Santa Monica Community Responds to Recent HUD Grant

The Santa Monica Daily Press published today some responses from the community regarding the city’s recent $717,150 grant from HUD. This grant proposes to place 30 chronically homeless people who are dealing with alcoholism into housing.

The question the paper posed was this:

“What has to be taken into consideration by local officials to make a pilot program targeted to chronic homeless people, which helps pay their rent in free-market housing in Santa Monica, as successful as possible?”

Here are some community responses:

“First of all, what needs to be considered is the fact that these people should not be housed in Santa Monica, a prime real estate and high rent area. The money should be directed to the lower-rent areas. Many good citizens have had to leave Santa Monica due to rising rents and many good people can’t afford to relocate here for the same reasons. If these people can’t afford to live here, how can we, the taxpayers afford to house all these indigents here?”

“I strongly recommend that the homelessness program is linked somehow with the department of mental health to provide only psychiatry and medication for the people that are homeless.”

“Helping 30 people won’t work. Get 30 sober living houses and help 300 people get gradually back on their feet.”

“If you don’t require sobriety don’t even bother, don’t spend any money on it because it won’t do any good. A hand out and a hand up are two different things.”