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Plan to End Homelessness on South Coast Making Progress
A group that would like to see an end to chronic homelessness on the South Coast by 2017 met Wednesday to discuss its progress, which has been solid since the plan began two years ago.
It’s all part of a large-scale effort by Bringing Our Community Home called the 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. The problem is exacerbated by the economy, which poses big challenges for the group.
BOCH contends that only 10 percent of the homeless in the area are chronically homeless, which translates to 945 people. But that relatively small number consumes $18 million in services and assistance every year, they argue, without seeing any real change.
Still, they’ve come far, said Executive Director John Buttny, who talked to a group gathered at the Transition House on Wednesday to hear about the progress. Since the plan began, 108 units of housing for the homeless have been built throughout the county, with nearly 80 percent of those units ending on the South Coast; 109 more are in the pipeline.
Buttny spent a year gathering information from about 55 agencies and put together a database, which can be found through its homeless services locator. One of the things discovered through those meetings was that Santa Barbara has a wealth of resources to assist with the homeless.
Buttny said BOCH decided not to try to re-create what other agencies were doing or compete with funding for existing programs. Instead, he organized a database with the hope that it will become a resource for caseworkers and people working with the homeless.
Buttny then began putting together what he called a Homeless Prevention Resource Guide for the South Coast, pulling information from about 30 agencies that worked on eviction prevention. The guide also will help provide a basis for any stimulus funds received for homeless prevention in the future. The group also is working on a safety program for women and another program that deals with late-night jail releases.
BOCH also paired with Project Healthy Neighbor at Casa Esperanza, which provides services such as tuberculosis and HIV testing for the homeless. Buttny said funding has been received to fund a staff position at the jail for a “discharge planner.”
“The idea is ... once they’re in jail, connect them with a case worker and have a place to go other than the street when they’re discharged,” he said. That planner also would coordinate the night transportation of people released from jail during the late hours.
A unified system of recordkeeping between the agencies is also a priority, he said.
“On any given night, particularly in this economic climate, up to a million people are homeless in this country,” said Kathleen Baushke of the Transition House, who said the faces of homelessness could look as different as a young adult who has been phased out of the foster care system to a single mom on disability to a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.
First and Third District Supervisors Salud Carbajal and Dorreen Farr were present as well as City Councilmember Helene Schneider.
Farr lauded the work of partnerships, including that of St. Brigid Fellowship in Isla Vista, which is in her district, and may have the largest population of homeless on the South Coast, she said.
Providing housing and services for the homeless was part of the Isla Vista Master Plan, and Farr said it remains a high priority for her.
Tom Thomas of BOCH said he had worked with the Downtown Organization and the Chamber of Commerce to talk about the effects of homelessness on local businesses
The group’s message is more germane than ever, with an unstable economy and increasingly violent environment on the streets. Schneider said the city has seen 18 homeless deaths to date, and the year is only halfway through.
“Homeless people have a right not to be assaulted,” she said. “They have a right not to be murdered.”
The city’s 12-point plan addressing homelessness is separate from BOCH’s plan, but they’re still connected, she said. “Without the 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, we could not fulfill those 12 points at all,” she said.
Geoff Banks of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department was on hand to talk about street violence and the law enforcement side of homelessness.
“We’ve had three very tragic murders in the past two years,” he said. “As we see more services, we can minimize that tragedy.”
Jail overcrowding has been a blight on the county in the past two decades, which homelessness affects significantly. About 10 percent of the jail’s population is homeless.
“I do believe there are better ways,” he said.
Banks said the discharge planning position would make a huge difference. “This is the most optimistic I’ve been in 31 years,” he said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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» on 06.18.09 @ 03:05 AM
FYI - Are “comments” really being solicited on last night’s journalism forum in SB at the Faulkner? [IT MAY BE MY QUIXOTIC SERVER, so shall try later, Bill].
