Governor Proposes $222 Billion in Public Works But Forgets Affordable Housing

Interesting that California Governor Schwarzenegger proposed $222 Billion (that’s a quarter of a Trillion Dollars!) for public works projects, but he didn’t include any money for affordable housing. Here's an article.

His proposal will help rebuild freeways, transit systems, schools, and levees. All very important assets for our community.

But come on… there is a human asset in our state that is being forgotten. The homeless. And we all know that one significant solution to homelessness is to provide more affordable housing. Further, we all know that housing is expensive. Very expensive.

So if our state—and basically we taxpayers are paying for this—is going to invest a quarter of a trillion dollars, let’s make sure we invest in affordable housing for the poor and homeless.

I hope the State Legislature will change the Governor’s proposal.

Shuttered Military Bases: Use Them For New Oil Refineries or Homeless Housing?

Last May, President Bush suggested building new Oil Refineries on military bases that were slated to be closed. Here's the article. As gasoline prices are still exceedingly high, the off-the-cuff remark by former oilman, now President, seemed like a logical solution to lower gas prices. Drill more oil, and use military bases as refineries.

But this threatens the 1994 Base Closure Act that puts homeless providers at the head of the line to use surplus federal properties including military bases. 53 former military bases have been used to help house the homeless.

With land getting more expensive, and the length of time to build facilities, it makes sense to use federal land and facilities for desperately needed housing for the homeless.

So will Oil Refineries trump homeless housing? I certainly hope not.

Housing for the homeless and poor should certainly be a priority over lower gasoline prices…

Delayed Homeless Count Blamed On Scheduling Difficulties Among Political Representatives

The Santa Monica Daily Press reports today that the results of the county-wide homeless count have not been released because of scheduling problems with county and city political representatives. Here's the PDF article.

The actual count was performed one year ago. Preliminary numbers were released last summer. Those numbers revealed that there are 91,000 homeless people in the County of Los Angeles. The count was performed by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

LAHSA spokesman is quoted in the article, “As we came close to Thanksgiving it became difficult to coordinate the release of the report between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so we pushed it to the beginning of the year.”

The final results should publish numbers on a local city level.

The article goes on to quote a Santa Monica resident, “We understood this homeless count would be an unbiased analytical performance, and the fact it’s taken a year for these numbers to be released makes me question the results of the survey. We should get the raw numbers first, and the politicians should interpret them later.”

Cincinnati NIMBYs Say Their Mall Is Not Like L.A.’s Mall

An op-ed piece in the Cincinnati Enquirer, written by a board member of a local home owners association details how the new Cincinnati Homeless Mall is really not like L.A.’s PATH Mall. Here's the article.

The proposed West End Citylink mall is patterned after the PATH Mall. The differences cited in the op-ed piece are this:

- PATH Mall has 20 social services while the Citylink mall will only have 10.

- PATH Mall has numerous government services while Citylink has none.

- PATH Mall is 40,000 square feet while Citylink is double the size.

- Citylink is close to 3 schools. (Actually, the PATH Mall is close to 3 schools, as well.)

I think citing differences between a Los Angeles model and Cincinnati’s proposed service mall doesn’t make sense. Obviously, models need to adapt based on in what community they are established.

It would be wrong for Cincinnati to duplicate a Los Angeles model exactly. They need to design the model based on the needs of their community.

A homeless service mall—“one-stop center” of homeless services—in a community helps facilitate better agency coordination, rallies a community around addressing homelessness, is cost effective by sharing overhead, and provides easier access for people looking for services.

It just makes sense…

Mayor’s Comments On Homelessness in Recent Radio Show

Here’s how the Daily News reported his comments:
__________

Calling the issue of homelessness a national disgrace, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday that all areas of Los Angeles County - not just downtown - need to be involved in finding solutions to the problem.

In his monthly "Ask the Mayor" radio show, Villaraigosa said he has taken the first steps to address the issue by setting aside $50 million for housing, but efforts by all parts of Los Angeles and the nation are needed.

"It is wrong that this city in this nation is the capital of homelessness," Villaraigosa said. "But we have to look at what services we are providing. I don't think it should be all in just one area.

