I think we need to have a genuine and courageous debate about power (in this case the real-estate companies and big business lobby in CA, versus what it would really take to make our state equitable, devoid of the hypocrisies that inform these types of conversations). Thank you for soliciting Read more…
The affordable housing crisis we face today is decades in the making. It will take many years to transform our housing systems. However, action is required now to lay the infrastructure that is necessary to improve housing stability of all residents in the future.
Shelter is a basic human necessity, but far too often, we have treated having a stable home as a privilege. Our state is finally making progress, with an anti-rent gouging bill advancing out of the state legislature’s Senate Judiciary, and notable progress at the local level. This will help to Read more…
This is an urgent matter and we need to look deeper at the economic conditions of the poorest among us for whom housing has become a luxury vs. a basic human right and need.
As much as we would all like to eradicate homelessness altogether, we must recognize that some portion of the homeless population will refuse all help, and direct our scarce resources to those who can most likely benefit from them. The hard truth is that we cannot force assistance on those Read more…
This is the defining issues of our day, and we must meet the challenge. This issue is complex, involves multiple partners, and often takes longer than I’d like. The daily balancing act of local governments has become: how do we enforce local ordinances (littering or public nuance) to protect quality Read more…
Orange County business leaders have identified increasing the supply, choices and affordability of housing as a key initiative to Orange County’s long-term economic prosperity. As a result, OCBC is a leader in research, with cutting-edge data, that has assisted regional agencies like the Southern California Association of Governments, individual city Read more…
Significant education of local government leaders and the general community is needed to provide a common foundation to discuss the most effective ways to prevent and respond to homelessness.
People who are homeless have an income from government benefits, and it may be time to investigate whether anyone is exploiting homeless people to obtain those benefits, perhaps through fraud. For example, the Social Security Administration will pay Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to a “representative payee” who can be Read more…
Respect is missing. The problem won’t be solved by moralizing, and neither the YIMBYs or the NIMBYs have the answer. We need to be practical and not expect people to see their quality of life dwindle because they lack the political power to stop homeless shelters in their neighborhoods. But Read more…
Dismantling the state mental hospital systems in the 1960s, then not adequately funding the community mental health which was to replace it, has led to our prisons and jails becoming the default housing for the mentally ill who cycle in and out of homelessness and incarceration. They were not designed Read more…
The Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC) had been steadfast in its commitment to promoting the creation of new housing across all socioeconomic levels, particularly when it comes to addressing homelessness. In 1989, BIASC created HomeAid Orange County, a charitable nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate housing and support services Read more…
What is lacking is will. Mayors and city councils must have the will to take people off the streets and send them to centers providing the minimum basics. There is nothing unconstitutional about doing so. Misplaced compassion has actually kept homeless people from services more efficiently provided in centralized locations.