The Homelessness Issue

By Jan Marx

I am deeply concerned about the homelessness issue. I have volunteered time at the Prado Day Center, the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter, the overflow program and have donated financially to them for decades. I will make Improving Homeless Services an important goal for the next two years.

I am deeply concerned about the homelessness issue. I have volunteered time at the Prado Day Center, the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter, the overflow program and have donated financially to them for decades. I will make Improving Homeless Services an important goal for the next two years.

The City of San Luis Obispo has addressed the needs of the homeless with more programs and and funding than any other city in the County.

To place the problem in perspective, the number of homeless people in the County has doubled in the past two years, and 40% of them are in the city of San Luis Obispo, according to the Community Action Partnership (CAPSLO). Our homeless population falls into three groups, according to the County Sheriff and CAPSLO: 1) those who "want to" accept help finding housing and are capable of doing so (20%); 2) those who "cannot" take steps necessary to secure housing or maintain it, due to mental illness and/or addiction problems (40%); and 3) those who "will not" accept help or abide by the law (40%). Often the public assumes that ALL homeless people fall into the "want to" group, which is simply not the case.

The "want to" group consists of homeless families with children and people who have roots in the community who have lost jobs and are trying to re-establish a home for themselves. They have very little, if any, interaction with the Police. The "cannot" group used to be housed in mental health facilities, which no longer exist in California. The County, not the City, has the authority and funding to address the mentally ill and/or addicted population, and local services for this sector are, tragically, almost non-existent. People in the "will not" group have made homelessness a lifestyle choice. They attract the most police contact due to illegal behavior and refuse to accept help finding permanent housing from social services or to follow the rules. Many of the people who live in vehicles fall into this group.

I believe that the city's first priority in addressing this issue, as a matter of public policy, should be to help those in the "want to" group. We need to come together as a community and create a more comprehensive strategy to provide them with transitional housing. Toward this end, I will propose "Improving homeless services" as a city goal, during the upcoming budget goal setting workshops and lobby my fellow council members to vote with me on this issue.

I was not on council in 1995 when the land use ordinance prohibiting people living in vehicles on city streets was first passed. It was enforced since 1995, and was not controversial until recently, when the numbers of car campers increased dramatically. Numerous residents and businesses complained to Council and to the police about their streets being invaded by strangers setting up camp and engaging in criminal, aggressive and unsanitary behavior. Police responded by enforcing the ordinance.

I recently voted to repeal that 1995 ordinance because it made overnight camping in cars a criminal offense. I also voted in favor of a new ordinance making the prohibition on car camping a parking (civil, not criminal) violation. This new ordinance is essentially the same as the County's and that of most other cities in the county. I voted for it partly because this was the specific request of the attorneys for the Homeless Alliance as part of the settlement agreement which the city entered into in order to end expensive litigation.

The settlement agreement has a deadline of December 31, 2012, by which time the new ordinance and signage must be in place. If the city misses the deadline, our city would be the only place in the county where overnight car camping would be completely unregulated. This could well make San Luis Obispo a magnet for even more people living in vehicles. Our city streets are not designed as campgrounds, and using them that way is detrimental to the quality of life of our neighborhoods and businesses.

I voted for the new ordinance because it is my sworn responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of everyone who lives, visits or works here. The goal must be to get people into stable housing if they are willing and able to accept help. Toward that end, I support expansion of the safe parking program and other alternative approaches which do not compromise the safety and well-being of our city.