Council mulls plan to assist the homeless

<www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/January/02/local/stories/02local.htm>

Some members wonder where the money will come from

January 2, 2003
By DAN WHITE
Sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ -- Reducing homelessness, even over a long-term period, is a slippery goal for any community.

But the City Council on Tuesday will add suggestions to a countywide "five-year strategic plan on homelessness" intended to take a big bite out the problem by 2008.

The plan is the work of county and city staff, service providers and homeless advocates, with additional data from a consulting firm. It will be discussed at the 3 p.m. session of the council s special meeting.

Among the plan's goals: a significant increase in affordable housing targeted at people who are homeless, and better coordination of care for people with mental health and drug problems.

Some other goals: cutting in half the number of low-income residents who become homeless each year; cutting in half the number shut out from constantly filled emergency shelters; and ensuring that 10 percent of homeless people each year get jobs that pay a living wage or better.

Service providers say the plan will be a blueprint to help the city and county coordinate services, and that the document will help the area compete for federal funds for low-income housing.

Homeless people interviewed at the Homeless Services Center on Wednesday were sharply critical of the city s attempts so far to address homelessness, and offered suggestions for the new plan.

Some repeated an oft-voiced need for a lot to park motor homes or other vehicles in for the night, which would make it easier for people to save money for a security deposit or rent, they said. Others said the homeless need more help with getting a high school or college education, as well as with learning the responsibility of paying rent and saving money.

Many criticized leaders for not giving the homeless more voice in the services they re provided. Homeless Service Center board meetings are not open to the public and nobody from the homeless community sits on the board, said Laurie Russell, who lives in her van.

"It's hard having other people make decisions about your life," she said.

According to a recent staff report, some council members have expressed concerns about "the plan's credibility" in light of the fact that the county has not had an approved housing element since 1992.

Mayor Emily Reilly said the council will review the broad plan and "try to pick some priorities, and make sure we re not letting funding or services slip through the cracks." She also said the council must focus on a few specifics because the economy is likely to be "dismal" next year.

Vice mayor Scott Kennedy said he had serious concerns about funding for many aspects of the plan. He said he was worried it could turn into an "exercise into futility" by raising expectations unfairly at a time when the economy has tanked.

"Without new revenue what's the point?" he said. "The plan doesn't break down the different objectives according to what they would cost nor does it indicate where to get the money."

Kennedy said he would be glad to see the plan used to get more state and federal funds. But he said that money was "a long way off" because of the economy and the decline in philanthropic contributions.

Homeless Services Center Director Ken Cole said a strategic plan "won t immediately get anybody off the street" but said it would help local governments "get the maximum amount we can from the federal government and use it wisely."

He said such a strategy is especially important when funding is limited.

"If you want to succeed in competition for scarce resources you need to have this plan. But it goes beyond that: What are ways to break the cycle of homelessness?"

Paul Brindel of the nonprofit Community Action Board, which works to provide shelter and other services for the poor, said the plan is "not just to get the money. It is pretty much an inventory of resources and where are the gaps."

Brindel said that in a recent survey, 3.2 percent of the county's housed residents said they had been homeless locally at some point during the year. That works out to more than 8,000 people. A shelter would have 27 units and would serve 75 to 85 people including children.

Brindel said the figure was more than double the previous year's number.

"It gets even worse when you look at people who are under 25, and it's more like 14 percent for that age group," Brindel said. "That's incredible."

One major goal of service providers is mentioned in the plan: a planned new homeless family shelter.

The project is now in the early fund-raising stages.

"We re closing in on 50 percent of the goal," said Cole.

He said there have been commitments of $2.5 million so far including $700,000 from the Packard Foundation, and $500,000 from the state s Emergency Housing and Assistance Program.
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Contact Dan White at dwhite (at) santa-cruz.com.