Letters to the Editor: California needs major developments to address homelessness and substance abuse

To the editor: To effectively mitigate the homelessness crisis, we need more than a motley scattering of sober living houses or shelters (“A new push to bring recovery homes into state’s ‘housing first’ homeless model,” May 13). We need to develop large-scale, all-inclusive institutes (for lack of a better word) and campuses that can address substance abuse and mental health issues in a cohesive manner.

A few examples of things the state could do: Build a massive hospital and residential community at the base of the Grapevine and house individuals there for as long as they require care, be it a month or a lifetime. Open a university nearby that focuses on careers in medicine, mental health, occupational therapy and so forth. Partner with the large corporations that have nearby warehouses and fulfillment centers to provide job training for the residents. Subsidize housing in nearby Bakersfield and Tejon Ranch to attract qualified staff to live in the area.

As they say: “If you build it, they will come.” It may require a bit of compassionate coercion (admittedly, a challenge for legislators and law enforcement), but drastic times call for drastic measures. And these are drastic times.

Risa Slavin, Porter Ranch