Homeless Problem

Foster City Councilman John Oliver’s year as a homeless person (“Year Without Home Gives Official a New Perspective,” Part A, Dec. 9) is but one example of how even well-educated middle-class business executives can find themselves on the street. He is right that we need more low-cost housing, but that alone will not solve the homeless problem.

The causes of homelessness are many and complex, and so are the solutions. In addition to low-cost housing, we need professional counseling, transitional housing, literacy training, job skill training, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, mental health-care programs and ways to deliver these and other services in a coordinated, cost-effective manner.

MAXENE JOHNSTON

President, Weingart Center Assn.

Los Angeles