Moving From Crisis Mode to a Coordinated Approach
The Ventura County Housing and Homeless Coalition estimates that there are 3,000 to 4,000 homeless people in the county. This includes people temporarily homeless because of a crisis and those who are chronically homeless, either because of a choice to not live by conventional standards or an inability to maintain shelter.
Statistics collected through the last two coalition surveys show that 82% of our homeless people have had long-term connections within Ventura County communities. In the cold weather shelter last year, 24% of those served were women and 14% were children. Approximately 25% of the single males served were veterans.
Programs to cope with the problems presented by the homeless are based both on traditional altruistic motives of helping the poor and unfortunate and also on community economic health and safety concerns. Most people feel that either through government agencies, their churches or community-based organizations that the basic necessities of life should be available and that protection should be offered to the community from disease, disturbances, thievery, exploitation and the nuisance of aggressive panhandling. There is also concern that children be provided shelter, stability, preventive health care and education.
Just as the causes of homelessness are varied, the problems associated with it are complex, and there is no single solution. For some people, the best we will be able to offer is a cold or inclement weather shelter. For others, a coordinated social services program does enable them to overcome the barriers to maintaining a long-term home.
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We have certainly seen success in some religion-affiliated programs and in some of the collaborative service organizations in the county. During the last year, the general relief program, through coordinated social services, financial assistance, rehabilitation and a supported job search program, discontinued an average of six people per month because they secured employment. Out of a total monthly caseload of about 168 people, 80% of the general relief caseload is people with a mental health, drug and / or alcohol problem, or a physical disability. These are indigent adults with no other means of support. The RAIN (River-dwellers Aid Intercity Network) transitional living center enabled 41 of the families housed there last year to secure long-term housing. As of now, 70% of those families maintain their homes. The homeless services offered through the Behavioral Health Department and Catholic Charities is a voucher system for temporary shelter. Last year it enabled 321 clients to avoid homelessness while long-term solutions were developed.
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The Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition was formed to provide a means for representatives of private and government agencies to coordinate homeless program activities. They come together to survey needs within the county, identify resources, develop plans for individual clients, advocate and coordinate applications for grants. They provide the most reliable statistics on community needs through annual surveys and the exchange of information among programs.
Although we tend to focus on the individual, the decisions governments and businesses make every day also need to be considered. The funding priorities, locations of and types of businesses, the availability of low-cost housing, the placement of social services, health care and recreational facilities, the creation of entry-level and low-skill jobs, and law enforcement priorities all impact the homeless and the ability to manage the problems.
The proposal of county Supervisor Kathy Long and Ventura City Councilman Jack Tingstrom to form a Ventura Organization of Governments committee to look at the issues is a positive development. It offers the opportunity to take planning from the annual crisis mode to a long-term, coordinated approach. It opens the ability to discuss the interrelationship and dependency of decisions among the municipal governments as well as the county. It provides a format for a decision as to what functions should actually be conducted by government. It also gives the city councils and supervisors a chance to evaluate the effectiveness of existing programs, establish mutual funding priorities and institute either a regional or countywide planning mechanism for a long-term solution.
The problems of homelessness are indeed complex, and no single approach is the resolution to every situation. Out of the current discussion, we have the ability to make decisions that will create a longer-term vision, a definition of roles and a coordinated approach.
