Riverside County Finishes Homeless Assessment

When you think of homelessness in Southern California, typically images of downtown Skid Row cross your mind. You probably wouldn’t think of homelessness in a county one hour east of Los Angeles.

Sure enough, the embarrassment of homelessness is spreading throughout the Southland, including Riverside County.

A new study—County of Riverside 2004/2005 Homeless Assessment—published by the Institute for Urban Research and Development has just been released.

Here are some of the sad facts:

• There are 4,785 homeless persons in Riverside County on any given day.
• 33% of Riverside's homeless residents are in families.
• 66% of Riverside's homeless population are unsheltered on a typical day with 34% residing in an emergency shelter or temporary housing facilities.
• 67.1% of homeless women and more than 25% of homeless men surveyed experienced domestic violence in 2004.
• 16% of homeless adults surveyed were employed in 2004.
• 46.9% of single homeless persons surveyed in 2004 were chronically homeless.

Here is a PDF file on the study.

On This Veterans Day: Veterans Affairs Secretary Reveals Poignant Acknowledgement

Our nation’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jim Nicholson, admits a reality that homeless and veterans activists have insisted for years… Some veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars are ending up in homeless shelters. Here's the article.

Those of us on the frontlines of homelessness knew about this for years. It is estimated that at least 10% of the homeless population are men and women who fought in some past war. So it is only obvious that Post Traumatic Syndrome would affect those who have fought in our current wars.

I have a chapter in my book on this sad fact that men and women who fight in our armed forces, end up being homeless.

It is sad, frustrating, and simply… wrong.

Why can’t we dispatch our own squad of rescuers to go behind the lines of homelessness so save every Private Ryan, every homeless veteran, caught in the trenches of hopelessness and despair?

Where are the Tom Hanks of today seeking to rescue those postwar veterans dangling their lives between life and death scenarios on the streets of America? Certainly, saving homeless veterans should be a priority for our government!

Our country needs to develop a more comprehensive system of preparing soldiers to return home. The Pentagon designs elaborate campaigns for war—Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Infinite Justice—why not Operation Healthy Veterans?

We need to attack those ghosts that haunt our veterans so they can live with their families, emotionally healthy and able to reconnect to loved ones, and not resort to living on the streets.

Perhaps every war campaign should have Robin Williams as a military disc jockey lobbing joke after joke soothing the stress levels of our soldiers.

Good morning, Vietnam! Good morning, Afghanistan! Good morning, Iraq! Perhaps even… Good morning, Homeless America!

Update On Hollywood Church Property Purchased By CRA For The Homeless

Here is an update on the property that the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency purchased from the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. The purchase price was $5.8 million.

The L.A. Weekly states that CRA purchased a 12-story apartment building. That is not accurate. I believe it is a three story apartment building, a large parking lot, and the building that houses Traveler’s Aid Society of Los Angeles (a program for homeless youth.)

Again, it appears there will be a NIMBY fight between the agency that contracts with CRA and some local neighbors. However, a large interfaith coalition, L.A.’s Voice, is supporting the project. They are a group of local faith communities in the neighborhood.

Here's the LA Weekly article.

Homelessness Makes Mayor’s “Short List”

Throughout this year’s mayoral election, the key issues were: crime (more police), traffic (specifically public transit), education (mayoral control), and the environment. Homelessness was never on the “key issues” list, and rarely mentioned.

In an article in today’s L.A. Times, it appears that homelessness has now made it on the mayor’s radar. The article says, “On the mayor’s short list are hiring more police, taking over the Los Angeles Unified School District, building a world-class transit system, re-greening the L.A. River and, more recently, trying to solve the city’s homeless problem.”

After decades of neglect in Los Angeles, it appears that homelessness has now garnered the attention of policy-makers. After the number of homeless increased from 25,000 in 1985 to 91,000 today… it’s about time.

Here's the Times article.

It Appears Local Rescue Mission Needs To Do More Neighborhood Convincing For Their New Family Center

A local resident recently responded to my blog entry on the Union Rescue Mission’s new Family Center project near Kagel Canyon/Lakeview Terrace. I mentioned that the local home owner association is in support of the project.

The article I based this on, was not accurate. Some neighbors in the area are mobilizing against the project. When URM seeks a conditional use permit for their new project, it appears they will face local community opposition.

Let the games begin…

Here's the blog response.

