Homelessness: A New Take on NIMBY?

“Is homelessness my problem? Yes, it is and it’s coming to a neighborhood near me.” --Heather Stratman

Yesterday I attended a panel discussion on homelessness in Orange County, sponsored by the Orange County Alliance for Just Change. The four-sided approach to ending homelessness here was to include speakers representing the county, its cities, the business sector and faith communities. County Supervisor Andrew Do had to cancel, but the other three covered the basics.

Heather Stratman

Heather Stratman, the chief executive officer of the Association of California Cities-Orange County since February 2016, led with some salient facts. Though each of Orange County's 34 cities has different perspective, depending on the visibility of homelessness in their communities, none of them are free of the homeless. Though the city councils of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Tustin and Anaheim were early in recognizing the urgency, more  councils now recognize that they, too, must be involved in long-range planning. Their communities are asking for solutions.

Stratman discussed the University of California Irvine's "Cost Study of Homelessness in Orange County, and its findings. The #1 cause of homelessness, according the study's respondents? "I lost a job." Yes, there are chronic homeless people who suffer from addictions and other mental health issues. But loss of jobs and lack of affordable housing lead the list of factors. And, as I mentioned on this blog a few weeks back, more than 30,000 young people are without an address in this county.

The executive summary can be found here: https://www.unitedwayoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Orange-County-Cost-Study-Homeless-Executive-Summary.pdf

Dan Young

Dan Young of Camino Enterprises, a former mayor of Santa Ana and long time #2 man at Irvine Company, emphasized the need for a system to end homelessness. Using the 911 system, which began in 1967, as a model, he suggested that the solution is for different agencies to form themselves into a system of care.

 

 "We don't have a broken system for dealing with the homeless with mental health issues," Young said, "we have NO system." He outlined the need for the right treatment of underlying causes of homelessness, address people on the streets in a humane way and the needs to double homeless space and for transitional housing. A comprehensive system must be patient-center, not program-centered.

If the N that begins NIMBY (not in my backyard) is going to become "neighbors" rather than "not," why not do the neighborly thing? Get involved. Pastor John Begin of Costa Mesa's Church of Christ, enumerated many ways everybody can all help. His church, located at 287 West Wilson, Costa Mesa, provides weekly “Caring Kitchen” dinners for Costa Mesa’s homeless residents. They also maintain an active community garden made up of 80 4’x4’ foot gardening of sustainability. If you would like to volunteer at the Church of Christ, please contact Pastor John Begin at (949) 645-3191 or office@costamesacoc.com.

Begin and volunteers

 Here's the charming history of Caring Kitchen's beginnings: https://www.ocregister.com/2013/03/15/caring-kitchen-ministers-to-the-hungry/

More ways to volunteer can be found through Trellis: We're Better Together. http://wearetrellis.com/

Finally, if you find yourself  believing that there's nothing that can be done, Hope 4 Restoration asks you to reconsider the wide-spread myths about homelessness, many based on anecdotes about individual encounters. Yes, we have all heard most of these: most homeless people have mental illness; most are addicts; most come here for the handouts; most are lazy; most are dangerous; most are older, single men; and most are "undeserving."

This research-based document gave me pause. "Top 30 Myths About Homelessness and the Realities." You, too, might be surprised at these statistics:
https://www.hope4restoration.org/myths.html

And, to close, here's my favorite myth..."it could never happen to me." Remember the movie, "Blue Jasmine," where Cate Blanchett played the formerly rich wife of a Bernie Madoff-type grifter who fell on hard times and had to move into her working-class sister's apartment? It happened to her. It happens to others. How do people become homeless? Here's how:
The two biggest factors driving homelessness are poverty and the lack of affordable housing. In 2004, 37 million people, or 12.7 percent of the American population was living in poverty, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Many of these people live from paycheck to paycheck with nothing saved in the bank. The loss of a job, an illness, or another catastrophic event can quickly lead to missed rent or mortgage payments and ultimately, to eviction or foreclosure.
 https://money.howstuffworks.com/homeless2.htm

Believe in working together for compassionate change? Keep posted on upcoming events by signing up on the Orange County Alliance for Just Change mailing list: http://ocajc.org/

“Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor . . . Won’t you be my neighbor?” --Fred M. Rogers