"I think we have to deal with the homeless with where they are - whether it's Lancaster, Pasadena, Glendale or any other community. ... I'm willing to bite the bullet, but we also have to be prepared for other areas to take care of their homeless. They can't just take them to Skid Row. Everyone needs to work on this to address their issues."

Villaraigosa said he, like other officials, is looking forward to a report scheduled to be released soon that will offer recommendations on how to best deal with the issue.

"There are a lot of serious questions about what we tackle first," Villaraigosa said. "Is it the most easily fixed (problem) of women with children who are in a temporary situation? Or is it the chronically homeless? And, what do you do about psychological care and other services? It's a big, big issue."

LAPD and LAFD Form “Unified Command System” To Rescue Homeless

Now that the storm is over…

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department are joining efforts to rescue homeless people caught in the flood control systems during storms. Here's the blog.

We know that homeless encampments are located in our urban drainage system—there are places to hide there. But when it rains, these flood systems fill up, sometimes catching people in the swift water.

So now the LAPD and the LAFD are joining forces to deploy swift water rescue teams. Five homeless people were rescued in the Sepulveda Basin during this past storm.

It’s good that these entities are coordinating efforts. The better way, however, to prevent swift water rescues of homeless people is to make sure they are not living in our urban flood control systems, and instead having them live in their own safe housing.

L.A. Times Calls L.A.’s Ten Year Plan—Blah! Blah! Blah!

In a harshly worded article, the Los Angeles Times reported on Los Angeles County’s and City’s efforts to create a ten year plan to end homelessness. Here's the article. The plan’s official name is “Bring L.A. Home!” (BLAH!)

This “ten year plan” is mandated by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a requirement for receiving future HUD funds for homeless and housing programs. Currently, HUD gives Los Angeles County approximately $60 million per year.

So there is, of course, a financial motive in developing this plan. The two entities that coordinated this planning effort were: the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and the Los Angeles Coalition To End Hunger and Homelessness.

Dozens of cities around the country have finished their ten year plans, including California cities of Pasadena and San Francisco.

Almost three years ago, a blue ribbon panel of community members was formed to develop this ten year plan. I was appointed to this panel. (I am also on Long Beach’s Ten Year Plan working group.)

L.A.’s plan is slated to be completed in early March.

I met with the Los Angeles Times editorial board in October 2004 to discuss homelessness in Los Angeles. They asked me about L.A.’s ten year plan process, fishing for controversy. I told them that since we were in the middle of the plan, it would be inappropriate for me to comment.

My official comment today, is what I have been saying for the past three years, “Writing a plan to ending homelessness is the ‘easy’ part. Actually implementing a plan that will actually end homelessness is the hard part…”

Skid Row’s Fantastic Five

The Los Angeles Downtown News lists five key people “who won’t let you forget how bad Skid Row is.” Here's the article. Day after day, this past year, these five people have made sure that the plight of Skid Row has reached the media.

No longer is Skid Row just a place for celebrities to go to on Thanksgiving weekend. Our city and our county are realizing the injustice of this area.

The Downtown News list the following:

LAPD Captain Andrew Smith, who arrived at LAPD’s Central Division in early 2005, and made sure that no one would forget the plight of Skid Row. At a meeting with the Sheriff and the Department of Mental Health, Sheriff Baca introduced the Andrew Smith as the “bravest LAPD captain he knows.”



Sheriff Lee Baca is also on this fantastic list. For years (not just this past year), the County Sheriff has worked tirelessly to resolve the terrible issue of homelessness.








Estela Lopez, the Executive Director of the Central City East Association, the business group that represents the Skid Row area. She was recently appointed to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority commission by Mayor Villaraigosa. Downtown Central City East Blogger calls her “Central City East’s most influential person in 2005.” Here's his comments and photos of her.


Jan Perry, the Los Angeles City Councilwoman who represents Skid Row. She has worked hard to make sure the public won’t forget the people who are living on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. I was recently on a television talk show with her, and am convinced she is committed to ending homelessness in downtown.





Steve Lopez, the Los Angeles Times columnist who has been writing personal stories of the people caught in Skid Row. The power of the media has always been acknowledged. It’s great when they use their “power” for good. I was recently on a homeless forum panel on the Westside with him. He acknowledges that he is “no expert” when it comes to homelessness. But he has been able to tell the “story” of homelessness like no other.