In the meantime, on homelessness: The VA in West LA could do its part by making long overdue amends to a committed outreach worker, himself a military veteran (1962-78) who was unceremoniously “let go” recently in mid-January—without any prior notice, reason[s] for non-payments of modest salary, absent severance pay, no vacation pay-out and fully 575 unpaid overtime hours through Christmas, 2008! Since that aging worker (over 65 years is a White male) - the limits of “The Civil Rights Law (1964)” & its numerous, frequent & subsequent interpretations or mis-interpretations are being now tested by several(!) congressional investigations and complaints to the CA Attorney General’s Office staff in Sacramento. Reasons for the latter: On applying for CA unemployment benefits: That worker was notified by CA EDD “there is NO RECORD of your employment with the US Veterans Administration - can you prove your employment”? It was, so U-I benefits began - yet are still about four months late in full currency, due to EDD miscalculations. For such grievous inconveniences: The CA Governor’s Office refuses to EVEN accept responsibility for any supervisorial or adminstrative oversight of EDD!
» on 06.18.09 @ 07:14 AM
Here is another article discussing “homelessness” without distinguishing between the four major classes of the so called homeless.
1. Those who have temporarily fallen on hard times for economic impacts which may or may not be their own fault and who are willing to work and get back on their own two feet and are in need of a helping hand.
2. Those who suffer from mental problems not grave enough to require institutional care (maybe not) or have physical disabilities which impede their ability to become gainfully employed or to earn enough to afford the cost of livng. Many of these folks recieve money and public benefits but it is often not enough to meet their economic and medical needs.
3. Those who choose to live a life of complete irresponsibilty, to be dependent for their own welfare and healthcare upon whatever begging, public benefits, other charity and even crime can provide them, including money needed by them to suport drinking and drug habits or even addictions.
4. Fugitives from the law and run-away teenagers.
Until the advocates for “homeless” can distiguish between these categories they will never be able to address the needs of those who need and want a helping hand, and those who have no desire to change their “homeless and idle existance”.
Category 3. listed above are now proud to claim a title of “homeless” which, because of national publicity, makes them the categorical beneficiaries of good will and attention of those well intended groups described in the article.
Before this group was able to make that claim of entitlement they were described in more graffic terms, like “lazy bum”, “vagrant”, “wino” “street person”, “transient” and other less endearing names befitting their voluntary, unproductive and problematic lifestyle!
» on 06.18.09 @ 11:38 AM
Once again JAX is right on. Though there is obvious blurring between the categories, which is normal, the way things are done now offers no chance in clarifying the problem. This may stem from the fact that many in the institutionalized compassion industry (aka liberals) would rather not embarrass those who chose a homeless life style. For those of you who do not understand what that means, if you want compassion to not interfere with your elitist, self absorbed, self centered and narcissistic lifestyle, then asking why someone needs help to begin with defeats the purpose of an institution designed to alleviate one from responsibility, either for their actions of for their support.
» on 06.18.09 @ 01:57 PM
I have to say it is utterly appalling how many free handouts the homeless receive here in Santa Barbara. It is no wonder they dominate the downtown district and make patrons of local businesses feel uncomfortable on a daily basis. Thanks to our government officials, Santa Barbara is a resort town for street vagrants. They are allowed to come here, enjoy the beautiful weather, overtake State Street, aggressively panhandle, eat free meals at Casa Esparanza, receive free health treatment, and even be selected for free housing. Are you kidding me? 344 homeless have been placed in houses funded by our tax dollars with a goal of 1,000! The homeless comprise 10% of our jail population, yet we still have people worried about giving them a free ride to safe housing upon being released from jail. Helene Schneider’s claim that “the homeless have a right to not be assaulted” is a pitiful shout and tear drop in a river that should be washed to sea along with undeserved homeless benefits. Maybe if we stopped encouraging so many free riders from coming to Santa Barbara, they wouldn’t be assaulting each other in our city limits. I think it’s safe to say most crimes that occur amongst the homeless population are homeless on homeless crimes. Ms. Schneider needs to simmer down before she starts accussing Santa Barbara’s good citizens at large of hate crimes on the homeless. In this day and age, nothing surprises me except how many public officials have lost their common sense.
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