Letters to the Editor: Our secret weapon against homelessness: increasing General Relief payments
To the editor: I was shocked to read that L.A. County’s General Relief payment to destitute individuals is still a scant $221 per month. Equally shocking is that this monthly amount has not been raised in more than 40 years. (“Monthly payments of $1,000 could get thousands of homeless people off the streets, researchers say,” April 30)
According to a report by lead author Gary Blasi, a UCLA law professor emeritus, the simplest way to get homeless people into some form of housing would be to increase the amount paid to each individual in the form of General Relief. I agree.
The Times points out that adjusted for inflation, an updated General Relief grant would be $1,008, enough for the recipient to cover the cost of a room in L.A. plus some other expenses. Modest? Yes, but better than living on the street.
The day has already arrived when we can justly be compared to Charles Dickens’ England. We can do better than this. In a representative democracy, it is the responsibility of elected officials to help the most destitute among us.
The cost of increasing General Relief may appear substantial. But providing adequate payments should considerably reduce the cost to taxpayers of addressing homelessness.
Rick Tuttle, Culver City
The writer was L.A. city controller from 1985-2001.
..
To the editor: While we are fully on board with paying a universal income, implementation of that idea remains complex. In the meantime, we’ve created an interim solution that has been very effective.
Our nonprofit, Harbor Connects, provides micro grants of $300-$2,500 to individuals needing an immediate infusion of cash. What do they use it for? Whatever they need. We vet each request carefully, but the bottom line is that we trust them.
Importantly, we have deep relationships with formal and informal service providers who work with people on the edge. Sometimes, these people have immediate and often shockingly modest needs, yet the systems meant to help them cannot act nimbly enough.
Our power is our relationships combined with a small pile of cash, which allows us to play a crucial stopgap role. Over the last four years, we’ve given away more than $300,000 to families across L.A. City Council District 15.
Any community can do this. The keys are strong relationships with service providers, the willingness to raise a little money, and compassion and trust.
Lisa Williams and Meghan Langfield, Wilmington
The writers are, respectively, board chair and executive director of Harbor Connects.
