Welfare for Homeless a Step in Right Direction

The decision by the Board of Supervisors last week to grant the lowest level of welfare benefits to some homeless people was a welcome change in policy.

Previously the board had sharply criticized a suggestion by Randall Bacon, director of the Department of Social Services, that the county provide general relief, $120 a month, to homeless people who otherwise qualify. That discussion in February was characterized by some rather injudicious remarks by Supervisors Brian Bilbray and George Bailey.

But last week, the board voted 5-0 to change the restrictions on general relief and allow homeless people to qualify if they show that they intend to remain in this area.

This is a small but significant step in the right direction. Bacon estimated that 265 additional people now will qualify for welfare.

But perhaps as important as the aid those 265 people will get is the thinking process the supervisors went through to reach the decision. Without abandoning their desire not to waste taxpayers’ money, Bailey and Bilbray were much more reserved in their comments last week and showed that they have spent time looking at the issue.

And in March, Bailey, as the county’s representative to Sandag, succeeded in getting representatives of 14 other city-members of that regional planning organization to endorse the concept that the homeless problem is a regional one, and that the smaller cities should participate in the solution along with the City of San Diego and the county.

When the board approved the plan for general relief last week, it also adopted an approach of trying to help down-and-out people get back on their feet, not just survive.

The program is designed not just to provide a check each month for anyone who claims local residency, but rather to help those who want to improve their lives. Any person who is physically and mentally capable of working will be required to make 20 job contacts a month and spend 40 hours monthly in the county’s workfare program. Those who are alcoholics or drug addicts will be referred to Health Department programs. If the relief program functions as it is designed to, people who are not motivated to change will not long receive the benefits.

This action by the county is certainly not the answer to the problems of even a single homeless person. But it is a step in the right direction, and we applaud those supervisors who took a second look at the proposal and changed their minds.