Are Unsubstantiated Arrests Being Done On The Homeless In Ventura, CA?

The allegations are this… the Ventura Police are arresting homeless people in their community solely to get them off the streets. No crime has occurred—the only “crime” is being homeless. Here is the article.

Nine homeless people were jailed for two days in that coastal community. Although the city attorney’s office is now saying that it was a mistake, clearly handcuffing a person and tossing them in jail without cause cannot be a simple error.

It’s clear that law enforcement seems to be stuck in the middle of community inaction in dealing with homelessness. When nothing happens, as is the case in most communities, law enforcement is the last resort. It’s not fair for these officers to become default social workers. We hire them to fight crime, not fight homelessness.

I do understand that some law enforcement officers get frustrated with dealing with the homeless problem. It’s not their job.

But it is also the role of advocacy groups—like the ACLU—to protect the rights of people who are homeless.

I met with Ramona Ripston, the CEO of ACLU/Southern California, this morning. Her view is balanced. She says that if there were enough shelter beds and services for the homeless, then it would be appropriate to keep the streets clean and safe.

So let’s not criminalize those who become homeless. Instead, for the sake of the homeless, of our community, of law enforcement officers, let’s provide enough services, shelter, and housing so that we don’t have to fight over dealing with homelessness.

New York Matches L.A.’s Commitment—One Billion Dollars

The city and state of New York have committed to a one billion dollar investment for housing the homeless. Click here. Like L.A.’s Mayor Villaraigosa, one billion dollars will be used for affordable housing.

While the details for L.A.’s proposed billion dollar housing bond doesn’t describe exactly how it would work or who would benefit, New York’s plan is very specific… The one billion dollars would be spent in a span of ten years to build 9,000 supportive housing units.

Permanent housing with supportive services is a key part of solving homelessness. Without housing that is affordable, helping people who are homeless is moot. Clearly, we need to assist in mental health treatment, drug treatment, employment training, and emergency shelter. But if they can’t afford a permanent home after treatment, homelessness just becomes a cycle.

Let’s hope that the proposed one billion dollar L.A. Housing bond will specifically commit to building more supportive housing units for the homeless than for simply “low-income” folks. “No-income” housing should take precedent over “low-income” housing.

When Homelessness Crosses Paths With Celebrity (Think Aniston and Paris—The Heiress, not the City)…

When we think of celebrities and homelessness, we typically think of the stars who lend their names to charity events. (For example, Hillary Swank is participating in PATH’s current charity event.)

But sometimes the stars just don’t align—at least for a couple of famous, filthy rich celebs who really should be helping people who are homeless…

Take for example, Paris Hilton, and her latest boy-toy, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos. They were partying in Los Angeles, when Niarchos offered a homeless man $100 to dump a can of soda over Nairchos’ head—in front of all of their celebrity friends. [Correction: the soda was poured on the homeless man's head... even more humiliating...] Why make such a stupid offer? Perhaps to show how rich you are… to humiliate someone who by living on the streets is already in a humiliating state… to entertain your friends?

Then you have Jennifer Aniston dealing with her own encounter with homeless people—specifically, a homeless man who broke into her Malibu pad. Not a welcoming sight. So the homeless man will no longer be homeless—at least for the next year… he will be spending that year in jail. I’m sure Aniston won’t be donating a million dollars to a local homeless shelter any time soon.

So what’s the lesson in this crossroads of celebrity life? I think for PR reasons, or just for plain moral reasons, these two celebs ought to show that they are not anti-homeless—maybe they should spend a day at a homeless shelter, or at least write a check.

(Having a homeless man pour soda over you for $100? ...Only in L.A.)

Union Rescue Mission Purchases 71-acre Complex For Homeless Families

The downtown Union Rescue Mission recently spent $7.5 million for a large complex near the Angeles National Forest to house 80 homeless families from Skid Row.

The facility, when it is open sometime next year, will be used for transitional housing with lodge-style dormitories.

The idea is simple—homeless families should not be in Skid Row. So why not provide a camp-like setting to help them transition into stable living? It makes sense to me.

And where were the NIMBY’s in this? The Kagel Canyon Civic Association, the local neighborhood, met with URM officials and agreed to the project contingent on some security and staffing details. Kudos to this neighborhood group, who didn’t fall into the trap of NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard.)

Here's a brief article about the new facility.