about the plan and the City's willingness to commit the necessary funds.

"I've seen a lot of different plans, but a lack of commitment from leaders to actually deal with the problem,” one resident said. “I see this as just another plan in a succession of plans."

"What are homeless people supposed to do for ten years?" another speaker asked the panel.

Mayor Richard Bloom defended the goal of the Bring LA Home meetings (Santa Monica’s was the fifth of 16) and promised a commitment to solving the "terrible problem" of homelessness in the City.

"Yes this is a ten-year plan, but the objective is not to start in ten years,” Bloom said. “The objective is to start now. We are committed to finding the right solution, because no one in this country should have to sleep on the streets."

Over the last several years, many in the City have grown complacent about the homeless problem, especially younger residents who have come to accept people living on the streets as the norm, said Mitchell Netburn, executive director of the LA Homeless Services Authority.

"Rather than addressing the problem and looking at solutions for ending it, the focus became just managing the day-to-day crisis," he said. "We can't keep managing this problem, we're just treading water."

The community meetings -- organized by the LAHSA and LA Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness -- are a coordinated effort to explain the initiative and gather ideas and criticism from the public that can be woven into a draft plan to be presented back to the community for reaction at future meetings before being finalized in the Fall, according to Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of LACEH&H.

At Monday night's meeting there were plenty of ideas and criticism to go around.

Among the problems identified by advocates and homeless residents were the shortage of beds and available shelters throughout the county, the lack of public restrooms and the subsequent criminalizing of basic human needs like sleeping and going to the bathroom.

"Unless you've got money to spend at a restaurant, it's hard to use a facility," noted one activist.

Some homeless residents, sounding more optimistic than their advocates, commended the City and the Bring LA Home panel for listening to them.

"Homeless people need a means of dealing with their complaints," said one wheelchair-bound man. "I know lots of homeless people who have nowhere to go and no one to talk to. There is no means to make their concerns known."

Others took their opportunity at the dais to propose their own ideas, including opening clean drop-in centers for women, temporary lockers to store limited valuables and 24-hour emergency centers, using surplus City properties for homeless services and developing more affordable housing.

The forum also provided the latest research and statistics regarding the size of the County's homeless population, the challenges they face and factors perpetuating the problem, much of which incited emotional responses from the audience.

On a typical night in LA County there are some 78,000 people on the streets. Over the course of a year, there are nearly 254,000 people who experience some duration of homelessness, 92 percent of then having been homeless for less than six months, according to Dan Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable.

"LA County has more homeless residents than is typical for a region of its population size," said Flaming, citing the County's above average poverty rate and housing costs as primary reasons.

Yet Santa Monica and the Westside appear to have a slightly better handle on how to tackle homelessness.

Countywide, the homeless account for nearly 2 percent of the total population, and about 13 percent of those living in poverty, compared to 1 percent of the population and 7 percent of those living in poverty on the Westside, according to Flaming's study.

"This suggests a more effective social safety net and level of accomplishment in the Westside that isn't consistent throughout the county," added Flaming.

"Thank you to the City of Santa Monica," voiced one appreciative advocate, "for providing services that many other affluent areas have not had the political will to do."

The tone of the forum became more heated when it came to jobs and shelter.

Census data provided by Flaming showed that only 16 percent of homeless residents were employed in 2000, compared to 62 percent of the total LA County population.

"A challenge in helping people escape homelessness is helping them reestablish connections with a job that can support them," said Flaming.

Several homeless residents and advocates argued that officials and business leaders should seriously consider the assistance homeless people could provide to the City, including cleaning parks, beaches and streets.

"I see the homeless people as being a huge asset," said a local lawyer who had organized homeless clean-up programs in the past. "They are anxious to work, and there's a lot of work to be done in this city. People who are homeless are not afraid of hard work."

But landing work is difficult if you don’t have a place to live, said Clara Sturak, director of the Westside Shelter and Hunger Coalition.

"How can people think about getting a full-time job, or finding the appropriate suit for an interview, or going to the doctor, or remembering to take medication, when they don't know where they're going to sleep at night."

Many heads nodded in agreement as Sturak explained that finding shelter and a place to sleep at night are more pressing problems for the City's homeless than finding a job.

"Until we get some year-round shelter for people, we are really in a bind," she said. "We will always have homeless people unless we have available emergency short-term shelter."

Statistics show there is only one bed for every four homeless residents on the Westside, which is better than the countywide average of one bed for every 13 homeless residents, according to Flaming.

Near the end of the public forum, resident Lois Cunningham implored the panel and audience not to "let the statistics overwhelm you" and to attack this problem with real solutions, not just additional plans.

"This is not rocket science," she said.

"It's a great challenge for all of us," concluded Mayor Bloom, "to come up with a plan to end homelessness in ten years. We need to come up with
something realistic to end this problem which affects all of us."