Oceanside Steps Forward to Tackle Problem of Homeless

In a joint effort designed to give Oceanside a leading role in aiding its growing homeless population, community and city leaders are striving to establish an unusual temporary shelter to help families get back on their feet.

Thursday night, the Oceanside Planning Commission lent support to the project by unanimously approving the shelter’s permit, considered critical to winning $200,000 in federal grants for it.

In just under a month, Richard Goodman, Oceanside’s chief of housing, has successfully coordinated the work of city officials and social agency leaders, who have been working frantically to meet the grant application deadline of April 17.

Opposed by Neighbors

Although Goodman raced through the often time-consuming bureaucratic process of obtaining federal money, his efforts did not escape opposition.

Many residents--most of whom live near the proposed shelter, next to the San Luis Rey Mission--have vigorously opposed the project, claiming it would lower property values and increase crime.

Those residents spoke their mind at a special planning commission meeting held jointly with the Oceanside Historic Preservation Advisory Commission. A waiver from the preservation commission was also needed and obtained by the city because the temporary shelter will not conform with the design standards of the historic San Luis Rey Mission District.

Nearly 200 people, almost evenly split between project opponents and advocates, packed the Oceanside Senior Citizens Center and lobbied their case before the commissioners.

At the end of the hearing, which lasted more than four hours, the commissioners quickly decided to back the project and sternly dismissed residents’ fears as selfish and unwarranted.

“I don’t think any mother or father wants to raise their kids under a bridge,” Commissioner Nancy Jakovac said. “Can you imagine what it must be like for the parent of a child who’s never had an inoculation . . . who’s never had a medical exam? Do you think it’s better to ignore these people and risk the spread of some disease?”

‘We Look Away’

“We all hire them (homeless migrant workers), they work for us, take care of our garden,” Jakovac said. “But we don’t care where they live. When it comes to that, we look away. Well, I believe it’s time to give to another segment of the population that needs our help.”

Securing the permit was a prerequisite to applying for the $200,000 federal grant, Goodman said.

“We absolutely had to have the permit. Without it, we couldn’t even apply for the grant. The project would be dead.”

A total of $1.3 million is available to California cities with fewer than 200,000 residents from the federal Emergency Shelter Grants Program, Goodman said. The funds will be awarded through the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

The grant money will finance most of the project, which has an estimated price tag of $700,000. The temporary shelter will operate for only three years, Goodman said.

15 Trailer Units

The shelter, which will resemble a small mobile-home park, will use about 3 acres and include 15 trailer units and a recreational area for children. The units, which are designed for one or two families, will contain eight beds. Only families--consisting of at least one parent and one child--will be allowed to stay at the shelter, for a maximum of 30 days.

“Our project will be unique in that we’ll be the only shelter in North County that accepts intact families--mom, dad and kids,” Goodman said. “We’re beginning to realize that a substantial segment of the homeless population is families. But, to avoid problems, most shelters don’t take families.

“Some will just take women, some just men, some just kids,” Goodman said. “When they’re told they’re going to be split up, most families leave. This is a way to help them.”

The shelter will do a lot more than provide housing and food, Goodman said.

“Just having a shelter for homeless families is not the ultimate goal. The shelter is just a tool to reach the ultimate goal, which is to get these people to become self-sufficient again.”

The shelter will offer a variety of emergency assistance programs, including counseling, medical care and employment assistance.

The creation of a shelter for homeless families was identified as the greatest single need by the Oceanside Task Force on the Homeless, which was established in December by the city to address the growing problem.

The Planning Commission’s decision was hailed by the city’s social service agencies.

“We are all very pleased, not only because the Planning Commission approved the permit, but the spirit in which they did it,” said Marylou Sauerborn, a task force member and director of the Ecumenical Service Center. The nonprofit, multidenominational organization offers emergency assistance programs for needy people.

“This didn’t squeak by by a couple of votes,” Sauerborn said. “It was unanimous. There was a lot of recognition that somebody has to accept responsibility to care for these people. And the city of Oceanside stepped forward.”

The Ecumenical Service Center will be responsible for screening applicants for the shelter, Sauerborn added. Potential residents with any indication of substance abuse, mental illness or a criminal past will not be admitted, she said.

“There were a lot of people concerned about the type of person who would be admitted, but such fear is really unwarranted,” Sauerborn said. “We are looking for people who have suffered a temporary disruption, a layoff or an illness that has set them back. That can happen to anyone. These types of people, who have otherwise been living a normal life style . . . all they need is just a little help.”

Although some residents expressed concern about the plight of the homeless, they were unwilling to support such a facility in their back yard.

“I understand there are homeless people, but I hope you are not swayed by such an emotional issue before considering the negative impacts on the community’s property value,” said Robert Cataldo, who lives in the Quail Ridge condominium complex near the proposed shelter site.

Others feared that the shelter would transform Oceanside into the “homeless capital of North County,” forcing the city to accept responsibility not only for its homeless population, but for transients from neighboring cities as well. And residents also questioned whether the city is capable of tackling such a pervasive problem.

“It is not a problem to be handled just by a single neighborhood or a single city,” said Frank Firko, a resident of San Luis Rey Homes, a mobile-home park. “This is a regional problem, a state problem. . . . It should be handled by the county or the state. Why should it be plunked in our neighborhood?”

Aggressive Attack

Goodman and social service agency leaders argued that “a first step” must be taken to tackle the problem.

“Instead of allowing the problem to get worse and fester, we want to attack it aggressively,” Goodman said. “And as for becoming a homeless capital, you can’t be a capital of anything with just 15 families. We won’t be drawing homeless people from other cities. We’ll be full with our own from the day we open to the day we close.”

Besides obtaining the permit, Goodman said the city has already negotiated a tentative lease with the Sisters of the Precious Blood--a Roman Catholic organization based in Dayton, Ohio--that owns the proposed shelter site.

According to Goodman, the city’s three-year lease with the Sisters of the Precious Blood allows the city to rent a 20-acre parcel at an annual rate of $1, plus yearly property taxes of approximately $2,000. The religious group plans to use the property itself at the end of the three years.

If the city fails to vacate the site at that time, the city will be required to pay rent of $334,450--market value of the lease--for a fourth year, Goodman said.

“This is a temporary shelter and we have no intention of staying any longer than three years,” Goodman said. “We couldn’t afford that kind of money. That was included in the lease, more like a penalty, to make sure that we get out of there.”